In 2016, the United States will again elect a president. Even though the election is more than year away, candidates already are starting to campaign. The problem with recent elections has been that voters are apathetic about the election, the campaigns and the actual voting. If you're running for office, how can you generate more interest in presidential campaigns.
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Find out what voters want. Too often candidates think they know what concerns voters and build platforms relating to those issues. However, what they find is they missed the mark. During this early stage, you can go to the voters and find out what they want a candidate to address. You can talk with them, educate them about the process, and listen to their opinions. For example, a town where the factory closed might be concerned about jobs going overseas or wages being lowered, but an affluent neighborhood isn't going to care about jobs going overseas. How do you rectify this dichotomy? You find the piece of the jobs issue that appeals to both groups.
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Show that you know voters are intelligent. Politicians never realize that people have their own thoughts and opinions are different topics. They assume voters are stupid and will accept anything that they say. Many voters know that presidents can't eliminate taxes or would want to eliminate taxes. Promising something the voters know that candidates can't deliver just turns off the voters completely. This is also true about the economy. Talk about the issues that presidents do control and can fix.
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Reach out in many different ways. Today, we have voters who lived during the 1940s through the turn of the century. That is quite a mix of voters. You have to be able to talk to them the way they will listen. Older folks continue to read newspapers or watch CNN while Millenials want the information through their phone. As a savvy candidate, you have to be available through all media. Have a debate on television but also have a one-to-one chat through a mobile device. You have to have everything in between these two groups too.
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Make it fun. A main complaint of voters is that the election stuff is boring. We are a world where the gaming industry is taking off, where you can wear technology, where you can use a phone for pictures or entertainment, and where you can do work at the park or beach. Paying attention to politicians is low on most people's priority list. If you want voters to notice, you have to find a way to entertain them. I hate to say it but Donald Trump is filling airwaves and the Internet because people think what he says is funny and a great distraction from the problems of the world. He is getting noticed. He might not like what people think of him, but he is getting attention.
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Social media are helpful. Candidates who don't use social media don't get elected. A new study of how the campaigns are using digital tools to talk directly with voters found that President Obama posted nearly four times as much content through social media channels as Mitt Romney. He was active on nearly twice as many platforms. He also managed to get more people to share the content. Those who only use social media also don't get elected. As stated previously, you have to continue using the old methods too.
If you want voters to pay attention to the election, follow these tips for great success.
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