Door-to-Door Campaigning - Part 1 & 2

You'll excuse me if I repeat some of the opening in our last post.  I consider it to be so important that it bears repeating.  

"There will be two types of voters in the next election:
those who will be voting FOR Stephen Harper, and
those who will be voting AGAINST Stephen Harper.
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Our job is to find those who will be voting AGAINST Stephen Harper and get them to vote LIBERAL."
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Gerald Butts, LPC (O) Campaign College, Hamilton Ont, 29 November 2014
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Lotsa opportunity for door-knocking here, eh!?

To recap the rest of what Butts had to say, each riding had to:

• Raise $100,000
• Recruit AND train 500 volunteers
• Have conversations with 50,000 voters multiple times
• Identify those voters voting AGAINST Stephen Harper
• Get them to vote for Cathy Candidate on Election Day

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Identifying Liberal supporters and getting them out to vote becomes more and more important.  
It wins elections!!!!!

Your efforts in door-to-door campaigning can change a close race into a solid win!

The Door-to-Door Process
Going door-to-door in an election campaign can be broken down into 5 parts:

1. The Canvas Kit - Who are you going to contact?  What are you going to deliver?  Where are they located?  
2. The Non-Verbal Impact - In personal communications, 75% of our impact is non-verbal.  Only 25% is verbal.  We've already made an impact before we even speak!  How are we going to visually deliver the message so that it makes a lasting impression?  
3. Conversations Win Elections - What are we going to say?
4. The Follow-up - What kind of information are we going to take away from the conversation?  How are we going to record it?
5. Those Irritating Situations - Some tips and hints to help you along the way.  

Door-to-Door Campaigning - The Objectives
Door-to-door campaigning is a most important part of our election campaign.  Every door you knock on, every person you talk to:

• Builds name recognition for Cathy Candidate in a way that other forms of campaigning - literature drops, newspaper ads, television spots, etc - can't.  Your personal contact builds a connection between the voter and Cathy.  
• Identifies Liberal Supporters who will vote for Cathy.  Nearly two decades of studies show that door-to-door campaigning is more effective than any other method for encouraging people to support a candidate at the ballot box.  It can result in a 20% increase in turnout on election day.  Your efforts, combined with our GO-TV efforts on election day, will help us turn out large numbers of Liberal voters because of the personal connections that you've made.
• Plants credibility in the mind of the voter.  "The most trusted source of  information about products, services, and people (71%) is the opinion of families, friends, and consumers."  Your door-to-door efforts show that you have confidence in Cathy's capabilities and the values of the Liberal Party of Canada, that we have a large base of support for Cathy, that we are well-organized, and that we're making a strong effort to get Cathy Candidate elected.
• Increases support for our campaign by identifying people willing to put up lawn signs, getting them to volunteer throughout the rest of the campaign and, most importantly, getting out and voting for Cathy Candidate on election day.  

The Door-To-Door Canvas Kit consists of:

• Map of the Area you will be canvassing
• Walk List - a list of voters sorted by ADDRESS (** See Below)
• Campaign Material to be handed to each voter
• A cloth carry-bag to hold the Campaign Materials
• Sample Scripts - what to say when the door is answered
• Pens/ Pencils to make notes

The Follow-Up - Recording The Results of Our Conversations
In days gone by, a door-to-door canvass involved going from door-to-door, having a short conversation with the occupant, giving them a campaign brochure, moving on to the next house, and hoping that they would vote Liberal on Election Day.  With the advent of the iPhone, Smartphone, iPad, Tablet, personal computers and the Internet, that has all changed.  

Through the medium of databases and electronic files, we're able to keep track of Liberal supporters and use this information on Election Day to make sure they get out and vote for Cathy Candidate.  Remember, some of them are in that group of 39% who didn't vote in the last election.  

Through the use of iPhones, Smartphones, iPads, and Tablet loaded with an app called "mini-VAN", we're able to record the results of our conversations and identify who our supporters are. 

Your challenge is to identify those persons on your Walk List who are prepared to vote for Cathy Candidate on Election Day and to record that information on "miniVAN".  

"Hands Free" - Makes It Easier To Canvass
Would you believe that 75% of communications is non-verbal.  And that includes "speaking" with your hands.  If your hands are loaded with literature, you've just reduced your communications effectiveness.  

When knocking on doors, you'll be given a whole stack of literature.  With the exception of the literature you're going to give to the person at the door, it's best if your hands are free.  Keep that stack of literature in the cloth bag.  

Leave the bag on the doorstep so that your hands are free.  Or leave it at the end of the driveway as you walk up to the front door.  For multiple pieces of literature, separate them with pieces of cardboard. 

