March 1, 2016 Posted by Pocketstop in Text Message Marketing - M360, Pockestop News Social Share
Today is Super Tuesday! Here in Texas, it’s Election Day for the presidential primary. What an interesting race it has been so far. Don’t worry, we’re not here to talk politics but technology, of course. Today, I want to talk about one of our favorite subjects—text messaging—and how it is being used by candidates as a communication channel.
This isn’t the first time that presidential candidates are using text messaging as a way to connect with voters, but texting has grown so much since the last election cycle, it’s worth discussing. In the past, texting may have been seen as a little too personal but has evolved as “attitudes towards text messages have shifted1.” Texting is now a primary means of communication for many.
This New York Times article talks about why text messaging has become a political messenger—among many other things. From the article, “what gives texting its political power is its ability to cut through a lot of other advertising noise: targeted posts on Facebook and Twitter, web video commercials, and the pitter-patter of emails pleading for campaign contributions.” Texting is, by definition, short, sweet and to the point and disseminates nearly guaranteed to be read information. Text messaging is successful in the political arena for many of the same reasons it’s successful in other avenues.
Text messaging is easy to implement and measure. It is relatively simple to grow a database of mobile numbers quickly, especially with the amount of television advertising and appearances political candidates have access to. The ROI potential of text messaging is very high and the effectiveness in readership is nearly unmatched. Text messaging offers a “push” approach to keeping voters informed and feels like a very personal message—something that can be hard to out on the campaign trail.
On average, a person checks their Smartphone about 150 times each day—even more for the younger generation. It’s a smart move for political candidates to leverage this statistics by using text messaging and gives them the opportunity to reach younger voters, many of whom can’t remember a time before computers and Smartphones.
Candidates on both sides of the aisle have enlisted text messaging to help promote their campaign. Democrat candidates, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, are using text messaging to reach voters and well as republican candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump who are texting their supporters reminders of campaign events, when and where to vote and how to make a donation and even how to ask a question.
Pocketstop’s text messaging solutions are capable of supporting a large, political campaign as well as a local retailer looking to generate more in-store traffic. The beauty of text messaging is its ability to scale easily and effectively and can meet the needs of a variety of clients. So, whether you’re looking to run for office or promote and upcoming sale, give us a call today to get set up with a text messaging solution that’s right for you. Please visit www.pocketstop.com to live chat with us today or give us a call at 877-240-2444.
1 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/us/politics/presidential-campaigns-see-texting-as-a-clear-path-to-voters.html?_r=0
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