Politicians are turning to Texting to Reach Voters

October 14, 2010 by Jessica Zorawski

President Obama himself started a movement in 2008 when he announced his Vice President pick over a mass text message, and this trend is steadily gaining popularity among political candidates running for election this fall.

Former CEO of Hewlitt Packard and California Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina, as well as former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who’s also California’s Republican nominee for governor, are just a couple of many politicians that have realized the power of holding their voters’ cell phone numbers and who are creating text message marketing campaigns to reach those voters.

“We’re definitely embarking on new technology,” said Marson Harrison, a spokesman for Carly Fiorina’s campaign, to Fox News. “Many campaigns haven’t been brave enough and bold enough to step into this realm. We’re very comfortable, had excellent results and again we’ve made thousands of calls through this technology.”

It’s not just candidates with a corporate background. Robin Carnahan, the Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate, and Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, are also embracing the tool which is 100 percent permission based. This means that voters decide whether they will join and stay on a particular politician’s database. Managing that database of numbers is a great method for obtaining a better estimate of the amount of support a politician has, not to mention the best way to communicate any sort of message to voters.

How are these politicians getting people to join their lists? Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold advertised his campaign at a Milwaukee Brewers game and asked the audience to decide which meaty mascot (bratwurst, Polish sausage, Italian, hot dog or chorizo) would win a mascot race. Meg Whitman set up a trivia game with the reward of a free hat. This is pure marketing at its best, done via a technological medium that can reach almost every American voter.

Ninety-five percent of text messages are read. Sending a text reminder might just be the most effective way to ensure that voters get to the polling booths on voting day.

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Tags: ninety-five percent, Obama, politicians, text message marketing

Posted in: Educational, Info