Part 2 - The Non-Verbal Impact

• Smile - they can see you.
• Connect - be a real person
• Engage - speak with confidence
• Listen - for their impressions

Non-Verbal Communications - The Power of Visual Messages
YOU are the most powerful message there is!  In personal communications, 75% of our impact is non-verbal.  25% is verbal.  We make an impact even before we speak!  How are we going to visually deliver the message so that it makes a lasting impression?

Our credibility depends on whether our verbal and non-verbal signals are in sync.  If they're not in sync, the voter will give greater importance to the visual signals.  The impact?  "Communications is NOT what I hear ........ It's what I see."

Our "body language" must be in sync with our "verbal message"!!

Impressions are created in the first 10 seconds.  Be prepared:  

• Be neatly dressed.
• Have your literature ready in one hand, front page and face up.  
• Think about your message - what are you going to say? 
• Before the door opens, step back.  
• Smile!

 All of this immediately translates into your facial features!

Throughout the conversation:

• Use open-handed gestures 
• (Closed fists communicate "threat")
• Lean forward a little
• Use lots of eye contact
• Nod your head in agreement
• Smile!!
• Deliver your script!
• Hand them the literature.
• Ask for their vote!  Smile!
• Thank you!

That's what creates credibility, memorability, and impressions.  

Up Next?
Door-to-Door Campaigning - Part 3 - The Conversation

Volunteer Engagement - A Strategy

"Anyone can walk up Parliament Hill all by themselves.  

If you want to climb Mount Everest, you need a team."
(With apologies to John C. Maxwell "17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork"
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"There will be two types of voters in the next election:

• those who will be voting FOR Stephen Harper, and
• those who will be voting AGAINST Stephen Harper.

Our job is to find those who will be voting AGAINST Stephen Harper and get them to vote LIBERAL.

In order to win this election, each riding has to:

• raise $100,000
• recruit AND train 500 volunteers
• have conversations with 50,000 voters multiple times"

Gerald Butts, LPC (O) Campaign College, Hamilton Ont, 29 November 2014

To recap:

• Raise $100,000
• Recruit AND train 500 volunteers
• Have conversations with 50,000 voters multiple times
• Identify those voters voting AGAINST Stephen Harper
• Get them to vote for our candidate on Election Day

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work - You Need Trained Volunteers
Studies over the last two decades have shown that it's conversations that win elections.  The most effective way to do this is the door-to-door canvass.  Combining it with technology like Liberalist and miniVAN can produce very dramatic results on election day.  

Given the size of a riding and the fact there are over 50,000 voters, it's next to impossible for the candidate to do it all alone.  It requires a team of trained volunteers who know how to canvass and carry on those one-on-one conversations.

The Challenge - Growing The Team - Recruit AND Train Volunteers
Having won the nomination for the riding, you probably have a core of 15-20 committed volunteers from your nomination campaign - people who are self-starters, who show initiative, who know how to get the job done, and who will deliver when given the assignment.  Add another 25 or so from the other candidates' teams and you might make it up to 50-60 volunteers at this early stage of the game.  We now have to ramp that up to 500 TRAINED volunteers.  

Times Have Changed
While some volunteers may have done canvassing in previous elections, today's campaign environment has changed.  Goals and objectives are different.  Technology has become the game changer.  New volunteers will definitely need to be organized and trained.  Many in the core group will need refresher training.   

Phone-banking by volunteers in today's Internet-connected world is new.  Who'd 'a thunk you'd be doing "virtual" phone-banking on your SmartPhone with your tablet or iPad at hand while sitting in Tim Horton's!!  Whaaaattt!!??  You mean we don't go knocking on every door in the neighbourhood trying to convince everyone to vote our way!!??  Liberalist and mobile apps like mini-VAN have changed door-to-door canvassing to say nothing about how they've changed GO-TV action on election day!  Even the acronym "GO-TV" is relatively new.  The old-timers still call it "scrutineering", even though it bears no resemblance to sitting at the desk all day in the polling station.  And we haven't even touched on phone banking, data entry, planting signs, and the myriad of tasks and assignments that make up a successful election campaign.

"Training" Is Not Training - It's An Opportunity For Social Engagement
Next to "Politics In The Pub", training is one of the best ways to keep volunteers engaged, motivated, and interested in the campaign.  The social aspect of this type of event is unlimited.  The possibilities for a training curriculum are endless.  

Training becomes the first step in getting volunteers engaged in the campaign.  It's the start of making those important connections.  A progression of training courses can build relationships and identify those volunteers capable of taking on increased responsibility.  

