Amid the rush to use new digital technologies to reach voters, one device is proving to be perhaps the most powerful engagement tool out there: the telephone.
Republicans have poured millions of dollars over the past six years into boosting their digital outreach in an effort to compete with the Democrats??? digital advantage. The Republican Party is beginning to make inroads thanks to micro-targeting and established technologies such as Facebook, Twitter and Google. Telephone-based technologies such as Broadnet???s TeleForumTM town hall meetings are providing an avenue for ???both poltical parties to reach large amounts of prospective voters who might otherwise not be inclined to engage. The party that more effectively utilizes this emerging technology will ultimately have an advantage with voters. Why? Because the telephone is enabling voters to do something they always want to do - talk with their candidates.
Moreover, our telephone technology also allows on-the-spot digital polling that provides instantaneous feedback to candidates. The benefits for candidates and voters alike are campaigns that better able to respond to the highest concerns of voters.
Meanwhile, states have changed the way people vote. Many states have instituted mail-in voting and have expanded or introduced early voting. This complicates the campaign calculus on where and how to spend resources, as well as when to actually reach out to voters. Campaigns are now seeking to reach voters earlier in the campaign in order to assess what the issues are and what is important to them. This translates into more digital and direct polling sooner and more often, allowing campaigns to fine-tune their pitches and find their strengths and weaknesses sooner.
Election Day will always bring surprises, but emerging technologies such as those provided by Broadnet can reduce the uncertainty for candidates, causes and campaigns. By reaching voters sooner, listening to them better and messaging more clearly, the result is an electorate that has actually been heard - and that is a good thing.
Mike Davis is a co-founder and Executive Vice President for Broadnet (www.broadnet.us), a leading provider of telephone technology for clients and campaigns from all political parties, more than 60 percent of the U.S. Congress, world leaders, non-profits, teams from every major league sport and entertainment stars. Mike is responsible for overseeing business development and managing the sales and client relations teams. Prior to Broadnet, Mike spent 10 years as a business development leader for Global Crossing.
