Promoting Your Election With a Comprehensive Timeline

When promoting voting events within your member organization, it’s important to be comprehensive with your approach. Utilize every form of communication you can in order to reach as many members as possible, and you will greatly increase awareness of the election.

Setting up a plan for promoting your election is a good start. Remember to start promoting the event early. In our sample promotion plan, we have messaging that starts 8 weeks before the election date. This ensures that your members are fully aware of the election by the time it rolls around.

Announcing the election dates, candidates, election vendor information and any changes to the election process keep your members and candidates in the loop and more likely to engage and vote. Be sure to keep your messaging coming out consistently all the way up to the election and you’ll be sure to see positive results.

Check out our sample timeline below:

Tips for Effective Election Promotion

Here are some tips to help with planning and promoting elections:

• Conduct community surveys. Get the pulse of your voting population through reliable and cost-effective surveys. Ask members about election-related concerns, like their preferred voting format. Will you hold in-person, online, or hybrid elections? Knowing what your voters prefer can help you provide options that encourage more people to participate in elections.
• Make your election accessible. If your organization has a large voting population or your members are based in different parts of the country, ensure your polling places are accessible to everyone. Consider online voting tools that make the process convenient without compromising security and data privacy.
• Create engaging content. Pique the interest of your voters by posting creative and engaging content across various social media channels to widen your reach. Tailor your messaging for different age groups and produce content relevant to their interests.
• Target different audiences. Maximize your social media engagement by targeting specific audiences on each platform. Facebook and LinkedIn, for example, can connect you to the older demographic. Meanwhile, TikTok may have a younger audience.
• Partner with a trusted vendor. If you don’t have the technology in place for your upcoming elections, start looking for an unbiased third-party service provider with proven experience. Survey & Ballot Systems (SBS) offers end-to-end election management solutions to help you reach your goals. 

Frequently Asked Questions

We’ve answered a few of the most common questions about election promotions.

What Are the Key Components of an Effective Promotion Plan?

An effective promotion plan for your organization’s elections will have these components:

• A clear objective
• A comprehensive timeline
• Clear, concise, and consistent messaging
• A multichannel approach
• Set guidelines for monitoring and evaluation

How Do I Engage Voters Before an Election?

Engaging voters before an election is crucial in increasing turnout. If you’re seeking to improve participation among your voting members, try these steps:

• Keep your voters informed. Give your voters vital information about the elections, such as dates, polling locations, and candidates. Do this repeatedly throughout the promotion period to remind your voters.
• Host events for candidates and voters. Organize social events for your voting members and candidates — or champions of causes on the ballot. Provide the candidates with an avenue to make themselves known to voters and your voters with the opportunity to ask questions and raise issues.
• Use social media strategically. Come up with a plan to create shareable content that resonates with your voters to keep them interested in the elections.

Explore Election Software Solutions From SBS

SBS is your trusted partner for turnkey election management solutions. Talk to our experts for recommendations on improving election participation.