As a minimum, training should include: 

• An Information Session to start the engagement process ("Volunteering - The Important Road Ahead").  Making those first connections with the volunteer will determine whether the volunteer stays engaged or decides to drop out and drift away.
• Door-To-Door Canvassing ("Change On The Doorstep").  What are the goals and objectives?  What information do we come away with when we leave the door?  Dropping the volunteer in the middle of the lake and telling them to swim to shore is not a good idea!  
• Phone Banking ("Calling For Change")  What do we want them to say?  How do we want them to say it?  Studies have shown the effectiveness of a robo-call is 10%, for a paid caller 25%.  Put a volunteer into the equation and the effectiveness of phone banking starts to head north of 60%!  
• Get-Out-The-Vote (GO-TV)  What is our objective?  Why are we doing this?  What will the impact be if we pull it off successfully?  An effective GO-TV strategy can mean the difference between a close race and a solid win!
• How To Use miniVan & Liberalist  The information garnered from the door-to-door canvass and phone banking can mean the difference between a win or a loss on election day.  That information is at the heart of our GO-TV activities.  The old garbage-in-garbage-out moniker of the 60's and 70's holds true in today's digitally-connected world.  Recording and uploading results becomes very important.  And it starts with some good training on the apps.    
• PowerPoint Presentations, Conversations & Takeaways  The memory retention rate for a presentation by itself is less than 10%.  Throw in some conversations on past experiences, add a "take-away" handout, and the memory retention rate goes up to 60%.  Existing LPC PowerPoint presentations can be the basis for presentation materials supplemented by "take-away" handouts.  Always include something to take-away.

The Revolving Door Syndrome
In any organization people will come and people will go.  The question is NOT whether people will come or go.  That IS going to happen.  The question is WHO will come and who will go.  And that question will be answered by how well we engage and train our volunteers.  

I've attended more than 5 events for 4 campaigns over the last 6 weeks.  At each event, everyone was asked to sign in - name, phone number, e-mail address.  Except for one event, I didn't receive an e-mail or a phone call acknowledging my attendance, telling me when and where the next event was, and asking me to get involved with the campaign.  In the one event where I did receive an e-mail, it was sent out 7 days after the event.  

And then there's the quality of the training.  Throwing a volunteer into the middle of the lake and expecting them to do a door-to-door canvass, phone banking, or election day GO-TV activity 30 minutes before the event isn't "training".  Training involves stating expectations, presentations, handouts, demonstrating how it's done, role-playing, practice, matching inexperienced volunteers with experienced volunteers, taking the volunteer out on a real canvass and showing them how it's done.  It includes  mentoring, and monitoring.   And most importantly, establishing that relationship.  

Ramping It Up
If we apply the "20-80" rule to a group of volunteers, the more volunteers we train, the better our chances of developing a solid cadré of volunteers who can do the door-to-door canvass, phone banking and, most importantly, GO-TV activities on election day.  

If we limit the involvement of our volunteers to a select few, there will be burnout, loss of interest, and a reduction in support and enthusiasm.  I've seen community team leaders put out the call for volunteers to canvass and I've been the only one to put my hand up.  We have no choice.  We have to grow the cadré of volunteers.  We have to train them and keep training them so that we end up with both boots-on-the-ground volunteers and a select group of key volunteers who can keep all elements of the campaign machinery running smoothly, in high gear, and ready to put the campaign into overdrive on Election Day.  We need to grow the team.  

Get Out Front And Stay Ahead Of The Game - Make It Happen!
The first step in volunteer engagement is to ENGAGE the volunteer.  Talk to each person individually at the time of the event.  Or better yet, talk to them as soon as they walk through the door.  There's nothing like a good pep-talk from the candidate or a key volunteer to energize the team.  Thank the person for attending/ volunteering/ canvassing.  We've heard complaints about not having enough volunteers for canvassing events.  This is what happens when we aren't able to engage our volunteers, train them properly, and keep them engaged.  

We collect information on attendance and participation - the sign-in sheets.  This includes e-mail addresses.  Prepare a draft "Thank You" e-mail BEFORE the event takes place.  If it's a canvass event, state what the results were (150 households canvassed, 90 conversations, 75 supporters identified).  Include links to the photo album (see below).  While we won't know the results until after the canvass, at least we'll have a draft of what we want to say ready to go.  A few hours after the event we should have the e-mail addresses entered (data entry - a good assignment for a volunteer), the results known, and ready click on the "Send" or "Schedule" button.  Timing is everything!

Many of our volunteers may not be able to attend the event.  Include them ALL in the e-mail.  Don't neglect them.  It's another way to keep them engaged.  

If the context of the e-mail isn't appropriate for visitors and guests, prepare another e-mail that's targeted specifically to them. "Sorry you couldn't make it to last weekend's "Days of Action" but here's a link to some photos of the event.  We'd love to have you join us for our next one to be held on ...... Click on the big red button below to join in the fun!"

Before we hit the "Send" button, make sure we've included the details of the next event - what, where, when.  Include a link (and a big red "Sign Up" button!). 

