Voter Demographics – Reaching the Unreachable College Voter

Today’s Red Alert podcast is an interview with Mark Hoger, a conservative 20 year old who attends Iowa State University.  We spent a few moments talking about what it takes to engage the 18-25 year old crowd.  I know most politicians simply write this group off as Democrats lost to the liberal education system.  But tell me that even one vote doesn’t matter today and I’ll show you a candidate who lost.  Take a listen as Mark and I chat about what it means to be a conservative college student and how politicians should engage the under 35 crowd.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:07 — 22.1MB)

Des Moines Register Gets to Know Doug and Operation Red State

Thanks to Renda Lutz for asking me to share what we do here at Operation Red State with the Des Moines Register’s audience.  The picture shows off the home studio pretty nicely too.  The green screen is to the right there but you get the idea.

Here’s a sample from the piece:

Why did you create OperationRedState.com: The digital divide between conservatives and the opposition was palpable in 2008. This gap was boldly accentuated by President Obama’s hyper-strategic use of technology to develop “micro-constituencies” online. I wanted to passionately target a niche market with our membership web site platform and it hit me, “Why not deliver the same web strategy and new media execution we deliver to businesses…to conservative political candidates?”

The membership site allows us to create compelling content once and serve clients affordably throughout the nation. We actively provide web-execution services to campaigns as well.

Iowa Caucus Recap – Technology Dilemma

I attended the Iowa Caucus yesterday and learned quite a bit about the process. See an off year caucus is designed to elect leadership and fill county volunteer positions on committees, to elect delegates, etc. I am now a delegate for my precinct and feel that much more connected to our great process. But here’s something I ran up against in my precinct huddle.

The group was vigorously discussing how we need to get sons and daughters engaged. We have so many voting age college students/high school seniors that are seemingly ignored by most candidates/officials. Ask Chris Hagenow how important even 80 little votes can be to winning a seat? What if those 80…or 200 or 1000 were between 18-24? There were great ideas but it wasn’t until the very end where someone mentioned “That twitter that all the young people are on”.  I don’t expect Citizen USA to know demographic data on these tools…but she was headed in the right direction.

I sat back trying to assess where this group was regarding technology and I chimed in, “Does anyone here NOT have email and is anyone unwilling to provide it as a method of organization?” (silence).  So we had our 100% possible compliance technology.  So I raced home, built a WordPress site, set up an email list on Aweber’s email marketing platform and bought an easy to remember URL.  After all that, I had a moment of reflection, dropped what I was doing…and created a Facebook Group. The thought was “Keep it simple stupid”.

I’m sure we’ll end up doing what campaigns and candidates should do..and that’s to be where people ARE and communicate in the ways THEY want.  Is that more work? YES.  Does it require more infrastructure? YES.  But can one tie them all together to provide a “web” or network of information that “disperses to all of the content outposts” for a campaign automatically? You bet.

We’ll see how this plays out and I will report on a regular basis….but now that I’m in the trenches of my actual neighborhood, I’m going to learn a lot more about what works, what doesn’t, and what we can pass onto other precincts.

More to come.

Matt Schultz for Secretary of State Joins Operation Red State

Today Matt Schultz, candidate for Iowa Secretary of State,  joined Operation Red State to supercharge his online campaign.

When running a campaign online there are strategies and tools that go unused by most candidates for public office.  The ORS membership site gives a candidate and the campaign team “full access” to a suite of multimedia courses to hyper -accelerate campaign execution.

“When you make a run for office your thoughts should immediately turn to web marketing.  I know that’s counter-intuitive for most.  But Matt is in the demographic that is typically much more comfortable ‘out of the digital gate’.  He immediately brought some video and a WordPress site to the table. He’s also engaging and active on Twitter.  The ORS subscription will round out his online strategy and give him affordable guidance that will take his online campaign to the next level.” – Doug Mitchell, Founder ORS

We welcome Matt and can’t wait to see him redefine how to run for public office.

