Many lessons can be learned from the 2012 presidential campaign, one of the most contentious in recent history. While the ’08 presidential election proved the power of social media on a grand scale, ’12 was more about messaging and strategy — specifically, about getting those elements right. The Obama camp obviously hit the ball out of the park, while the Romney team seemed to have more misses, more errors and fewer hits.
Here are five election takeaways that small business owners can heed when marketing to their clients and prospective clients.
- Build a quality database of clients and prospects. It will take more time to build a quality list, but your marketing ROI will be much better for it. Once you have a quality segmented database, don’t market to your entire database with one message. Create more personalized content that will appeal to each of your audience segments. For example, send people who bought sweatshirts from your company an update on the latest sweatshirt designs, not about summer dresses. Sending targeted content to specific audiences is the best way to get good results.
- Advertising to your fans’ friends is a great way to use the Facebook Advertising platform. Spend your dollars on sponsored stories to target your fans and their friends rather than waste it on people who don’t know your company or brand. This is especially relevant for small businesses on a budget.
- Craft ads that appeal to your ideal customer base. Create messages that drive your point home and don’t beat around the bush. Don’t insult the intelligence of your target audience. Most importantly, focus on why it is important that they work with you and how you can help them.
- Don’t just dump a bunch of time and money into all social media or PPC platforms. Instead, invest on researching where your ideal customer is and spend your time and money in that space. You may just find that an uncommon channel is the right fit for you.
- Know your audience. Don’t stick your head in the sand about who you should be targeting. Do your research and make sure you are going after the right folks.
While most company owners don’t compare their businesses to political campaigns, there are similarities. After all, staying in business ultimately comes down to who accumulates the most customers who show their support by voting with their dollars. Do your homework to make sure your campaign is a winner. Use the modern marketing tools available to everyone, like the Obama campaign did, and you’re likely to sail to victory all season long.