Create Memories! - Take Those Photos
Throughout the event, have volunteers take photos - our group of volunteers,  the door-to-door canvass, the training event.  If it's a Q&A or information session where we have a guest speaker, make sure we take photos.  Take advantage of the photo-ops.  Everyone keeps their eyes open for the "super-luminaries".  Look for those "in the moment" situations where a photo will animate the event and bring it to life.  Create an on-line photo album.  

• Print them and post them on the campaign office walls. 
• Make a PowerPoint presentation out of the photos where the photos keep rolling on a flat-screen TV, data projector, or monitor.  
• Post them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media platforms, along with comment that explains and emphasizes the event.  

A photo by itself is a "non-event".  It won't go anywhere.  Comment by itself is also a "non-event".  Combine the two and we have the potential of going viral.  Photos with comments are memory-joggers for the campaign community ("....hey, remember when ......").  Creating memories is another way of keeping our volunteers engaged.  

Growing The List
Now that we've thanked our guest/ volunteers for participating in our event, it's time to grow the list.  There's several ways that we can do this using digital media.

Riding association members represent one of the best sources (and most neglected) of potential volunteers.  They've joined the party for a reason - to get our candidate elected or to defeat the incumbent.  Make sure we include them in celebrating the success of  the event.  At the same time we send out the e-mail to our volunteers, send the association members an e-mail (or include them on the e-mail list).  If necessary, change the context of the e-mail so that they get that special invitation to our next event.  

We'll have guests/ volunteers who are new to the campaign.  Perhaps they've come along with a friend who is on our volunteer team.  Make sure we add them to the "permanent" e-mail list of volunteers.  

A friend of mine was volunteering in a riding on the other side of town some weeks ago.  I asked him if he had attended the celebration event held the previous week. 

•  "What event!?"  
• "You didn't get the e-mail?". 
•  "Nope."  

Seems like he had missed several other events.  His name wasn't on the e-mail list so he didn't get the e-mails.  (He turned his volunteerism elsewhere.)  Make sure the volunteers who show up are on the volunteer e-mail list!!  

"Membership Has Its Privileges."- Facebook Walls
A number of years ago, American Express had an advertising program with the tagline "Membership has its privileges."  Their commercials featured exotic vacations, multi-course gourmet meals and the like.  The ads would end with the  tagline "Membership has its privileges" ...... the implication being certain things were only available through your American Express credit card.  You weren't a "cardholder".  You were a "member" of an exclusive club.  If you had an Amex card, you were in an exclusive privileged class.  And not everyone could get an Amex card.  

There's two ways to organize Facebook.  There's your political Facebook wall that's open to the public and is part of your campaign strategy - "Cathy Candidate - Politician".  And then there's the Facebook wall that's a closed group - "Volunteers For Cathy Candidate".  Only those Facebook "Friends" we invite to join the "Volunteers" wall can see the posts on this wall.  And most everybody these days is on Facebook so it's not that difficult to invite our volunteers to join our "Volunteers" wall.  Membership now has its privileges!

Obviously, Facebook is "social media" with most emphasis on the word "social" and less on the word "media".  We need to make this closed wall part of the campaign's social life.  It's where we can keep our volunteers apprised of what's going on in the campaign, immediately post those canvass event photos, promote those special events, and put out the call for volunteers.  It's a piece-'a-cake to post on Facebook!  At the same time, due to the social nature of Facebook, these same volunteers can get conversations going with each other.  That will get a real on-line social gathering started that will be totally engaged in the campaign.  

I belong to two Liberal Facebook walls that are closed.  You have to apply to get in.  The "Friends of the Liberal Party of Canada" closed wall includes people from almost every Liberal riding in Canada.  It's an excellent way to distribute media events, tips-and-tricks, to a whole lot of people who are digitally connected.  And these days, who isn't!  

There are also Facebook walls that are public and are used by the candidate, campaign staff, and volunteers.  Some of these are "Kanata - Carleton Liberals" (110 members), "Karen McCrimmon Politician (1,096 "Likes"), "Catherine McKenna" (1,088 "Likes") and "Anita Vendenbeld For Ottawa - West Nepean" (1,098 "Likes").  Which one of these walls can I make posts to?  If I can't, why can't I post?  What is the strategy with regards to the use of these Facebook walls?

Let's take a closer look at what's happening in our riding.  "Our Riding's Federal Liberal Association" only has 127 "Likes", "Our Candidate" 188 "Likes".  These two Facebook walls have been around for a while.  By comparison, "Our Riding Politics In The Pub" (a closed group) has been up for only a couple of months and, with hardly any promotion, has 195 members.  Do a post on your riding association's wall and see if you can find it. (Left side of the screen below the fold.  Scroll down.)  Now do the same thing for your local candidate's Facebook wall.  