The Political Campaign Website Graphic Design Dilemma

You’ve decided you’re running for local office.  I’m certain that one of the first thoughts on your mind is to get a website up and running.  Congratulations are in order.  That’s a great idea.  But HERE is where most fresh new candidates for public office take a turn down heartache highway.  Here are some smarter next steps in the process of creating a campaign website without blowing your budget on the lipstick.

When most non-technical non-geeky folks like you and me think “website” the first thing that comes to mind is “How will it look?”

It’s very easy to “make a website” today for most of you running for mayor, school board, or city council.  Making that same site look good is an entirely different animal.  “But I want my picture in the top banner.”  “How can I put a family photo album in the sidebar?” Once you figure out you cannot do this on your own, you’ll find a friend, relative, or “young person” to build you a nice looking “online you”.  Perhaps you’ve given a nascent “web designer” their first big break int the political world?  Or maybe it’s your daughter’s chance to shine.   A month or two later (hopefully) you have a decent looking online brochure.  Congratulations!

You’ve committed your first big mistake as a candidate and you just left the gate!

As a candidate for public office you must change your thinking.  Here are the ways of the force in political websites:

• Brochures do 3 things very well…they get old, they get dusty, and they scream out “change me” from the moment they’re printed.  Your website will be no different.  Don’t create an online brochure no matter how nice it looks.  It will get stale rapidly and constituents demand more.
• Looks are about 10% of the equation.  People will get enough of your smiling face.  Information, communication, engagement, and relevance is what voters are after (especially Gen X and younger). Sites with a good flow of information and value are given bonus points that can make up for looks.  (Remember personality and what’s on the inside matters more than the outside)
• Build your site on the hosted WordPress platform (that’s WordPress.org) if you’re going to do the site or have someone close to you do it.  Use the Thesis Theme by DIY Themes.  It’s as easy as it gets for semi and non-technical people inside the beautiful world of WordPress.  We’ll be developing a full course for our members soon on this whole process so hang tight.
• Graphically speaking…invest in only a banner and background. For $300 or less you can get a nice banner and background done by great graphic designers.  If you don’t know someone locally, then look online or ask ORS for a referral.  If the graphic designer doesn’t know how to work within WordPress or tries to convince you to go elsewhere…well…go elsewhere.
• Let go of what you believe looks good at least just a bit. MOST candidates follow a similar formula:  colors of the flag, a nice picture, and definitely a YouTube video of you sitting by the fire with the dog and bible.  My point is that good graphic designers may have some ideas that take you outside of the campaign box yet still serve those thematic elements you desire.

First, please understand that there is quite a bit more to pulling this version 1.0 of your site off and getting it live.  You MUST work with someone who knows WordPress.  WordPress allows for exceptionally rapid execution, powerful search engine optimization, and ease of update right out of the box.

The Nitty Gritty Truth-O-Meter

The point of this dissertation is to make you aware of the graphic design trap.  I’ve heard of people spending $3k on nice looking brochures.  Heck corporate America spends $60k-$100k on these all the time.  Don’t get caught up in looks.  Focus on what matters and that’s content.  If you are hearing this for the first time, please continue trolling our blog for more.  Or sign up for our newsletter, video tips, and upcoming webisode series, “The Good, The Bad, and Ugly of Campaign Tech”

If you really want an easy solution that will calm the inevitably pulsing vein in your left temple right now…then you can turn over the entire project to one of the excellent firms providing more “website in a box” services like Red State New Media.  They’re robust platform allows you to think less and keep your waders in the garage in exchange for an upfront and/or monthly investment.  There’s NOTHING bad about working with firms like these unless you really want to have the flexibility and power to do some pretty amazing things (there’s is an almost direct inverse relationship between POWER/CUSTOMIZATION and EASE OF USE/END USER MANIPULATION.   Accept that and you’re well on your way to success.

