e-GOTV. Is it Real? Digital Strategies for e-Political Campaigning

Is e-GOTV a reality? What politicians, municipalities, or government agencies are doing it best?

Last year, Ingrid Koehler wrote about Paden Noble’s work for Newark, New Jersey Central Ward Councilman, Darrin Sharif, in her piece “Social beats cash: a local campaign case study”. We appreciate that she credits us with the first use of Foursquare, a geo-tagging application that integrates with Twitter and Facebook easily, for political campaigns that she’s seen. She expressed to her readers that they “probably need to take it all with a teeny grain of salt” and there are questions she “would ask about ROI of certain tools.” Fair enough. Let’s begin to explore the topic.

I responded to her that:

I appreciate the recognition and welcome the opportunity to discuss the ROI of tools I used during the campaign. In traditional Get Out The Vote campaigns the team has formulas for determining a “committed voter.” They know how many touches are needed. I simply added a digital component to the “touch.” What’s better is that the effectiveness of digital is more accurately tracked than direct mail, television pieces, flyers, and handshakes (most people smile and nod at the candidate, not all voice true intentions).

Evangelists. An appropriate and aggressive social media strategy seeks to locate, nurture, and empower evangelists to act on the client’s behalf. Our digital media strategy is designed to do three things for our candidates. Keep the loyal voters. Grow the share of swing voters. Acquire new voters. Whether in Brick City, or on the Hill, it works.

What do you think ROI means for a political or government social media campaign?