IMHO, if I can't find my post or comment, it isn't a social media site that I'm interested in.  I don't hang around.  Membership DOES have its privileges and that's where I hang out at.  

We have to grow all of the Facebook walls associated with the campaign.  It's one of the ways (and the least expensive) where we can show our supporters and volunteers that we've got a good ground-game on the go and that we need their help to win this election.  

The same has to be done with the other social media platforms.  
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There's lots of other things that could be done.  I've only mentioned a few.  Use the monthly "Politics In The Pub" gatherings to energize our volunteers.  David McGuinty gave a very inspiring talk at the Saturday May 30th LPC Eastern Ontario Boot Camp.  Have David repeat the same speech at a "Politics In The Pub" rally.  We've now got a lot of Liberal MPs elected in our area.  Have them attend our special gatherings.  One-time events like a corn roast or a BBQ are a good reason for a gathering of volunteers - celebrate successes.  Volunteer appreciation nights.  Riding Association AGM's.  The list is endless.  

A strategy isn't very good unless it's implemented.  The next steps are to start.  My suggestion would be to start with training events or 'Politics In The Pub".  Start with some training events in communities throughout the riding.  The local legion hall.  At a school or library in the evening.  Or if someone offers their rec room or house.  

Gotta start somewhere!  Whatcha waitin' fer, eh!?  Gitter-done!

Next up?  Door-to-Door Campaigning.

Copyright R.A. Moore.  All rights reserved.

Using Digital Media & Being In The Moment - Facebook, Twitter, and Joe Rospars

There's some discussion going on at campaign offices on how do we go about engaging 18 - 45 year-old voters in the election campaign. This was the largest demographic that DIDN'T vote in 2011 and who represent the largest number of voters whose values are the same as ours.

"Taking Our Country Back" - The Book
About 18 months ago, I picked up a book "Taking Our Country Back: The Crafting of Networked Politics from Howard Dean to Barack Obama" by Daniel Kreiss. The book chronicles the development of digital media in the Democrats' election campaigns from 2002 to 2008. I've read it cover-to-cover at least 4 times and each time I come away with something new on how to use digital media ...... websites, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

"Taking Our Country Back - The Crafting of Networked Politics
From Howard Dean to Barack Obaman".
 by Daniel Kreiss

It's interesting to read how Obama used social media and the Internet to recruit, engage, and activate his volunteers, particularly young volunteers in that 18 - 45 demographic in 2008.  Media reports and YouTube videos, particularly interviews with Joe Rospars,  reveal how Obama boosted his results with digital media in the 2012 election.  Rospars first signed on with Howard Dean's 2002 bid for the Democrats' presidential primaries when he was only 22 years of age.  In 2008 and again in 2012, he was Obama's chief digitial strategist.  From a handful of volunteers in 2002 ..... to a staff of 100 in 2008 ....... and 300 in 2012 ....... Rospars has been on the leading edge of using digital media to engage supporters and volunteers.  

Being In The Moment - The Obama Hug
Searching for "Joe Rospars" on YouTube brought up this interview with Bloomberg News where Rospars spoke about "being in the moment" with regards to a hug ...... a simple hug ....... between Barack Obama and his wife Michele.   Rospars comments struck me on how we should be using digital media, particularly with Facebook and Twitter.  

When asked how well planned was that simple hug, Rospars reply struck me right between the eyes.  It wasn't.  It wasn't planned at all.  Using digital media isn't about pre-planning or pre-arranging a hug ....... that happened very spontaneously.  It was all about being prepared to take advantage of those moments and making the best use of them.  

Think about it for a moment.  It was highly unlikely that a spontaneous hug was going to be pre-planned and discussed with Obama's photography-taking team.  However, "the rapid response team" ....... definitely had to be prepared ...... to be on the lookout ..... for moments like that hug.  

That Unplanned Spontaneous Hug
That Tells A Story About A Relationship

With regards to the nimbleness of Obama's "rapid response team", Rospars says, if you have to go through 7 different layers of lawyers before you can do anything .... well ...... it ain't gonna happen.  You have to be "in the moment".  

Here's the Canadian version of one of those "being in the moment" moments.  November 11th 2015.  Justin Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau attending Remembrance Day ceremonies here in Ottawa.  Each of them looking at each other, remembering the sacrifices of others so that they could look at each other the way they did.  This photo shur as heck wasn't planned.  It was taken by a photographer who was looking for that special moment.  

The Change in The Command-And-Control Regime
It's no longer top-down where the campaign controls what's going to happen.  It's also bottom up where your volunteers and supporters are an integral part of your campaign.  It's no longer being aloof.  It may be scary to share responsibility for a political campaign ......  but that's the way it's going to go.   You have to be prepared for this sharing.  You have to define how you want things to go ....... because if you don't, they will.  You have to establish a relationship of trust with your volunteers and supporters that's more than just pushing the party line or promoting the policies and platform.  You have to connect with people.  And you have to lay down expectations as to what's okay ...... and what's not okay.  