There are about 100 more things you need to consider in your campaign technology mix (web strategy, content generation, social media, video, audio, etc.) and we write about those often and provide our subscription service as an affordable educational tool to accelerate your winning online campaign strategy.  If you’re running for State House or U.S. Congress you may want to give us a call and see how powerful your campaign can really be.

Running for Local Office? Make a Campaign Sign

Duh!  I know that’s what you’re all thinking.  But quite frankly there are a significant number of people out there that are interested in running and have never ventured into politics.  As a matter of fact, a lot of times, it’s kind of easy to spot them because their signs are, well, interesting.  In all candor, it’s really just about basic marketing principles applied both online and IRL (in real life).

Well, for those of you that are looking to run this 2010, probably a local office, check out these tips from iSnare.com.

1. Colors Matter: Just like you wouldn’t wear certain colors in parts of LA, colors represent something.  The symbolize political parties, ideology and much more.  I’ll often see green colored signs for local offices that are running in rural areas with lots of farmland.
2. Oh I look Great: Would you buy a product without at the very least seeing it in a picture?  Of course not.  You must have a face with your brand.  If your message doesn’t have a face to fall back on you won’t pull in votes.
3. Everyone Knows The Name: What do people see when they look on the ballot?  Names and sometime parties.  Give them a name.  Honestly, if you can hammer your name in the head of every person in your area you will win.  Especially in local races or the “unknown” races that people don’t pay too much attention to.  Your Name could win it for you.
4. Political Party Affiliations: Affiliations do matter, but unlike the advice of the article, it’s not always smart to declare your affiliations.  In many local races you need to consider your self a “Bostonian” before you consider yourself a certain ideology.  “Bostonian” of course meaning whatever city you hail from.  Sometimes party affiliation will help and sometimes it can hurt.  Just remember, when they see your Conservative you may gain the right vote but you’ve possibly lost the left.  That’s quite presumptuous but for simplicity’s sake, let’s leave it at that.
5. Slogan: A slogan is and isn’t necessary.  If you have a good slogan it works.  But remember your signs are only so big so keep it short and simple.  Obama ran on Hope and Change.  And while Hope is gone and the Change has been terrible, it was catchy.  Be original but don’t be stupid.
6. You Constituency: If there is one thing I abhor in this world it’s a political sign where I can’t tell what they are running for.  Especially on local races.  Often you can’t tell what district they’re running for, is it school board or city council, etc.  Tell everyone what you are running for.
7. Use Icons: Icons can work but again, be careful.  Icons can become confusing.  If you use icons keep it simple.  Here in Iowa my brother has used the State of Iowa as an icon and it works.  Don’t have something ambiguous or that just doesn’t make sense.

Anyways, these are their tips (somewhat) on making signs.  Yes, I know, this is a technology blog, but let’s be honest, if you aren’t following these principles in the design of your website and bumper/banner ads than you’re messing up.  Like I said these tips apply online and IRL.  So if you’re running for public office, especially for the first time, you have a new, fresh brand to create.  Follow these tips and make the most of your image and good luck in running you political campaign.

Vote People Not Parties

Iowa provides very fertile political soil.  During my 33 years in California, I never experienced such a closeness to the people, political process, the politicians, and the parties.  I’ve met Senator Chuck Grassley enough (at technology events no less) that he remembers me now.  This closeness and awareness to the political process means that it’s a bit easier to take a quick political pulse.

Overwhelmingly, I get the message that people are going to start voting for people…not parties.

There are many in the Republican Party (National/State) that are amazing conservative leaders so don’t mistake the People’s feelings as all-inclusive indictment.  However, I do see that even R’s viewed as conservative have problems (as they should) because they too are guilty of aggregious acts of political debauchery including voting for various Bush items that were far from conservative, pork project awards, etc.  Few current R’s are immune to their histories.

