Is it time for campaigns to spend more money on digital advertising?
There are dozens of municipal elections taking place in Florida over the next two months, but all eyes will soon turn to the 2024 presidential election.
Florida will be a focal point in the race for the White House, especially as rumors swirl about the possibility of Gov. Ron DeSantis, fresh off a double-digit re-election win in 2022, weighing up getting into what could be a crowded Republican primary.
And so, as another major election cycle readies to kick off, campaigns will soon plan advertising spending budgets — and many are even spending now through other means, like political committees.
The traditional route of broadcast TV will likely be at the top of most budget line items. It's still king. But, should campaigns start to allocate more money to the streaming/digital platforms, like YouTube, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Google, Facebook and maybe Twitter?
Here are a few things tallyED recommends campaigns keep in mind when putting together digital advertising budgets:
— Paid media budget allocations should reflect voters' media consumption habits. Certain demographics are reached easier through certain mediums. Many voters age 65 and younger have cut the cord on traditional TV, so campaigns will likely need to think digital to reach them.
— Persuasion vs. mobilization. If your advertising list is to voters who are very likely to turn out in an election (3/4 voters and 4/4 voters — we explain what that scoring means in a blog post here), then your messaging might be more focused on why they should vote for your campaign. If your audience is to voters who are less likely to turn out to the polls, then the messaging and creatives should be more focused on Get Out The Vote efforts.
— Track, optimize and report. Once you begin your digital ads, don't just leave them until the budget is spent. Make sure you're fine-tuning as they go to get more distance out of the dollars being spent.
If you're a candidate or campaign (or considering a run for elected office!) and looking for other ways to speak to your voters in the digital space, check out the tools we have available NOW on tallyED — with more coming soon.