How Do Political Parties Use their Political SMS Messages?

If a political campaign organizes well, they are already using Celcom Africa to help them send and manage proficient outbound, as well as inbound, political SMS messages. 

Celcom Africa’s texting web makes the most sense for political campaigns because it is a simple, out-of-the-box solution that is contract-free.

Since emails have about a 20% open rate and SMS messages have about a 90% open rate, winning campaigns are opting into Celcom bulk SMS. Campaigns that use SMS as a communication medium know that open rates are much higher.

Open rate is only one of the major reasons political campaigns use bulk SMS messaging.

10 Reasons Political SMS Messages are used during Campaigns.

There are several reasons that SMS messaging is a legitimate and effective avenue for political campaigners to get their text messages out. Here is a list of 10 reasons to use bulk SMS.

1. All Election-Related Reminders

Firstly, reminding people of not only the person to vote for but also the place and time to vote, as well as offering registration communication, is a practical way to inspire voters to do their civic responsibility. Reminders are used for timely purposes like events and meetings.

2. Reaching a Younger Demographic

Secondly, A New York Times article by one political operative, no one under the age of forty-five wants a phone call. Ever since peer-to-peer (P2P) texting became commonplace in the 2016 election, mobile has been a popular method for getting the word out.

At Celcom Africa, our customer support representatives will help walk you through all the best practices, set up custom set-up and training, and help you succeed. After all, when you succeed, we do too.

3. Political SMS messages for Fundraising Purposes

Text messaging can be used by political parties to petition and gather donations. Also, SMS can be used as part of a follow-up strategy for those who have chosen to contribute via another channel. Check out this example text for political candidates’ fundraising communication.

Instead of a simple “thank you,” consider using MMS messaging to say precisely what their donation contributed to, for instance:

[Insert the first name], your generous donation helped us raise enough that we could buy pizzas for these cold and tired canvassers who knock on doors for [insert candidate name] in [insert recipient’s neighborhood].

4. What is the open rate for Bulk SMS?

This is probably the most vital reason political campaigns use SMS messaging. For decades, campaigners contacted voters primarily by knocking on doors and by making phone calls.

That means for every hour of human labor; you are only connecting with 5–10 voters. That means it will take a lot of hours of labor to reach enough voters to swing an election. Phone calls are even worse.

Although you can contact more people per hour by calling them, they are less likely to be convinced, and the contact percentage can be as low as 2–3%.”

5. Notify Voters of Meetups and Events

The Internet is a cluttered place, and many people do not even notice requests for events. Facebook users can easily get mixed up between groups and pages and may not go the extra mile to check out a group’s event category on the page.

6. Fast Responses Rates!

Average response rate of the text is 45%. Being that time is of the essence on a political campaign, you need to get your message read, and often you need a response!

A good political field game listens to voters and collects information about who they are supporting and what issues they value. Celcom Africa allows political staff and volunteers to easily communicate with their base.

7. Cost-Effectiveness

Simply put, SMS messaging is a simple, inexpensive, and direct method of reaching a massive number of people with essential or urgent information.

8. Easy Follow-ups

People appreciate a direct acknowledgment of their actions, particularly if they’re doing gritty work like fund-raising, even if it’s as simple as thanking people for the $5, etc.

An example of an effective “thank you” message to this end could be:

(Name here) would like to extend a sincere “thank you” to all of their supporters and campaigners for the hard work they put forth this season. Even though we didn’t win this time, we’re still dedicated to helping (community) with (1,2, and 3).

9. Meaningful Slogans

Because of its succinct nature, SMS is the perfect way to direct meaningful campaign slogans to people on your lists. You may also choose to tactically incorporate mantras into engagement messages to help voters understand that you’re taking the slogan and its meaning seriously.

10. Registration Information

Lastly, SMS messaging is an excellent method of sharing voting information, including registration information, with voters on your list. People appreciate a simple reminder and link for such things since sometimes instructions on voting materials sent in the mail or even online can be a little bit unclear.

How to Write a Compelling Political Campaign SMS Message

Those in charge of writing for a given campaign should have a grasp on the overall campaign message they are trying to convey to volunteers, donors, and voters.

Developing concise, engaging, and value-based messages posses a challenge sometimes. The simple part is typing that message into Celcom Africa and efficiently getting that message out to your audience. Be sure to keep an eye on our SMS segment calculator.

Example Texts for Political Candidates – Issue Topics

Healthcare: Campaign promises

Security: Financial, crime, etc.

Morality: Comment on current or past leaders.

Education: A brief point about specific improvement.  

Jobs: How they look now and how they will look in the future. 

Campaign Events and Rallies Events and reminders.

· Election Day, GOTV, and voter reminders.

Lastly, Persuasive writing taps into people’s emotions and pain points and then offers a solution. By acknowledging a topic that speaks close to the heart, rather than just saying “vote for this person,” you have a better chance of piquing their curiosity and encouraging them to follow the next steps without sounding pushy. 

Political Candidates – Campaign Call to Actions Example texts

Event Reminders

Fundraising Event Reminders

Any and Every Event Reminder!

Donation Requests

Contribution Thank You notes

Volunteer Thank You notes

Voter Registration Information

Important Voter Deadlines

Polling Place Information

Driving People to The Polls Logistics/address.

Texts Example for Political Candidates

1. “Uhuru, Text “2020Win” to 123456 to opt into our volunteer alerts. Texting in will also enter you to win a chance to have dinner with the candidate.”

2. “Dear Sarah, Thanks for coming to my event yesterday and donating $10.00. I have your email address sarah@example.com and I will follow up soon. Reply Win2018 to stay informed of campaign events via SMS.”

3. “Jacob, your polling place is 1234 Example Lane, Example, CA and it closes in 1 hour. Did you get a chance to stop by and vote? Can we offer you a ride? 

4. “Dear Jonathan, Thanks for opting into my healthcare alerts. Please know that I voted no on SB 2018 because I feel that this is best for people like you. Don’t hesitate to reply here via SMS or call the office if you would like to share your thoughts with me. I want to hear from you. Text STOP to end. “

5.    “[Insert Name], your generous donation helped us raise enough that we can take our campaign to [insert region].  

6. “Today, I told [insert political party] leaders that we need to stand strong on the healthcare legislation. Text YES if you agree and NO if you disagree. “