The Campaign Workshop Blog

Sometimes jargon prevents us from learning about useful tools. Recently I had a conversation with a client who asked me what is an API?  An API, or application program interface, is a portal to allow connection between databases, apps, or programs.

As political consultants, it's no secret that here at The Campaign Workshop we love words. We thrive on combining short, powerful phrases with impactful images to make eye-catching online ads. We dig into topics like GOTV, advocacy, and storytelling in our ebooks and guest blog posts. And in our office, we happen to have a tiny library (OK, so it’s really just a shelf in our conference room) where the staff can turn for inspiration, history or other political or consulting books once the crush of the presidential election is over.

By the end of the year folks will be going to conferences again.  Conference ROI is important to understand whether or not certain conferences are worth the investment and time. Every year my employees and I go many conferences Virtual and some day in person for both learning and marketing. I believe every conference  - I learn something. Prior to focusing on return on investment (ROI), we never a had a formal process for retaining knowledge from a conference. So a few months ago we implemented a simple plan to document conference ROI.

YouTube is the core platform for many folks when it comes to nonprofit video content. There is a whole culture around YouTube, and many folks just assume that it is the only platform to use to host your videos.

Since Facebook video launched on newsfeeds, it’s become one of the largest video platforms in the world. Due to the natural social pressure of the environment, it’s also a great place to run ads to promote your branding, persuade voters, and gain support for your advocacy or political campaign. Make sure you’re getting the most out of Facebook video for advocacy and politics with my three can’t-miss tips.

Originally from West Palm Beach, Florida, Donna Victoria holds an undergraduate and master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Florida. She serves on the Board of Advisors for UF’s graduate degree program in Political Campaigning and Lectures on Political Polling and Survey Research to a variety of audiences.

Put Campaign Strategy First. Lessons from a Political Strategy Firm.

As a campaign strategy firm that specializes in political and advocacy advertising, it is a consistent challenge to keep strategy as a primary consideration in a campaign. A variety of political concerns, such as creative and budget, can distract and even overshadow the pursuit of long-term and short-term strategic goals. Campaign tactics should complement good strategy not impede it. Having clearly defined goals can make a big difference.

After disappointing outcomes on Election Day for Democrats across the country, plenty of folks are wondering how we move forward and run better campaigns in the future. Dave Fleischer, the Project Director at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Leadership LAB, has big ideas on how campaigns can improve their deep canvassing efforts.

In our last blog post, Digital Advocacy: Advertising Campaign Goal Setting Part I,  we talked about how to develop digital advocacy strategy, cost per acquisition (CPA) campaigns, email programs and the best ways to utilize ad testing. In today's post, we take a closer look at using tactics like paid digital advertising, social media and analytics for digital advocacy. You can also read more about this in our latest ebook, Guide to Digital Advocacy.

Kevin Simowitz is the National Field Director at Caring Across Generations and an expert on advocacy storytelling. He has worked on political and grassroots organizing campaign across the country. Kevin was nice enough to answer six question about advocacy storytelling. Here are his thoughts on using advocacy to get your story out.

Name recognition or Name ID, is usually judged by political polling to determine how many people know Candidate A vs. Candidate B. We start with a simple question that asks whether people have heard of either candidate. Then we compare the candidate’s name ID.

Content marketing for non-profits is similar to marketing a for-profit company. The goal is to leverage the expertise inherent within your team to help market your organization. And one very common method of sharing this expertise is through blogging. The more people who view your blog posts online and the more keywords you use in those posts, the higher your non-profit will rank in Google searches.

You have created your social media strategy, developed content around your campaign’s message, and you are ready to unleash all your hard work onto social media. Creating content is only half the battle; organizing and scheduling your content is another and imperative ball game.

Walk cards are an important element to any field campaign. They give your canvassers something tangible to discuss at the doors and are a great way to introduce your candidate to voters. Unfortunately, a lot of campaigns create walkcards the wrong way.