Direct Mail: the key to developing a successful political marketing strategy
Including direct mail in a political campaign can be crucial and important to get the receivers to know about the candidate. A postcard can be great to introduce all the relevant information that helps them make a decision, in this case, vote.
The United States Postal Service created a guide to share effective direct mail political campaigns. This guide was made based on the 2021 Virginia Elections. According to that guide, the voters are more likely to prefer to receive Direct Mail in the previous and last month to elections.
Direct Mail has been considered the most credible source and highly persuasive form of political outreach. Let us face it. People are more likely to believe something they can feel and touch. Make sure all the mail you send has a call to action. In political mail, this has to be to vote for the candidate.
Mail has established trust in voters as stated by the USPS. 64% of receivers took action after reading the mail pieces. And 66-67% of voters found direct mail more transparent than other political advertising.
Incredibly direct mail generated more engagement in 2021 than in 2017. In 2021 75% of voters read the mail piece upon seeing it, in contrast with 67% in 2017. On the other hand, in 2021 55% of them looked at websites or sources mentioned in the mail piece, and 59% searched online to learn more about them.
Sending a physical piece of content can have more visibility than just an email. When mail arrives at a household, can spend many days laying down anywhere, like counters and kitchen tables. This way it is ready to be picked up by anyone and be read again.
80% of surveyed voters said direct mail increased awareness of which candidates were running. Also, 72% of them affirmed that direct mail reinforced information on television and online political ads, as USPS informed.
If you are looking to reach a younger audience, Direct Mail can be the perfect way to do it. Millennials have been shown to respond to postcards more than any other group. They are more likely to take the information and use it as a conversation starter and share that with friends and family. The USPS guide says 87% of younger voters agreed that direct mail is easy to understand. Including a QR code on your content to be scanned, can increase the interaction of Millennial voters. 25% of them visited a campaign website using a QR code.
This visibility outcome from Direct Mail, can be key to reaching the number of impressions your receivers need to recognize your brand. Your audience needs to see your image at least fourteen times.
According to the USPS guide, direct mail is a reliable source of information for voters. It was cataloged as the most factual (62%), most memorable (57%), most trustworthy(57%), and informative (52%). All of these data place Direct Mail as a helpful source of information for voters and also the most credible advertising channel.
It is also important to add personalization to the content you are sending to the receivers. As the USPS says, voters value customized, authentic engagement from campaigns. 90% of the surveyed voters value personalized messages in political campaigns.
Personalization is not just about adding a name to the content, it is to know their gender, age, race, and location. Targeting in the right way is very important to reach a positive outcome.
Mailfold is the perfect tool to take your political campaign to a next level. You can include personalization and get your receivers familiar with the content. Prospecting, to target the audience according to their demographic and location characteristics. And also, QR code tracking, to engage your voters on your campaign website.
Learn more on www.mailfold.com