The challenge is, how do we go about doing this - connecting with the people that count?  It's more than just posting content and photos to Facebook or Twitter.  It's about how do we make people feel that they're part of our campaign.  

Being In The Moment - What Do You Do?
Firstly, you have to "be in the moment".  

• You have to be continuously looking for those spontaneous moments that are about to happen.  
• A picture's worth a thousand words so your camera should always be ready.  
• And sometimes the event requires more than just one set of eyes looking for those moments. 
• A photo without a caption means nothing, and a caption without a photo is even worse.  Put captions to every photo you post.  Put a photo to every caption you post.  
• If necessary, use your graphics software to crop, brighten or lighten the photo. 
• And post them ASAP!  Posting photos 3-4 days later is not being effective.  By then, it's too late and the memory has faded.  

I've been to campaign events these past couple of weeks where I was reminded of those "being in the moment" situations.  A lot of those moments were being missed.  Nobody from the campaign had been tasked to take those "in the moment" photos. 

I've also been to events where supporters were taking photos.  These subsequently showed up on Facebook and Twitter.  As I viewed the photo below, I thought "Holy cow, Batman!  The guy in the red T-shirt, back-row centre.  That's the back of MY head!!"   Needless to say, today my connection with this event is quite different from when the photo was actually taken ........ simply because that's a photo of me.  And I see a lot of other people that I know who are also in that photo.    

This campaign launch photo was used in a mail-out letter.

So now that you've got that "being in the moment" photo, how do you make it part of your social environment?  How do you make it so that it's not just a photo that you put in the scrapbook of photos on your campaign office wall?  How did I get to see that photo of me?

Therein lies the challenge.  

Understanding How The Mind Works
Let's take a quick look at how our mind works in remembering things.  Contrary to popular opinion, we don't visualize things in terms of binary logic - the ones-and-zeros used in the computer world.  Instead, our mind operates with the visual ........ photos, graphics, videos, colours, etc.  Visuals are like an anchor.  They grab our attention and keep us focused on the message.  Once our attention gets anchored, we keep scrolling down the page.  

This means that visuals of all forms are very important in our modern-day digital media ....... websites, e-mails, Facebook posts, Twitter tweets.  Research shows that posts with an image every 100-words-or-so result in 30 or more "shares" than those without an image.  Visuals leave a more lasting impression ....... simply because that's how our mind works.  It's still in the analog domain where we use the visual to plant memories in our minds.

And because visuals keep people scrolling down and reading our content, they take in more of what we're saying.  They feel more compelled to share their positive experience with their friends simply because the visual has left a more lasting impresson than the written word alone ...... that old "a picture's worth a thousand words" impression. 

 Our mind retains 80% of what we see from the visual as compared to less than 20% for the written word.  Add to the fact that over 65% of our population learns from the visual and you have an excellent reason for including visuals ....... whether it's photos, graphics, videos, and colour ....... in everything we do in digital media.  

So let's get started.

Creating Memories & Engaging Your Volunteers
Here's something that's very easy to do.  Every time a crew goes out on a canvass, snap a photo and post it on Twitter and Facebook. Include the names of the people. I find that simple little effort makes all the difference in the world for the morale and enthusiasm of the team.

First, I keep my eyes open for someone walking down the street and I ask them to take a photo.  I gather up the team, move in close together so that everyone's included, and ask the walker to take 2 or 3 photos from different angles.  Once the canvass is over and I'm back home, I post it on the group Facebook wall.  I include the names of the team with some peppy comments (Never, ever, simply post a photo!  Always include some kind of comment.)  My objective is to get a conversation going with everyone who's on that Facebook wall, even if that conversation is only a "Seen By" or a "Like". 

After a canvass, it's interesting to see the number of "Seen By's", "Likes", and "Comments".  All of these views, likes, and comments are the "digital media" equivalent of the cheering section at a football game.  Even if the post isn't "Liked" or "Commented" on by a lot of viewers, the fact that they took the time to look at the post shows they're interested in the conversation ....... they're interested in what's going on ...... much like a group of onlookers listening in on a 3-4-way conversation.  While only 3 or 4 of us are talking and the rest may only be onlookers, they're definitely interested in the conversation.  And who knows, a couple of them might just join in.  

These posts provide the momentum to keep things going, to keep people interested in the campaign.  It creates a "buzz" that things are happening.    

Make sure you take those photos!!  It creates a "buzz".

Taking photos and posting them on Facebook or tweeting them on Twitter tells your volunteer team that things are happening on the campaign trail.  It energizes them.  It keeps them engaged.  It makes them want to get more involved.  It's all about creating memories.  It's also a good "recruiting tool" for that next canvass.  

