Common Political Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in 2021
In today’s political arena, online marketing provides easier information transmission between political campaigns and voters. Unfortunately, this ease of information for many political campaigns also creates the opportunity for campaign blunders, mistakes, and various embarrassing moments.
With the governor and senate races approaching fast, our digital feeds begin to flood with political campaign content once again. This increase also means we’re likely to see several political marketing mistakes as things start heating up. Here are some examples and remedies that can help campaigns avoid political errors in 2021.
First Person Website Content
Many candidates on a local and national scale utilize a site home page to write open letters to voters. However, too many instances of ‘I,’ ‘me’, and ‘my’ can hurt a campaign’s website ranking with search engines.
For candidates and campaigns that want their site to rank well with searches on their issues or their name, they can avoid this political marketing mistake by including these pieces of information within the site content.
For candidates or campaigns that utilize first-person copy, “pull boxes” that use a name combined with a quality page title and description, as well as image tags, can help overcome some limitations imposed by first-person copy.
Ineffective Online Fundraising
The size of a political campaign doesn’t matter; they all need a bank account and a website. Online fundraising features enable a campaign to accept online donations, contributions, etc. Additionally, most online services offer donation forms or social media forms that make it easy for a campaign to accept and process donations effectively easily.
Nevertheless, it remains important for political candidates to effectively market themselves within a state’s fundraising rules. Fundraising and marketing work together as crucial components to a successful campaign, and avoiding political mistakes with internet contributions should remain a priority on a campaign’s radar.
Avoiding Social Media
If a campaign decides to establish a social media presence, it is important to provide regular updates on its progress and stance, opinion, etc.
Many campaigns fall victim to a common political marketing mistake by languishing or abandoning social media altogether. Potential followers may observe this lack of activity, even thinking that the candidate has abandoned their campaign.
It’s better to start on social media at a manageable level. If the campaign and social media presence grow beyond a candidate’s reach, they can always turn social media efforts over to a campaign member over time.
The most successful political campaigns utilize Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking platforms. Once they start building a following, they continue to post updates through Election Day. If a campaign chooses to shut down or hibernate its account, a good idea to avoid a political error in 2021 is to follow up with a few posts informing viewers of the final status.
Avoiding Political Mistakes in Internet Marketing | Reach Voters
Anything a political figure outlines online (and offline, too) should pass a “journalist’s test.” This means that if a campaign feels uncomfortable with what they say or do appearing in a publication, they shouldn’t release this information publicly in any media.
This rule also applies to real life. Almost everyone carries a mobile device with them today. Any time a political figure is in public or private, they must act as though they are being recorded to avoid a “gotcha” moment.
Making one or two of these mistakes may be unavoidable in some capacity for many political campaigns. Even presidential candidates make their fair share of digital gaffes seemingly every year.
Nonetheless, avoiding political marketing mistakes is one step to managing a successful political campaign and not something you need to do alone. For more ideas and strategies for successful political marketing in 2021, our team from Reach Voters can help. Contact us today to learn more!
