Audience First

So now you have a message. You have your base, and you know what you stand for. So what's next?

Now, put that message to the side, and let's focus on the audience.

Your audience, voters and constitutes are the most important thing in your entire campaign, and during your term. Everything you do should be for the people who put you in office. They vote you in, and they can certainly vote you out. 

As we carefully craft our message, and our campaign remember to put your audience first. We talked about how a campaign message is a conversation, and how inclusivity is key... your conversation is focused on your audience. 

Choose something that resonates with your audience, and invite them into the conversation. Don't ever talk at, speak with. Don't alienate people, and don't speak down to people. When we invite individuals in, they are equal. Politicians are not above the rest of the world. They are not untouchable, and they are meant to serve the people. 

Go to what is important to people. Learn their values, what they find a key issue, and connect with them on that level. Your message is crafted to them, now is the time when you use that message to build trust, establish relationships and lead them along on your journey. 

As politicians, the goal is to better the lives of the people who voted for you. They trust you with their lives. 

(Photo credit to MarketKeep)

Making the Message

Now that you've decided to campaign, you need to choose a message.

First, let's look at the differences between a slogan and a campaign message. The most significant difference is the depth of the message. A slogan is quick, catchy phrase, but a campaign message appeals to a more complex story of what you believe.

Slogan: "a short and striking or memorable phrase used in advertising. (a motto associated with a political party or movement or other group)" 

Short and Sweet. "Putting People First"- Bill Clinton 1992

A message is the core of your campaign, and according to Wellstone, should feel like a conversation with your voting base.

Your message should effectively tie up your views, explain your platform and give voters a base idea of who you are and what you stand for. 

Your message needs to do a couple of things, and get a couple of key points across: 

1- Credibility: your message needs to promote your believability, and the trustworthiness of your campaign. Promote yourself as a credible person who is both relatable, and factually correct. Trust is a very important part of a voters decision, and your message needs to project trust and promote credibility. 

2- Clear: make sure that your message is free from jargon, and confusing language. Buzzwords are important, but too many buzzwords make a message fake, and jumbled. Slogans are quick and to the point, and messages must also make an understandable point. If your message is not clear, then you leave yourself up to misinterpretation which is always dangerous when you are running for politics. 

3- Contrasting: you need to be unique, and set yourself apart from the other candidates, both your party and the other. You need to present ideas that are different, your own and distance yourself from past candidates. Always allow your own personality to be the central part of your message and allow voters to see you as a relatable individual. 

Once you develop your message, share it everywhere. Send out campaign promotion mail, post daily on social media, hang posters and yard signs, give speeches and host rallies, use the Internet, tv, radio and newspapers to promote your message. This conversation needs to be spread, focus on your voting base, then branch out. Your voters need to be invited to this conversation. 

You've planned your message. Now introduce it to your voters. 

Image credits to:  (openbooksopenhearts) and (Catalyst Market Austin)

Intro to Campaigning

It's been awhile, but I needed some time to jumpstart my brain, and get some ideas. 

In this post, we will focus on running for office based on Camp Wellstone, and equality through campaigning. 

Campaigning: "work in an organized and active way toward a particular goal, typically a political or social one." (Webster's Dictionary) 

Every politician begins their career through campaigning. In the democracy we live in, campaigning is a necessary part of politics and provides benefits for both the general population as well as the candidates. 

Candidates are able to: 

• Meet the people, both in their current area and larger
• Learn what issues the people feel strongly about, oftentimes different then their own 
• Become more well known and drum up support 
• Understand what they are a part of 

The Public is able it: 

• Meet the potential next President, Mayor, Governor, etc... 
• Have a voice in the choosing of candidates
• Share their beliefs and ideas with the government 
• Support the candidates they believe in 

Without campaigning, the disconnect between politicians and the general population would be staggering, and we would miss a lot of the positive interactions between the two. 

The first step of campaigning effectively is developing and then communicating a campaign message, a type of platform that you become known for. This is different than a mere slogan. Slogans are short, and catchy phrases that stick with individuals. Some of the most well known campaign slogans are:

• Donald Trump: "Make America Great Again" 
• Barack Obama (2008): "Change We Can Believe In." 
• Abraham Lincoln: "Honest Ole Abe" 

A campaign message is the backbone of what you believe in. You campaign will ride on what your message is early on, choose something that is effective, memorable and resonates with a wide variety of people. 

Don't shut people out through your campaign message. Inclusivity is key, and no exceptions should be made. This means promoting a message of equality, and inclusive justice, never alienating your voters, no matter what their demographic could be. 

Stay tuned... next post we will look at the tools in crafting a campaign message.