"Political robocalls are a two edged sword -- they can be the most effective and least expensive way to get a candidate's message to the voters, and yet, if used improperly, they can cost a candidate an election," says Laurie Patterson, director of political robo calls for Monarch Broadcast.
Here are the Top 5 Mistakes that occur when candidates and campaigns utilize political robocalls:
Mistake #1: Not planning ahead. "Without question, the worst mistake a candidate and campaign can make is making robocall decisions the day before the election. Believe it or not, there are candidates who do exactly that and have no idea what they want to say, or who they want to send a message to. Moreover, their phone lists are not prepared. This lack of preparation can be easily overcome by doing the proper planning, not days ahead, but weeks ahead. Prepare you phone lists in advance. Yes, there are always surprises on the campaign trail, but a good organization can anticipate its communication needs and help itself stay on message," says Patterson.
Mistake #2: Interrupting voters during dinner time. "The object is to send your messages during the day to leave as many on voicemail or answering machines as possible. That way, voters can listen to the messages at their convenience,"
Mistake #3: Not waiting a second or two before saying your name, and not repeating your name at the end. “When someone picks up the phone, the first second of the message can be confusing because they don’t know if they are talking to a live person or a recording. It’s best to say, “I’m glad I was able to reach you. This is Eric Smith, your candidate for Congress...”
Mistake #4: Making your message too long. “Political robocalls don’t need to drone on and on. Make your point, thank voters for their support and end with an upbeat and positive sentence,” Patterson said. “Attention span is short, so keep your message to about 30 seconds in length.”
Mistake #5: Not having a Caller ID number. “Having a proper Caller ID is the law. Not only is it the law, but it’s a good practice as well to avoid having your call look mysterious or shady,” says Patterson.
Millions of political robocalls will be placed this year for the upcoming elections and those political calls can either bolster a campaign, or help destroy a candidacy. “That’
Monarch Broadcast Messaging also offers online phone dialing services for those campaigns which are held in states that require a live campaign worker to introduce and receive the consent of the voter before playing a recording (California being one.) The company also provides town hall teleconferencing services that enables a candidate to call large volumes of voters to participate in a town hall phone conference, simultaneously engaging thousands of voters without having the candidate’s message filtered by the media. The candidate can obtain valuable feedback from voters during live Q&A sessions, along with the live polling feature.
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Monarch Broadcast Messaging provides phone broadcasting services, town hall teleconferencing, text blast, robocall, automated polling, and phone blast voicemail to businesses and non-profits looking to outsource and manage their messaging projects online.
