Digital Campaign Strategy

In a time of a 24-hour news cycle and deep mistrust in government, breaking through the noise to reach targeted communities, including voters, requires more than just a well-funded paid media program. For issue-based organizations and progressive campaigns, earned media, “free” coverage in news outlets, remains a necessary tool for building credibility, shaping narratives, and communicating with key audiences. Unlike paid media, which can be dismissed as biased messaging, a third-party endorsement from a reputable journalist validates your message and delivers it to audiences who are increasingly tuning out traditional advertising. But navigating the modern media landscape can feel very overwhelming. 

This blog will help demystify the process and offer a roadmap for campaigns or advocacy efforts of any size to harness the power of press coverage.

As we move into 2025, more people will be dedicating time and resources to creating digital political advertising plans. The Campaign Workshop has been actively involved in digital political ads for over a decade, and each year we have seen a growing emphasis on the importance and effectiveness of digital advertising within political campaigns. 
Why spend money on digital political advertising now?

When it comes to digital campaigns an organic approach is often overlooked. The first place most of us look to answer a question is online. But often digital advocacy campaigns and political campaigns forget about search especially organic search in their digital strategy.

Whether you’re running for your local school board or the U.S. Senate, social media will likely be a prong of your political digital campaign strategy. Strong digital campaigns meet people where they are online, and the numbers don’t lie—social media remains an omnipresent force in our world, with more than half of the global population projected to use social platforms by mid-2020.

In the last few weeks, a lot has changed in our world, and we’ve gotten numerous requests for more information about coronavirus digital trends and changes in media consumption in general. Never one to stand between people and what they want, I’ve pulled together a list of some of the things we’re seeing in our work, and from partners and clients.

Peter Greenberger is an experienced political consultant and media executive with a background working in government, on campaigns, and in digital media. Peter has served as Director of Congressional Correspondence in the White House during the Clinton Administration, the Global Director of News Partnerships at Twitter, and everything in between.

Dr. Alan Rosenblatt is an expert in social media strategy. He is the Director of Digital Research for Lake Research Partners, a Partner and Lead Digital & Social Media Strategist at turner4D, and a Principal at Unfiltered.Media with 30 years of experience in the digital politics industry.

When was the last time you saw something particularly eye-catching in a political campaign ad online? We spend so much of our time online these days – for work and for play – and digital ads are everywhere we look, so it’s easy for your political campaign’s creative to get lost in the shuffle.

Now more than ever, digital programs are integral parts of almost any political campaign and learning how to read a digital report is crucial. Understanding digital reports not only allows you to understand how your digital campaign is performing, but also allows you to make optimizations to ensure that you are making as large of an impact as possible.