6 Ways Political Texts Can Inspire Your Next SMS Campaign

#1

Remember Compliance is Key

If there’s one thing you take away from the political marketing texts you receive, it should be that compliance matters. In fact, it’s legally required. Before sending a single SMS text, understand the rules and regulations governing SMS marketing.

Understanding Marketing Laws

So, what are the political SMS compliance regulations? The political SMS compliance regulations are the same for SMS marketing in that the text must follow TCPA and CAN-SPAM guidelines. For instance, these marketing laws require SMS senders to obtain written consent before sending texts, provide opt-out options at all times, and follow privacy laws.

Obtain Permission

Those sending political SMS texts can’t add contacts to their subscriber lists without receiving their permission—and neither can you. Just because someone provided you with their contact information doesn’t permit you to send them SMS marketing texts.

Similarly, senders of both political and marketing texts must receive written consent before sending their contacts a message. To comply with this regulation, it’s best to provide an opt-in option, where the recipient can agree to receive political or marketing SMS messages.

Provide Opt-Out Option

When you receive a political SMS message, you should notice that the text includes a way to opt out of the text communication. For example, it might say, “Reply STOP to opt-out.” Providing this opt-out option isn’t just a political SMS compliance regulation but a regulation that pertains to all marketing SMS texts.

Follow Privacy Laws

When people share their number, they share their trust with you. Political campaigns have received flack for how data may be used. For example, recently, the mayor of New Orleans created a “text me” initiative where she shared a number with constituents. But political science experts are raising eyebrows about the information the mayor asked of constituents, including name, age, and gender identity, suggesting that the initiative muddled government function from campaigning.

With that in mind, it’s important to clarify to your recipients how their info will be used, and don’t betray the trust they give you in sharing their data. Partnering with a marketing platform that prioritizes data security and user privacy is crucial. 

#2

Turn Texts into Actions

Perhaps one of the first things you’ll notice when you receive a political SMS marketing text is that it’s requesting you to take action. Maybe it wants you to register to vote, provide your polling location, or pledge your vote. Therefore, the text might ask you to click on a link, reply with an answer, or RSVP to an event.

These call-to-actions give your SMS messages purpose. Every SMS message you send should provide your recipients with some direction, whether they should take advantage of your sale, use a promo code, confirm an appointment, or check out your new product. This can help increase your engagement rates as your recipients interact with your business.

#3

Master Microtargeting Tactics

Political marketing excels at microtargeting tactics. But what is political microtargeting with SMS exactly? Political microtargeting with SMS involves leveraging voter data (age, location, interests) to personalize SMS content so that the message resonates with its recipients.

For example, a political group may have a list of subscribers who recently signed a climate petition. Therefore, when it comes to political microtargeting with SMS, they might segment that audience and send a special political SMS message inviting them to join a climate rally this weekend.

Using this as inspiration, you can create your own microtargeted SMS campaigns that appeal to targeted members of your audience. For instance, you might send curated texts to those who have bought certain products from your business or customize messages to those with specific product preferences.

#4

Craft Compelling Messages

What makes a compelling political text message? A compelling political text message is clear and concise. The most effective ones are short and sweet so the reader can quickly consume the message and understand its purpose. And the purpose is essential. You should know exactly what the point of the message is, whether they want you to respond to a poll or read more about a candidate. Some examples of purposeful political texts include GOTV reminders to infrequent voters, issue-specific updates to passionate supporters, and thank-you texts to recent donors.

Your marketing messages should most definitely take a page from this political marketing playbook. Avoid writing lengthy, confusing, and convoluted messages and instead focus on brevity. Also, only send out marketing texts when you have a clear purpose, like sharing an announcement or encouraging your customers to take action—don’t just send a text for the sake of sending a text.

Personalize Your Messages

Have you ever noticed that most political SMS marketing texts you receive include your name? Seeing your name helps pique your interest and make the text seem personalized, as if it were sent specifically for you. However, political messages can be personalized in other ways, too, like by including information about a rally that’s taking place in your community or mentioning important voting issues that you’ve shown interest in before. These personalized elements can help increase engagement and make you more likely to interact with the message.

Of course, you can emulate this tactic and personalize your own marketing messages for your audience, too. Include their names in the message, and then think about other ways to customize it. For instance, you might reference a past purchase they made with your company or recommend a new product based on their purchasing history, which can help capture their attention.

#5

Encourage Engagement

By now, you should understand the most effective political SMS marketing messages have a purpose and include calls to action. Why is that? So that these messages encourage engagement. After all, those behind these political messages want voters to spend time reading, clicking, and sharing their messages to help spread the word about their candidate and campaign.

There are countless ways to encourage engagement, but some common tactics include incorporating chatbots and sending polls.

Incorporate Chatbots

Many political SMS campaigns incorporate AI and chatbots to interact with voters. These chatbots can answer questions regarding locations, provide details about voter registration, and more. And the beauty of these chatbots is that they don't require a human to oversee every single text communication with voters.

So, how can you use chatbots to benefit your own marketing campaigns? You can deploy chatbots to oversee your customer service experience, programming them to answer frequently asked questions, provide delivery updates, and send appointment reminders—all via text. This fosters an engaging and interactive environment, helping to enhance your audience’s experience with your brand.

Use Polls

Not only will you find that political SMS marketing texts encourage you to go to the polls, but they may also encourage you to take polls. These digital polls can help them receive feedback and insight from their voters, particularly when it comes to gathering information about how they plan to vote in an upcoming election.

Similarly, you can send out your own polls via text messages to elicit feedback from your audience. You might inquire about their recent interaction with your customer service department or ask them to review their recent purchase. When you receive information from your audience, you can use it to enhance and better your business.

Include Interactive Elements

The most effective political SMS marketing texts don’t just stick with text—they include interactive elements like photos, video clips, links, and even emojis. Let’s say you’ve received a political text from a candidate with a photo of themselves. This helps you connect with that candidate, making you more likely to remember them when it’s time to cast your vote.

Your marketing efforts should do the same. After all, you want your audience to remember their interactions with your brand. Use the interactive elements in political SMS marketing ads to inspire your own text messages. Can you include a photo of your latest product line? An emoji that celebrates your latest sale? Or a link to your latest blog? All of these elements can help increase engagement and improve brand awareness.

#6

Measure and Track Your Campaign

Finally, the last tip you should take from political SMS marketing involves tracking and monitoring your text campaign metrics.

So, how do they measure the success of political SMS campaigns? They use analytics to measure the success of political SMS campaigns, as they analyze their open, click-through, and engagement rates while monitoring other aspects like donation conversions and volunteer sign-ups. This data helps determine if their SMS campaigns are moving in the right direction.

What can you learn from those measuring the success of political SMS campaigns? Well, it’s certainly a reminder to look at your analytics dashboard to assess your campaign’s performance. Are your recipients opening and interacting with your messages? And how do these numbers compare to your previous campaign? When you familiarize yourself with the data, you’ll have an easier time experimenting with your marketing strategy to achieve the desired results.