At American Veterans Honor Fund, one of our primary focuses is to help Veterans prepare to campaign for and win elected seats at the state and local levels. We focus on proven grassroots, on the ground strategies to help Veteran candidates effectively campaign and get the attention of local voters.

In the last year, American Veterans Honor Fund has run two successful Get Out the Vote campaigns in two different states which highlight the impact our organization can create on the ground, and how Veterans running for office can benefit from the insights we’ve gathered in the process.

At the home stretch of the 2020 campaign, we rallied votes in North Carolina, a key state in the election. In the process we were able to trace back upwards of 30,000 votes linked to our efforts.

Most recently, we carried out an effective Get Out the Vote campaign for local elections in Plano, Texas. There, we were able to rally even more people and we estimate we made contact with around 50,000 potential voters. Just over 34,000 ended up voting in that election.

In both campaigns, we were able to effectively utilize multi-platform outreach, including text, email marketing, cold calling, and Facebook ad campaigns. The use of multi-platform contacting allows for a high-volume, cost-effective solution.

Using Facebook Ads to Get Out the Vote (GOTV)

How much time and money would it take to knock on 50,000 doors? A long time and more than a few volunteers. Reaching those same potential voters can be much easier online. Plus, you can reach those voters multiple times using the same or different ads and messaging to gain their trust and support (and hopefully their vote). 

When using Facebook Ads for a get out the vote campaign, we’ve found that it is most effective to use certain types of ads and marketing for different objectives. 

Looking for high volume contact? Use reach ads. 

Looking for more targeted outreach? Use engagement ads to reach those deemed most likely to engage with your ads and generate comments, likes, and shares.

Lead Generation or Conversion advertisements are great to gain insight into how voters feel on a certain topic using issue-focused polls, or even to gather potential campaign volunteers.

Again, the greatest advantage for a Veteran running for office using our model is the cost effectiveness. Maximum outreach for a small amount of campaign resources.

In our Plano, Texas campaign, we were able to reach 50,000 potential voters and create over 80,000 online impressions in our ad campaigns. Our best ads generated thousands of impressions at only $9 cost per thousand (CPM) impressions. And we only spent $975 for the entire campaign!

PRO TIP: Don’t Wait to the Last Minute with Facebook Ads to Get Out the Vote

Finally, it is important for any Veteran running for local, state, or even federal office to have a gameplan early, especially if utilizing social media during your campaign. Facebook, for instance, makes candidates jump through some hoops, including requiring them to be verified before using their platform for advertising. In 2020, they even forbid any new advertisements from being submitted in the final week leading up to the election in November.

Ultimately, running for office is a complex, time consuming, and resource intensive process which can be a challenge for even the most seasoned of politicians. We believe our success is a great model for our nation’s Veterans to create effective and inexpensive outreach programs which can be a great base to cultivate supporters and votes.

We look forward to future elections and hope to see many more of our nation’s Veterans find success on the campaign trail!

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Image Credit: Photo by Joshua Woroniecki on Unsplash