Digital Campaign Toolkit Training Video:
Registering and posting a video on Youtube
“Grassroots appeal starts with easy communication and voter accessibility.”
There is little doubt that the Internet has changed American politics forever. The instant and cheap communication channel provided by the Internet has leveled the playing field and changed the way Americans interact with their government. It is truly revolutionary and pervasive.
Consider these statistics that were gathered by the Pew Center’s Internet & American Life Project:
74% of American men, and 74% of American women are online
76% of White, Non-Hispanic, 70% of Blacks, and 64% of Hispanics are online
93% of America’s 18-29 year-olds, 81% of 30-49 year-olds, 70% of 50-64 year-olds, and 38% of people 65 and older are online today
94% of people who earn more than $75,000 per year are online; 60% of those earning less than $30,000 per year are as well
55% of Americans say that they have accessed the Internet by wireless devices
Surprisingly, the percentage of Internet users in urban areas is roughly equivalent to those in rural areas, 74% to 70% respectively
So, as these numbers show, more people are online than those who cast votes during the last presidential election. That’s great, but what are they doing?
89% are sending email
72% are getting news
62% are watching videos
60% are online looking for news and information about politics
47% are using online social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube
If you want to reach voters and affect the public debate, you MUST have an online presence. But it can’t be piecemeal or haphazard. According to Tim Knox, a small business and corporate communications expert at Entrepreneur.com:
“If you have a business [or political campaign], you should have a website. Period. No question. Without a doubt. What’s more, it's not enough that you just have a website. You must have a professional-looking site if you want to be taken seriously. Since many consumers now search for information online prior to making a purchase at a brick-and-mortar store, your site may be the first chance you have at making a good impression on a potential buyer [or voter]. If your site looks like it was designed by a barrel of colorblind monkeys, your chance at making a good first impression will be lost.”
Okay, so you have to have a website. The problem is that many political candidates for state and local office are overwhelmed by the thought of building and maintaining a professional looking site. What’s more, most don’t have the time to learn how to use all of the different software tools needed to build an effective presence online. That’s where our Digital Campaign Toolkit course can help. In less than a day, we can teach you how to use online resources, most of which are free, to build an effective website, start communicating with constituents using social networking tools, and even raise campaign donations online. With an exclusive printed handbook, and detailed online training videos, we’ll give you the tools you need to leverage the Internet in the same way that candidates for national office have for the last several election cycles. Specifically, the Digital Campaign Toolkit will show you how to use the following sites to launch and maintain your digital campaign:
Network Solutions - To research a domain name (i.e. www.yourname.com)
IXWebhosting - To host your site
Wordpress - To build an effective website
YouTube - To distribute campaign videos
Facebook - To connect with voters
Twitter - To establish your own, one-person press office
PayPal - To collect online campaign donations
Google Analytics - To gauge your online campaign’s effectiveness
With these eight sites, you will establish an effective online presence, connect with constituents and traditional media reporters, collect campaign donations, and measure the overall effectiveness of your effort in exacting detail.
Finally, once your initial site is setup, we’ll even show you how you can manage your entire campaign from a mobile device like an iPhone. That’s right, if you spend one day going through the Digital Campaign Toolkit training, you can manage your entire campaign from anywhere, as long as you have a wireless phone connection.
Three years ago, this was impossible. Now, you can teach yourself how to do it in less than four hours. It’s that simple.
Cost
Full access to the Digital Campaign Toolkit costs $850. This subscription includes:
Full access to the eight online training videos where we show you, step-by-step how to build your website and register to use the eight websites and services
A printed handbook that provides the same instructions covered in the video, with detailed photos of each step.
Discounts on additional services and training that can take your digital campaigns to the next level.
Additional Services
In essence, the Digital Campaign Toolkit course will help you develop the same modern marketing and communications skills found in most high-end public relations agencies. All for less than what most people spend on beer and pizza during a single year. You see, in the Internet Age, you need not act like a large, wasteful national political campaign. By itself, the Digital Campaign Toolkit will give you everything you need to develop your own in-house capabilities through a high-quality online training experience. If, however, you want to take your campaign even further we offer additional training and one-on-one consultive sessions that will give you the knowledge to dominate the information landscape. These are just a few of the classes:
Twitter monitoring service
Introduction to the tools of web design
Using Photoshop to design online ads?
Finding cheap ways to produce campaign merchandise
Direct Mail vs. Email
Google AdWords and online advertisements
Producing videos and podcasts on the cheap
Using your website for voter focus groups
Choosing the right media for websites
Effective opposition research, issue control, and crisis communications
If you are running for office, you must develop an online strategy. If you don’t, you will cede the most powerful form of communication available to your competition and allow them to control the debate. So it really comes down to one question: Do you want to control your public image or do you want to give that power to your opponent? It’s that simple.
At the very least, the Digital Campaign Toolkit can level the playing field. Ideally, it will give you information dominance you need to win an easy victory.
To learn more, contact us at zac@znorthup.com, or via phone at 304-550-1070.
Products and Workshops
TRAINING: National Guard Marketing Workshop - If you and your management are new to the National Guard market, or if you are looking to expand your existing efforts, this one day session will provide a clear picture and understanding of the opportunities available in the Guard market. Contact us to order.
COMING SOON: Online Refresher Training – With the purchase of our Guard 101 Workshop, we will provide quarterly refresher courses online in high definition video where new employees can get up to speed quickly without having to schedule another in-person workshop. This capability should be up and running by June 2009. Contact us to order.