You Need A Team - An Opportunity For Volunteer Engagement
One person can't do this alone.  If you're it ...... a team of one .... you're gonna get fatigued real quick.  Being in the moment, looking for things to post, requires creative juices and those juices can dry up real quick when you're the only person on the team.  When that happens, your followers dry up real quick.  And getting those followers back is next to impossible.  

A team of one is not a team.  You need 4-5 volunteers who all have the same frame of mind - looking out for those "being in the moment" moments - and posting them to the Facebook wall or tweeting out the tweets.  And the team doesn't necessarily have to be on the lookout for those photographic moments.  There's a lot of material from other Facebook walls that can be shared with your wall.  Mainstream media articles, op-eds, Liberal party posts and a whole bunch of other sources can easily be shared with your followers.  Have some of your team focus on those other sources.  

Set the expectations.  What are the do's and don'ts.  What are other campaigns or riding associations doing?  Where and how are you going to develop your sources of material?  What kind of writing style and tone are you going to use when you make your posts?  And a whole lot more questions that will arise as you gain more experience in this new medium.  

We Fail To Ask The Fundamental Question
The challenge in using digital media, ..... whether it's Facebook, Twitter, or your website, ..... is ...... how is your campaign going to relate to people .....  to your volunteers, ...... to your supporters ....... and to the voters.  Digital media presents an excellent opportunity to engage them in a way that we were never able to do before ...... in a way that's personalized, ...... that's social ........ and ........ that ultimately can be very meaningful ....... or not ....... for them.  For ultimately digital media represents giving up control of your campaign content and delegating it to your volunteers and supporters ...... through posts on your Facebook wall ...... through comments on your blog ........ or tweets on Twitter.  Not all campaigns are comfortable delegating this power back down the chain of command to a bunch of volunteers or even down to voters.  

The decision to delegate is not a decision to be made by the IT guys.  It's not even a decision to be made by the publicity-and-promotion folks.  It's a decision to be made at the top level of the campaign ...... by the candidate and their inner circle.  Because it's more than just an organizational change.  It's a cultural change.  And not all campaigns are prepared for that cultural change.  

We have to answer the question ....... to what extent do we want our volunteers and supporters engaged and involved in our campaign.  

That's something we'll discuss on the next post ...... Volunteer Engagement - A Strategy.  

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In the meantime, what are your impressions of how we're using digital media in this election campaign? Are our campaigns organized to use digital media effectively in promoting our cause?

How could we improve our use of digital media?  

Meet Me At The Fair!

In my neck of the woods, from early July to late October, I could spend every weekend at the agricultural fairs watching the horses and cows, riding the ferris wheel or merry-go-round, eating hamburgers, french fries, and some of  the best poutine in Eastern Ontario.  And we haven't even touched the myriad of local community days. 

Lots-and-lots-and-lots of people!  An ag fair attracts more than 50,000 visitors over a weekend!  A community day can attract 5,000 - 7,000 people.  An excellent opportunity for a candidate to get some name recognition and connect with the voters!

In my neck of the woods, it all starts 3 weeks before Canada Day with the Village of Manotick's Dickinson Days - Friday night's parade, concert and fireworks.  Saturday's pancake breakfast and fishing derby.  All day Saturday there's hot dogs, hamburgers, games for the kids, the mutt and cat show.  The candidate in my area and his team weren't going to miss this opportunity.  

I Like A Parade!
Things usually start with the parade and there's nothing like a parade to attract people.  Take some fire trucks, tractors, and combines.  Add a bunch of floats, a few clowns, and you've got the makings of a parade.  It doesn't take much to do a float.  The float below is simplicity in itself - a hay wagon towed by a pickup truck.  A little bit of planning and organizing.  Bales of hay for people to sit on.  Helium-filled balloons.  Some pots of red flowers.  A few candidate lawn signs.  And a whole bunch of people dressed in red!  Your float doesn't have to be complex.  Make use of what you have. 

Book It Well In Advance!
Something like this doesn't happen in a vacuum.  It takes a bit of planning and organizing.  Space on the fair grounds is usually at a premium and in high demand.  It goes very, very fast.  Don't be disappointed.  Book your spot in the parade and the space for your booth well in advance of the event.  You should have a list of these events at hand and a team to get things organized.  Make sure you get in the lineup.  

