A political advertising campaign needs to be timely, relevant and accurate. The advertisement should not misrepresent the candidate in question or his/her opponents.
It also shouldnโt distort any facts about their policies or personal lives. A good political ad makes a point that it is clear, simple and believable. As a result, it excites voters to consider choosing them over an opponent.
Step 1 โ Political Candidates Filing and Registration
Itโs an officialย procedure to declare intention to run (as a candidate) or organize/raise money (as a political group). Here is a linkย to the candidateย registration for theย Federal Election Commission.
- Online Schedule
- Website Design
- Campaign Logo Design
- Print Advertisement Design
- Graphics
- Campaign Logo Design
- Video Production Services
- Social Media Content Development & Distribution Services
Step 2 โ Election Campaign Staff and Structure
The candidate or political group appoints staff members and managers for the campaign.ย The members are responsible for establishing branding strategies in this phase.
- Website Management Plans
- Social Media Platforms
- Online Platforms
- Development of Advertisements
Step 3 โ Political Advertisements and Campaign Strategy Development
Significantly, an election marketing strategy should be based on a thorough analysisย of multiple aspects. These include voters,ย polling data, voter turnout history, voting patterns by demographics as well as information about opponent candidates. The goal isย to identify people most likely to vote for a certain candidate and ensure they do so. Here, we need to take into account:
- Target Audience Profile
- Psychographics
- Behavioral & Geographic Targeting
Step 4 โ Political Party Committee Announcement and Kick Off Campaign
Next is the phase where candidates and political groups starts to launch kick-offโcampaigns and strengthens public presence.
- Campaign Staffing
- Volunteer Recruitment
- Campaign Finance Planning
- Political Campaign Strategy Development
- Managed Email Marketing Plans (Inbound and Outbound)
- Social Media Management Plans (with awareness campaigns)
Step 5 โ Political Campaign Marketing and Promotion Begins!
The campaignย phase begins when political parties or candidates promote theirย agendas, policies and campaigns through various marketing channels. This includes:
- Digital Advertising Services
- Content Marketing Services
- Go Live Social Media Posts
- Television Presentations
- Radio and Podcasts Ad Planning
- Direct Mail
- Political Ads
- Election Ads
- Advertising Displays
- Media Outlets
- News Coverage
- Campaign Signs
- Social Media Advertising
- Newspaper Ads
Step 6 โ Financial or Other Support is Essential for Political Advertising
Funding is essential in campaigning.ย Here, candidates and political groups try to raiseย as much money as possible to support their staff and campaign. Some effective ways they use specifically are:
- Celebrity Endorsements
- Political Campaign Strategy Development
- Social Media Content Management Services (with engagement campaigns)
- Campaign Finance Planning
Step 7 โ Qualifying for the Election Campaign
Evidently, political candidatesย must meet fundingย requirements. Also, they should collectย the necessary signatures and have at least one opponent to continue with the campaign.
Hence, you can use political advertising campaigns to gain potentialย votersโ attention in the final stages of a campaign.ย Besides, an increased amountย of campaigning also takesย place during this phase.
- Managed Email Marketing Plans (Inbound and Outbound)
- Managed Text Messaging Plans
- Ad Management Plans
- Direct Mail
- Digital Advertising Services
- Specialized Political Campaign Strategy Development
- Social Media Content Management Services (with engagement campaigns)
- Campaign Finance Planning
Step 8 โ Influencing Popular Opinion, Building Support and Earning Votes
Final stagesย of a political campaign are oftenย challenging as there are manyย obstacles to overcome. It is critical to increase outreach efforts and establish relationships.
- Television Presentations
- Radio and Podcasts Ad Planning
- Advertising Displays
- Direct Mail
- Campaign Logo Design for Political Groups & Candidates
- Social Media Management Plans (with awareness campaigns)
- Political Campaign Strategy Development
- Managed Email Marketing Plans (Inbound and Outbound)
- Campaign Finance Planning
Political Advertising Online
The political advertising landscape online has changed dramatically in the last few years. It is because social media has become a dominant force. As a result, understanding how to run political campaigns using digital marketing tools is essential.ย This guide will give you an overview of political advertising online. Here we will show the phases to useย digital advertising tools in the campaign.ย ย Check out the linkย toย Googleโs Political Advertising Policies.
Political content
Generally, political content requirements vary greatlyย online. Again, these advertisements areย a lot different from commercialย content. It is because these are factualย and cannot make any misleading claims or promises.
Itโs important to note that political advertisers should not use deceptive strategies for their ads. Otherwise, this can suspend your Google Ads account. Today, the political landscape isย more polarizedย than ever. People on oppositeย sides of an issue often hate each other! Hence, political ads need to focus on facts only, rather than trying to sway opinions one way or another.
ย
Social Media Policies on Misinformation in Political Ads
On social media, political advertising guidelines can vary greatly.
Twitter for example prohibits adsย misleading or attemptingย to manipulate the userโs opinion of a candidate via deceptive means. However, they have no problem with candidates stating their own views on issues and policies.
It is importantย to note that politiciansย cannot use bots in any way when running an ad campaign on Twitter! This is because it could result in spamming. Evidently, spamming can violate termsย of service agreements between advertisers and users who follow them.
Of course, Facebook has its own set of rules. But when it comes to regulating political propaganda, online platforms like Facebook or Twitter have no laws. Instead, they use their own policies in place.ย
Facebook prohibits any ads that are misleading or false when it comes to voting information and candidate stances on issues.ย Suppose, a politician uses the platform for stricter immigration laws. In that case, Facebook doesnโt allow themย to spread an ad about lenient immigrationย policy. After all, it hasย led America into economic decline!
Additionally, you need to mark all online advertisements as โpolitical advertisingโ. Doing so, usersย know what kind of content theyโre getting themselves into before clicking on anything related to politics.ย In this way, everyย advertiser can play fairย during election season.ย Even thoughย there are no legalย requirements, most advertisers want their customersโ trust more than anything else!
ย
When should you use digital advertising tools for political campaigns?
There are so many different ways to utilize digital marketing platforms when running a political campaign! Anywhere from social media ads, Google Ads, email campaigns and influential mobile app ads.
Ofย course, eachย platform has its own unique functions that give it an advantage over the others.ย For example, Facebookย offers micro-targeting which enables advertisers to reach very specific audiences based on shared interests or demographics.
Geofencing takes it even a step further, allowing politicians to distribute ads to individuals attending a physical location.
Even better, Facebook allows campaigners toย track best performing ad campaigns. It helps them get an idea about where to invest their money.ย This way no politicalย campaign goes under-budgeted or overspent during any given election season.
Besides, Google Adsย is another great way to reachย potential voters. You can use it for bothย organic and paidย political. Your campaignย could blow off everyoneโsย expectations. Users can build their own audiences through SEO or run targeted ads based on search results!
Google Ads platformsย can also track conversions. These platforms allowย advertisers to see how many people have visited certain pages after clicking on a particular ad!ย Therefore, politicians can easily identify whether their content is effective before they invest in digital ads.
ย
Social Media Policies on Microtargeting Political Ads
Indeed, Facebookย prohibits any misleading ads. Additionally, all ads must follow the digital advertising standards outlined in Facebookโs official terms of use.ย Due to this, anyone putting people under false pretenses or misleading them into clicking on an ad can be prohibited.ย
Now, you can find some advertisements misconstruing real news articles! Therefore, itโs always best if people know about the ad when they visit a website orย click on an ad!
Put our experience to work for yourย political campaign.