Representatives like Kent Sorenson (R-IA District 74) are asked quite often by citizens, “Why are you a member of the Republican Party when you’re clearly an Independent?” Please contact Kent for his answer as my summary won’t do justice.  I hear this over and over again throughout the state.  “I vote for people not parties” is the rally cry of a huge percentage of voters on both sides of the isle now.  This is the way it should be right?  However this doesn’t sit well with the Republican party for obvious reasons (donations, influence, power of majority, etc.)

A third party (or 4th or 5th) has not really been an option for sometime now…but as our citizenry increasingly votes for people not parties, I do believe the landscape is about change…for the better.

Red Alert Podcast Now Available in iTunes

Either click or type in http://operationredstate.com/itunes into your browser and you’ll be ready to rock.  The first episode is our great interview with local City Council candidate Wade Steenhoek who make a huge splash in his home town using the principles taught inside the ORS Subscription.  Take a listen and please subscribe in iTunes.

Political Paradigm Transformation

I was reading an article today, yes, from the Huffington Post, by Jose Antonio Vargas, where he discusses the the technological transformation we experience during Obama v. McCain Presidential election. We’ve discussed this time and time again but now that we’re “one year later” we should take a look back at what really did happen.

I think it was my very first blog post on ORS, Purchasing Power of Social Media, where I discussed the impact the Internet had on fund raising.  Donations of $200 or LESS, were 45% of the $744.9 million raised.  6.5 million donations were made online.  Obama’s email list was 13 million addresses.  Obama also overwhelmingly won the sub-30 age group.

Your constituency chooses to be communicated to in different ways.  Some like TV, others like Facebook, some are into Twitter, and some still like yard signs.  Either way, you need to be able to communicate in whichever way THEY prefer.  It’s not a choice, it’s a necessity.

Many candidates assume the Internet is just how they communicate with their constituents.  No.  Did you miss the fact that Obama had 6.5 million online donations?  They averaged $80 and many donated multiple times.  Your job during your candidacy is to raise money!  You need money!  No money means you lose!  Use the Internet to raise money.

One year later, many of his following feels alienated.  They feel like they have been forgotten.  Climate change, immigration, and other issues have fallen by the wayside.  They tweet about it.  They talk about it on Facebook or even My.BarackObama.com.  We cannot over-emphasize that the Internet is not just a tool to get elected.  This is why ORS is, more or less, political career management.  We help you get elected AND represent your constituency.

Technology won’t stop changing which is why this paradigm shift isn’t likely to stop any time soon.  Even since Obama was elected things have changed even more.  Facebook numbers have increased, Twitter demographics have changed, everything keeps on moving and fortunately, if you use it right, it’s moving to your advantage.

It really does come down to this.  Obama almost did it right.  Communicate.  Raise Money.  Manage Your Constituents.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Text Messaging Booms: 80% More Messages Sent In Just 12 Months; 132.5 Billion Texts Sent (huffingtonpost.com)

How to Win A City Council Campaign

Wade Steenhoek knew early on his campaign that he needed to leverage technology but he didn’t know how to do it.  Everyone kept telling him “Get on Twitter and Facebook” and he knew he had to.  But what to do with them?  Wade connected with Operation Red State EARLY in his campaign and it paid BIG dividends.  Listen to Wade tell the story in his own words and thanks for watching, listening, and learning with ORS.

Next Page »

• 

• Social Media

  

• Categories

  • Campaign Technology
  • Classes
  • local politics
  • News
  • Online Fund Raising
  • Podcast
  • Red Alert Dossier
  • Red Alert Hour Webcast
  • Red Alert Video Tips
  • Social Media
  • Social Networking Demographics
  • twitter
• Technorati Profile
• NetworkedBlogs

  Blog:

  Operation Red State

  Topics:

  politics, Republican, technology

  Follow my blog

• Welcome to Operation Red State
• 

Copyright © 2008-2009 Operation Red State · Terms & Conditions · Privacy Policy