Branding The Booth
There are all different kinds and sizes of tents that can be used for booths but the best kind is the pop-up "display tent" that you stretch, push, and pull until it pops up and the frame and legs lock into place.  Neat, compact, easy to transport, and it doesn't take a dozen people to put it up.  When it comes to a display tent that's going to be used multiple times, the cheapest isn't always the best.  Invest a bit of extra money in a tent that has thicker frames and cover.  Include the four sidewalls in your order.  Three of the walls will clearly define your booth space and keep the rain off your back.  The fourth wall will provide a measure of security when the show closes down for the night.  Do a bit of research into the various aspects of display tents.  Take a look at your budget and then spend a bit more to get what you want.  Visibility is everything and it starts with a good display tent.  

It's most important that you properly "brand" the booth with your campaign colours.  This starts with the colour of the tent, down to the table cloths, and right up into the helium balloons.  In the photo below, it's very obvioius who the candidate is and what party he's from.  And that's exactly how you want it to be.  

The "Liberal" logos on the canopy fringe are 11"x 17" photo-enlarged copies that have been laminated at the local Staples store.  Campaign lawn signs are affixed everywhere clearly identifying who the candidate is and what party he represents.  

"Punch It Out" With Vertical Banners
One of the objectives in a campaign is name recognition ...... trying to get rid of the "..... Cathy who?" responses.  A good way to do this is with a couple of large vertical banners.  Their use is unlimited - Q&A sessions, guest speakers, talks at retirement homes ....... any place where you have an opportunity to be seen and heard.  At a cost of $200 each, they're a sound investment.  

This banner was placed alongside the pop-up tent so it was very obvious as to what this booth was all about.  And again, the colours were in keeping with properly branding the candidate.  A good photo against a pastoral background really catches your attention.  It was very windy that day so a couple of colour-matching flower pots at the base kept things vertical.  

The only thing missing with this display was a vertical banner to catch the people coming the other way.  Either a duplicate copy of the first banner or a banner with the Liberal red "diamond plate" background, some large Liberal logos and the riding name will also do the job.  Or, create another banner using photos from some door-to-door canvassing action and an invitation to volunteer.  With a little creative thinking, the possibilities are endless.  

Table Setup
You'll need a couple of folding tables - one at the front of the booth to ...... obviously ....... outline the front, and one or two more at the back or sides where you can keep refreshments for your volunteers, campaign materials, button making activites, balloon blowing, or anything else where you're going to need some work space.  

When you set up your tables, cover them with some colour-coordinated plastic table cloths (available at your local Dollar Store).  Make sure the table cloths hang down over the front of the table so as to further delineate where the front of your booth is.  While it's not obvious because of the shadows, that's a white table cloth in a red tent.  You can see the lawn sign(s) hanging at the back of the tent and the laminated "Liberal" signs taped to the canopy fringe.  

And make sure you bring along a few chairs to rest those weary feet.  You're going to be standing for a long time and you'll need to rest those tired dogs.  

Do Something That Makes Your Booth Stand Out
A booth with some tables and campaign materials all by themselves, while it will result in a nice booth, doesn't differentiate it from the other booths of your political opponents.  You need something that's going to set you apart from the rest.  

In this case, there's that big Liberal-red water jug that's full of cool drinking water with a whole stack of drinking cups close by (and a garbage bag to put the used cups in).  A bag of ice kept the water nice and cool on that hot sunny day.  The only thing missing is one of those Liberal signs taped to the front of the jug but that will be fixed for the next community day or agricultural fair.  

And as an added bonus, there's a couple of trays full of water for those thirsty dogs.  That was quite the attention grabber for Fido which forced people to stop and talk to our candidate and his volunteers while Fido quenched his thirst.  

Another attention grabber are helium-filled balloons.  This is always a stopper for the kids and again allows our candidate and the volunteers to talk to the parents.  

And as an alternative to the water barrel, here's a jug of lemonade.  

The possibilities are endless.  I've even used the button-making machine helping junior make a personalized button while Mom and Dad talk to the candidate.  All it takes is a little creative thinking.  

Candidate & Volunteers Out Front
The most important aspect of display booths is the interaction that the candidate and volunteers will have with the public.  Remember, the object of the exercise is name-recognition.  You want to get your candidate's name in front of the people.  Sitting on a chair inside your booth won't do it.  You've got to be out front where the people are.  

ln this case, notice that the candidate and his volunteers are all dressed in Liberal red - T-shirts, golf shirts, baseball caps (especially for sunny days!), BBQ aprons.  And lots of pin-on buttons.  The button machine was working overtime that weekend.  It wouldn't hurt to make up some special buttons that not only promote the candidate but also make reference to the event.  This will take some creativity as space on a button is very limited. 

And the only time the crew went inside the tent was to rest their tired feet.  For the rest of the day, they were in front of the booth talking to voters.  And that's the way you want it to be.   

The possibilities for a display booth are endless.  All it takes is a bit of thinking, some creativity and some planning.  Your return on the investment can be substantial.  
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Next up:  Using Digital Media - Facebook, Twitter, and Joe Rospars.