As I write this, it is a drizzly Wednesday morning and the day before the 2015 General Election. This Election has been described as one of the closest in history and even the day before, no one is sure of what the result will be.
The candidates have been up and down the country over the past few months, getting their points across in an attempt to convince voters that they are the best fit to lead the country.
As marketers, we can learn from what these politicians have been doing over the last few weeks and apply these lessons to our own marketing strategies. Who’d have thought a bunch of politicians can come in useful?
TRUST
Trust and Politician are rarely heard in the same sentence unless it is to describe a lack of trust. Voters haven’t trusted MPs for years as they don’t always deliver what they promise. Think of Clegg and his promise to scrap university tuition fees, only to see them triple under the coalition! Studies have shown that over half of voters in the UK are not sure what the truth is and what isn’t when it comes to parties manifestos.
The same goes for business, your customers need to know that they can trust you and that you will deliver on what you promise. When customers trust you, your relationship will blossom and they will return time and time again. Here are a few tips about what you can do to gain and build trust:
- Most importantly, don’t promise what you can’t deliver
- Make it easy for somebody to connect with your brand
- Be memorable for the right reasons at every touchpoint
BE SOCIAL
The digital era is well and truly here and the politicians have started embracing digital platforms as part of their campaigns as standing in the street or knocking on doors isn’t enough anymore. A large number of voters get their daily dose of information online and so it is here that the message needs to be.
Ready for some impressive social stats, courtesy of marketing week…
Twitter “is confident it can make a difference, with its recent study of 3,000 Twitter users (18-34) finding that one in three respondents (34%) have changed their vote from one party to another based on something they have seen on Twitter.”
Between the 6th April and 6th May, there were 107,105 tweets using the hashtag #votelabour and 60,997 for #voteconservative. A breakdown of hashtags can be found here. The debate has definitely moved online.
In previous elections, voters have voted for the same party, election after election, for the majority of their lives. Based on the above, this has clearly changed with just a tweet being the reason voters have switched.
The same can be said for brands.
Good posts and bad leave an impression in people’s mind, so make sure that your posts across social networks are being seen for all the right reasons. A few little tips to help you on your way:
– Don’t post for yourself; post what your customers are interested in seeing.
– Interact with your audience. The key to social media success.
– Be original. Avoid posting the same link as everybody else.
BE PERSONAL
Personalised message are great at grabbing attention and building relationships but you need to get it right. The politicians for my ward (the Ribble Valley) aren’t the best at getting it right. The worst being labour who instead of addressing the envelope to Rachel put Michael! Sack the researcher! It is errors like this that will create a bad impression. Get to know your customers, their names, birthdays, children’s name. We all like to feel loved 🙂
Rachel Sutton is a Creative Thinker and Happy Account Executive at Happy Creative, a full service marketing agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk or follow us @happy_creative.
