Politics can be a tricky topic of conversation these days.
But, Subtext helps make it easy to engage your subscribers around political issues and election information.
We’ll help you inspire and invigorate your audience around elections, campaigns, and debates, as opposed to feeling generally confused and overwhelmed. Whether the channel is local or national, you’ll be able to target your audience with need-to-know info and help them feel more empowered when they head into the polls.
Here are a few best practices to keep in mind for launch. 📥
⏱️ Frequency: BE CONSISTENT.
Subscribers stick around when you continue the dialogue. Just like a good social strategy, channels who are successful on Subtext maintain a consistent and regular schedule.
- 3-5 texts a week is a sweet spot, with more for exciting news or important updates to share.
- Weekday texts typically see higher engagement than weekends with best times to text usually landing around noon (12pm-3pm EST).
💡Content Ideas: Take some minute to think through your launch timeline and see what possible ways you can provide value to your audience.
- Share links to registration guidelines and deadlines
- Share polling information/site links
- Share breaking news updates
- Provide timing reminders for debates
- Provide live coverage for debates
- Host a Q&A after debates and before important election dates
✔️ Subscriber Acquisition: There are tons of ways to promote your channel and get your subscribers signed up!
Here are the basics to start:
- Text to sign-up: Many campaigns drop their phone number on social media for subscribers to text to sign-up for the channel. Subscribers can text anything into your marketing number to start the sign-up process OR we can even set up a dedicated keyword to make the process automatic.
- Sign-up URL: Every channel has their own landing page where subscribers can complete the sign-up process. We recommend linking these on your social bios and even dropping in posts as well. You can find this link under the “Campaign” tab of your dashboard.
- Embed Code: These codes live directly on your website, allowing subscribers who already visit to sign-up directly on your page. The codes can also be found under the “Campaign” tab of your dashboard.
- SMS links: SMS links can be included in your social bios and posts! When tapped from a mobile device, SMS links will open the subscriber’s primary messaging app, with the number of the channel pre-loaded. All the subscriber needs to do is hit ‘send’ to begin the sign-up process and VOILA. Let us know if you’d like one created for you!
- QR Codes: Scannable QR codes that work just like our SMS links, opening the subscriber’s primary messaging app, with the number of the channel pre-loaded. These codes can be used for external promotions and marketing for seamless and quick sign-ups.
- Call to sign-up: Our newest sign-up feature! If your channel has a voice component, we now have the ability to send a text to every subscriber that calls in to your marketing number. This text is completely customizable and will include sign-up instructions for the channel to continue subscriber engagement. Huge conversion rates!
Inspiration Time ✨
Take a look at some of the following examples for inspiration 👀
USA Today's Short List Case Study
Promotional Examples
The Washington Post: Text with Tumulty
USA Today: Your Vote
Want to see more?
Check out our election case study for some more great examples of election coverage!