Political Fundraising in the Digital Space: How and Why
We live in the Information Age. Like it or not, computers, digital software, and information technology are directly tied to the functioning of our present-day society.
With so much information racing around the globe faster than humans can process, we must adapt. Adaptation is especially critical in the political world, where voters make snap decisions and public sentiment can turn on a dime.
In this blog post, we explain why digital strategy in political fundraising is important and some key strategies to optimize your digital strategy for fundraising across social media and email.
Why is it important to incorporate digital strategy into political fundraising?
It’s no secret the key to political fundraising is “dialing for dollars.” But in a world that lives and dies by our phones and continues to increase the number of “computer jobs”, ignoring digital strategy is akin to ignoring a gold mine.
Here are three reasons to include digital strategy in your fundraising efforts:
1. Receive better engagement. People hold their phones in their hands all day, but rarely answer calls. Instead, they are scrolling through social media for hours and catching up on emails. Reach people where they’re at — that makes it easier to convince people to give you a chance.
2. Loop in your existing donors. Seemingly personalized emails and curated social content are a great way to give your donors a low-effort way to continue interacting with you and seeing what your campaign or organization is up to. Keeping old donors supportive is easier than finding new donors.
3. Gain new audiences. Social media algorithms can be a blessing and a curse. The good part is, you always have a chance at your content being shown to new people who might be interested in what you’re saying. With social media, it’s a lot easier to amplify your message to hundreds or thousands of people compared to analog methods.
What are some examples and resources for digital fundraising in politics?
There are three major channels for political digital fundraising: social media, email, and texting. Below are strategies on how to optimize each one, and further resources to build your digital strategy.
Social Media
Personalize your content for the platform. If you post a text essay on TikTok or a travel vlog on LinkedIn, it won’t perform well. Each social media channel has its own language, and even if you’re reusing content across platforms, slight tweaks can help your content perform exponentially. Learn more about optimizing your content for Instagram and LinkedIn.
Remember accessibility. Using contrasting colors, providing relevant translations, or captioning your videos are just a few ways that you can ensure your content is available to everyone. Free online accessibility checkers can scan files and webpages for you to make it super easy. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it also ensures that people who need the information can access it.
Understand your audience. Like personalizing content to a platform, social media has different niches across the internet. Be familiar with the niche you’re targeting, from the memes to the tone to the taboo topics.
If you want to know more about social media best practices in politics, read this blog post!
Build out your list. Email programs can be extremely effective, but not if no one is subscribed to you. If your program is relatively new (or if it’s a good time in the political cycle), focus on growing your subscriber list to grow your emails’ impact.
Send the right kind of email. No one wants to receive email promotions constantly. Mix up the types of emails that you send in order to keep people engaged and subscribed to your email.
Plan your content calendar ahead. With the exception of rapid response, you should know what you’re posting far ahead of time. Making a clear content calendar at least a month in advance will save you stress and help you map out your large-scale strategy.
If you want to know more about email best practices in politics, read this blog post!
Texting
Use it legally. Before trying political texting, make sure you know the regulations. At least Google political texting regulations in your state in the current year to make sure you’re not breaking any laws.
Keep it short. Don’t send an essay. Not only is there a character limit, but people aren’t going to read much more than a sentence before moving on. Aim for 3 sentences at a maximum.
Don’t ask for too much. During election season, I’m sure you’ve gotten plenty of texts all about how your $5 could be the difference between a bright future and an apocalyptic America. Instead, focus on simple calls to action, like asking if people have voted yet during GOTV season.
Political digital fundraising is a crucial way to keep the money flowing through the year and keep your supporters invested in your mission.
Want to level up your digital strategy? Schedule a FREE 15-minute personalized strategy session to discuss your campaign or organization today!