Wild Card

 Political Communication: Channels & Strategies

Political Communication is a subdivision of communication and political philosophy that focuses primarily on how information spreads and exert influence on politics, lawmakers, news media, and inhabitants. With the arrival of the WWW (World Wide Web), the quantity of data to examine has increased dramatically and researchers are transferring to computational techniques to analyze the dynamic effects of political communication. To have a greater impact, political communication must be approached through multiple channels than just one to get a better mindshare. 

Political Communication Strategies 

1. Define the Target Audience (demographics/regions/etc.)
2. Identify most valued communication channels relied upon for information. (Newspapers/Tv Ads/Social Media)
3. Define the objectives for each channel (Social media to raise awareness/TV to promote ads to influence interest/ Texting & Calling to engage with supporters)
4. Design strategies for each channel 

Political Communication Channels

1. Print Media -  type of mass communication that produces and shares information through printed issues. 
2. Broadcast Media - different communication channels like television and radio
3. New Media - latest developments of communication like blogs, email, social media networks.

Political Communication via Print Media

Newspapers/Magazines

With the assistance of newspapers, political communication commonly uses news releases to promote a candidate by spreading information regarding his or her campaign. This is also used to make comments about an opponent’s doings and/or statements. In the general run of things, campaigns employ publicity agents to help write and deliver news releases to news channels, who will then publish the stories received by their journalists. 

Posters/Billboards

Posters and billboards may be utilized to fulfill different goals. For instance, a campaign poster that has information regarding a website could potentially help introduce and increase awareness of the site to those who may not have known about it before. Another effective way posters can help with voters is by acting as a reminder of a particular action, like donating to a campaign or casting votes. In addition, billboards may be displayed by agencies in the advertising industry and will come with a price tag depending upon a few factors such as location, dimensions, etc. 

Yard Signs

Yard signs for political campaigns are frequently used to promote their image and gain publicity, driving an audience to their campaign to learn more about them and become better invested. The signs are often displayed in the front lawn of a supporter's house, or in public areas nearby sidewalks. 

Political Communication via Broadcast Media

Television

Political communication through broadcast channels is made up of two main categories which include sponsorship from ads and media coverage. Tv advertisements are all in all utilized to cover or approve a particular candidate, illustrate their sentiments on existing issues, and expand the meaning behind their campaign. Officials may also use advertisements in television to speak out about their achievements in the past term to gain more support. Media coverage involves other networks and news outlets to cover the activities of a particular campaign, for example, a candidate appearing at a school to engage with the students. This may also include events in fundraising or honoring of a milestone achievement from a campaign. The coverage through this channel aims at strengthening the understanding of the campaign and win over voters. 

Dec. 3, 2022 coverage of the Georgia runoff election

Radio

There are campaigners who will take advantage of the radio to produce advertisements in order to escalate their political campaigns with talks about issues within the community and the candidate’s schemes to find a solution to them. 

Political Communication via New Media

Social Media

There are various social media platforms in the world today that allow users to share diverse content and attain multiple objectives. Take a video advertisement on YouTube for example, the ad alone serves a similar purpose like a television advertisement, informing viewers about a particular candidate’s performance and achievements. Another example might include images and written posts on Facebook that may be used to encourage volunteers and such. 

Email

Email can also be a channel for political communication, which revolves around sending updates and information regarding a campaign and making appeals. Informative campaigns often include helpful information about trending issues within a community, local polls, or even campaign updates to voters in order to keep them engaged and informed with useful information. 

Text Messaging

Political communication through text messages is somewhat similar to emails as both channels include sending appeals, new updates, and reminders. Two different types of texts addressed by campaigns are text blasts and P2P (peer to peer) texts. Text blasts are often used to send out information or updates on a campaign. They are fairly straightforward and might not need a response back. P2P texts are helpful to voters who may have concerning questions, or to delve into individual messages related to event invites or opinionated polls. This sort of texting allows volunteers to respond with a wide variety of voters at once. 

Phone Banks

Phone banking in politics is another channel of political communication that is often used to drum up support. Typically, a phone bank process for a campaign follows Voter Identification, Persuasion, and GOTV (get-out-to-vote). Voter ID identifies and separates the list of votes in categories such as, supporters, non-supporters, and voters who are undecided. Persuasion is used to prevail on strong supporters to get their donations, to volunteer, and talk undecided voters to vote for them. GOTV is an act of motivating and helping people to vote on the day of election. Phone banking is an effective tool to enable participants to have a better personalized conversation with voters, giving them the chance to voice their concerns and objections that may be keeping them from supporting their candidates. 

A General Overview 

When it comes to political communication, establishing a set of strategies may be essential if used through multiple channels to ensure a better outcome for reaching a broader target audience, and helping to promote a campaign’s message that will sink into the public’s mind as individuals worldwide are exposed to a variety of screens every day.