When it comes to political campaigning, most candidates are constantly searching for new and effective ways to reach out to their target audience in a way that not only provides information, but encourages action. While the days of the televised debate and commercial advertisement are far from over, it's fair to suggest that online political advertising is definitely on the rise. A report published in 2015 by Borrell - a company responsible for tracking ad spending, found that the overall ad-spend for this year is predicted to be at around $11.4 billion - 20% higher than it was in 2012.
While the jump itself is impressive enough, what's truly telling is how that money is predicted to be spent. Around $1 billion of that amount should be invested entirely on digital media - an increase of almost 5000% compared to the online advertising efforts of 2008. According to the same study, by 2020, the presidential election cycle will be enough to raise online advertising expenditure to more than $3 billion.
Attracting An Audience
Whenever election time rolls around, the presidential race seems to be everywhere you look. This year, it's impossible to go far without hearing more about the latest Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump news, or how Bernie Sanders is ranking in the latest polls. Amidst the usual noise and news coverage, however, many people have begun to notice the prevalence of online ads used to promote candidates. Why? Because it's more essential than ever for political candidates to find the right advertising strategy, and align their efforts with proven audience targeting.
The noticeable increase in political online spending that has occurred this year comes as a result of general trends in the advertising industry, including the rise of mobile advertising, the crucial role of social media (Twitter and Facebook), and the ability to use retargeting to reach out to potential audiences.
The targeting aspect of marketing online might be the most important concept for political individuals at this time. Campaigners have begun to realize that advertising online not only gives them the opportunity to make themselves heard on a wider scale, but also that they can place their ads directly in front of the right demographic audiences. By collecting information online, presidential campaign companies can find out about the motivations that press people to vote in the first place, the matters that people care most about, and the way that voters are reacting to recent updates.
Political Advertising And Online Targeting
What better way to reach out to the modern voter, or maximize the exposure for a particular issue than to utilize the latest in online advertising capabilities. Retargeting and targeting means that political individuals can choose every aspect of their campaign, and tailor every effort to reach out to their voters in the most effective way possible. At the same time, with the right platforms, these campaigns can be easily adjusted and updated over time to match the changing concerns and opinions of voters.
What's more, with digital advertising campaigns, political candidates can personalize their messaging to match with their viewer's ideal persona. For example, Hillary Clinton's campaign might utilize images of middle-class parents or draw attention to young businesswomen. The possibilities are potentially endless. Through dynamic advertising, any political campaign can show off the most appealing aspects of their strategy to their audience in the best places, at the best times. In fact, political candidates can even improve their chances of converting lost visitors into voters with retargeting methods.
Online Political Advertising Is The Future
It shouldn't be any surprise that digital advertising spend for political campaigns will continue to rise in the coming years. Multi-device advertising gives individuals, campaign managers, and candidates the chance to reach out to people no matter how they're keeping up-to-date with the latest news. Whether it's spreading a campaign into social media with Twitter updates, or using search-retargeting to track down potential voters, the only unknown is how quickly this trend will continue to grow.
Savvy marketers will always take advantage of the latest and most effective techniques for capturing the attention of crucial audience members. For political industries, this means stepping away from traditional flyers and posters, and exploring the digital opportunities for drawing in valued voters.
