10 Common Political Messaging Mistakes & How to Fix Them

In our line of work here at The Campaign Workshop, there are a lot of common mistakes we see in political messaging. Getting political messaging right is more art than science. You need to take a lot of things into account, including timing, authenticity, emotion, contrast, your call to action, and more. Learn the common mistakes folks make in their political messaging and how to prevent them. 

10 Common Political Messaging Mistakes and How to Fix Them

1. Too wonky: As people who are passionate about politics, we tend to think everyone understands the vast array of jargon we use—but they don’t. Often, folks will make excuses to keep wonky jargon in—think twice before you do that. Use wonky terms sparingly, if at all.
2. Not authentic: Is the message really you? More often than we would like, we see a robotic approach to messaging that removes personality and authenticity. Before you deliver, ask whether your message is reflective of what your campaign, candidacy, or organization is about. Voters can spot inauthenticity fast.
3. Disconnected: Your message must connect to your audience. If you ignore that connection, your campaign or organization will reap the consequences. You cannot be all things to all people. Make sure you test your message with your audience before broadcasting it in a more widespread way, and if they have criticisms or aren’t resonating the way you’d like, change it accordingly.   
4. Ignoring the visual: You can have a great message, but if the visuals don’t match and enhance it, you will not communicate what you want to, in the way that you want to. When you are still in the planning stages of messaging, make sure you and your team have a discussion of intended visuals and keep them in mind at all times.  
5. Not picking the most important issues: Your message may be authentic to you, but if you are not talking about the things voters care about, you will likely lose. Listen to voters and constantly test your message in multiple ways. Research to see what people in your region or district are talking about.
6. Emotionless: Taking the emotion out of your message is a problem we see frequently, often going hand-in-hand with being too wonky or inauthentic. When testing your message, make sure you listen to the words they use to describe what you are saying. Are they saying it seems like you care? Are they saying you are clinical? These terms are often key indicators of how much emotion your message carries for folks.
7. Lacks clarity: We talk about the 7 cs often when it comes to messaging, and clarity is a key one. If you must include everything in your message, your message will not be clear. Compare your message with your opponents for clarity and go back to the drawing board if it doesn't pass muster.
8. No empathy: Empathy is important in politics. Folks want to know you feel their pain, and if you don’t, they are likely to reject you as a candidate who does not connect with them. Ask how empathy is included in your message—is it built-in or just an add-on?
9. Inconsistent: Your message needs to be consistent, and you should not change it on a whim. Get buy-in from everyone working on your campaign or in your organization on what the message is, so that they are consistent not only with themselves but with each other.
10. Wrong audience targeting: Over- and under-targeting your message is a problem in modern politics. It is easy to do and hard to notice until it is too late. Micro-targeting is a buzzword, but many folks miss the mark on how to actually accomplish it. Reaching fewer voters and connecting with smaller audiences may give you some efficiency and cost savings, but it will likely hurt your chances of winning. Over-targeting talking to a general election audience in a primary can also be a big problem. Either way, if different voters vote in your election and your targeting does not connect to them, you are missing the mark. If you are having trouble determining who you should be targeting, talk to experts within your campaign or reach out to us here at The Campaign Workshop!

Bonus political messaging mistakes

11. No call to action (CTA): When a message does not tell the audience what to do, it falls flat. Good messages are a rallying cry to your audience and communicate the next steps to your audience. Include a clear CTA in your message and, similar to visuals, don’t leave CTAs out of the message discussion.
12. Ill-timed: The timing of the message is almost as important as the message itself. Using the right message at the wrong time can show itself in many ways—too late, and your message may already be owned by your opponent; too early, and your message may not be relevant. Make timing part of your strategy and build out a content and messaging calendar that’s shared with your whole team.
13. No contrast: Politics is a competitive sport, and making a contrast between you and your opponent’s messages matters. Don’t fall into the trap of defining a message as just negative campaigning. Make sure you have a clear contrast built into your message. 

Thanks for taking on the common mistakes we see in political messaging. Getting political messaging right is not easy and takes time, planning, and good execution.