(eM+C)—The political campaign season is in full swing and this year we’ll see politicians make ample use of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and display and text ads to drum up support. Unlike traditional mass media vehicles, communicating key issues to a diverse constituent base requires more customization than ever before. With the proliferation of consumer data and data management platforms, there are plenty of tools to help advertisers customize ads just like political campaigns do.
Here are three things you can do to effectively connect to your audience just like politicians do with their campaigns:
1. Strive for 360-degree immersion. With so many gadgets vying for the average American’s attention, it’s no small feat to gain the right awareness. To ensure your message doesn’t get lost in the shuffle, use multichannel audience targeting to communicate the same message on multiple platforms. Data-driven advertising allows you to consistently reach your audience regardless of channel, giving you a greater chance of being remembered when it matters.
Look for companies that directly manage display, email, direct mail and social media platforms. Doing so will help you define your target audience, enabling you to rest assured knowing that the same customized message will be delivered across all channels reliably.
2. Find your right person. Many political advertisers have a list of key segments they’d like to reach. Reputable data providers can help you connect with the right segments in an unidentified manner using targeted digital messaging. For example, political campaigns can show environmentally-friendly display ads to a subset list while showing a social security-themed message to another subset from their voter database. This allows the campaign to customize its messaging to the varied interests of its constituent base. The same ideas can be applied in targeting your key audience.
3. Get granular. Campaigners always know which types of voters are engaged and passionate about their cause. They connect with the most influential voters based on their political affiliation and interests. To do this with your audience, analyze data management platforms that have a reputable history of gathering first-party data. Political campaigners need to seamlessly combine their analytical know-how in creating sophisticated segments in a privacy-compliant manner. We call this data-driven political advertising.
Nadya Kohl is vice president of advertiser services at Experian Marketing Services.
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