Top 5 GOTV Texting Strategies for Election Wins in 2024

Amplify your GOTV efforts with these 5 essential texting strategies. From personalized messages to strategic timing, ensure your campaign stands out this election.

With election day just 18 days away, now is the perfect time to amplify your GOTV efforts with a strategic texting plan that drives results. 

Peer-to-peer (P2P) texting continues to stand out as a critical tool for direct voter engagement, offering unmatched visibility and response rates compared to many traditional political outreach tactics (see our previous article for the numbers and how to complement or supplement these traditional tactics with texting).

Whether you're mobilizing your base or reaching undecided voters, we’ve compiled the latest proven strategies to ensure your messages cut through the noise and make an impact. Here are five powerful strategies to boost voter turnout this cycle and give your campaign the edge it needs to succeed.

1. Yep, Personalize Those Texts

In 2024, personalization isn’t just a tactic - it’s a must-have for effective voter engagement. While most campaigns know they should personalize their texts, few truly understand why it matters or how to do it right.

Personalized messages mean more than just including someone’s name (which you should actually stop doing unless you are 100% sure your data is accurate); they’re about creating a more profound connection that resonates on a deeper level through meaningful targeting and robust data. Studies have shown that personalized messaging can boost voter turnout compared to generic outreach strategies.

Pro Tip: We take personalization to the next level with advanced custom placeholder fields and dynamic contact grouping capabilities.

Imagine reminding voters about Election Day while including their specific polling location or tailoring messages to address local issues that matter most to them. This kind of hyper-targeted messaging can turn a passive recipient into an active participant in the election process.

2. MMS: The Ultimate Attention-Grabber 

With so much competition for voters' attention, plain text messages can easily get overlooked.

Incorporating MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) into your strategy is a game-changer for campaigns aiming to stand out. Sending attention-grabbing visuals like images, GIFs and embedded full-length videos capture interest and deliver your message more effectively.

People are much more likely to remember visual content than plain text, which means essential details of your messages will resonate more when presented in a visually engaging way, no matter the type of message (fundraising, persuasion, GOTV, event invitations, etc.).

Pro Tip: A little humor or excitement can make your message feel more relatable and personal, boosting the chances of a positive response.  We've seen that clients who incorporate creative touches into their messaging achieve higher response rates on average, such as this client who added personality to their outreach with a fun GIF! 

📨 Reminders + Fun GIFs MMS Text Example

A real conversation with a voter 

This real message example demonstrates how campaigns can make their GOTV messages stand out with an MMS message containing a touch of creativity and fun. This message aimed to remind voters that their ballot was on its way and encouraged them to check their mailbox, targeting 2,977 people with 100% deliverability. The campaign utilized tags to manage responses and identify whether voters needed further assistance effectively. By making the message fun and relevant, they transformed a simple reminder into a compelling call to action while strengthening their connection with voters.

3. Timing Is Key - Text When It Matters Most

When it comes to both persuasion and GOTV efforts, timing can make all the difference.

Simply put, voters are far more likely to engage when your texts hit their inbox at just the right moment, and these moments need to happen WAY before election day.

A cold GOTV text asking for a vote when a voter has never seen, heard of, or interacted with your campaign is a surefire way to end up ignored.

Sending a text introducing your candidate or ballot proposition, timing a text with a current event to showcase a candidate angle, inviting a voter to an event, wishing voters a happy birthday during their birthday month, or sending a celebratory text during a holiday (like Halloween) are all great ways to ensure that your GOTV texts have the best chance at being acted on.

We suggest sending at least one or two engagement-focused texts leading up to Election Day, followed by up to three reminder-to-vote texts starting 1 to 2 weeks before. It's also a great idea to pair your voting reminders with helpful information, such as polling locations or the nearest ballot drop-off box.

Hot Tip for 2024: Pro texters know that texting traffic ramps up dramatically in the weeks leading up to Election Day, with the most traffic seen the day before the election. However, our team has discovered that there are certain times of day when your texts are least likely to end up in a carrier queue - text around these peak traffic times for maximum efficiency and delivery success.

4. Keep It Interactive - Boost Engagement Beyond the Basics

Voters want more than just one-way reminders - they want to be engaged.

Making your texts interactive can transform your outreach from a simple notification into a two-way conversation. By inviting voters to participate directly, you create a two-way connection that keeps them tuned in and excited about your campaign and going to the polls.

Keep your texts engaging and action-oriented by:

• 🤔 Asking Questions: Posing questions like “What’s your top issue this election?” or “How do you plan to vote this year?” not only invites responses, but also makes voters feel heard and valued. It’s a simple yet powerful way to create a sense of involvement and personal connection with your campaign.

Tip: To make these conversations even more engaging, use our tap-then-send feature to provide your texters the ability to respond to specific but common answers immediately. The faster you reply with relevant information, the more likely your supporters will continue the conversation and ask more questions. This quick interaction builds trust and keeps the dialogue going strong!

• 📆 Providing Event Invitations: Make it easy for voters to get involved by sending links to RSVP for campaign events. The simpler you make it for them to join, the more they’ll feel like an essential part of your movement, which can turn passive supporters into active participants.
• 🔗 Adding Actionable Links: Include links to important resources, like where to find polling locations, voter registration info or even your campaign’s website. These actionable links empower voters to take the next step immediately, turning a simple text message into a powerful call to action.

Tip: Leverage our built-in short link feature to ensure the highest delivery rates. 

🗓️ Hyper targeted Event Invitation MMS Text Example 

A real conversation with a voter 

One of the most effective ways to strengthen your connection with voters is by making them feel valued in your campaign’s journey. In this message text example, 98% of the 205 messages the campaign sent got delivered, with an impressive 10% response rate. 

💬 Engaging Long-Form MMS Text Example

A real conversation with a voter 

In this real text example, using a good chunk of the 2000-character real estate allowed in MMS texts, 100% of the 4,514 texts the campaign sent got delivered, with an 8% response rate. Long-form text messages can be incredibly effective when crafted with care and purpose. While shorter texts are ideal for quick updates, a well-written long form message allows you to dive deeper into your cause, share compelling stories and provide the context that drives action. 

Pro Tip: Long-form texts can sometimes lose your reader's attention, so break them up with interactive elements like questions, clickable links, bullet points and a few well-placed emojis. These elements help transform your message into a more engaging experience.

5. Text Smarter with Targeted Messages

In this election cycle, data is your most valuable asset. To truly connect with voters, it's crucial to tailor your messages and segment your audience for targeted outreach as we have seen practiced in the previous real text message examples. The more targeted your message, the stronger your connection with the voter and the greater the chances of driving action.

Tips: It is time to make AB/EV data your new best friend. Our free AB/EV Data Sync Integration powered by L2 says “goodbye” to time consuming manual spreadsheet tracking and “hello” to clean data with just a few clicks. This tool will save you a good deal of time and energy in the long run with only a small bit of set-up to start.

If you are struggling to get data or have incomplete data, let our team know. We integrate with multiple major data providers to set campaigns of all sizes up for success.

All squared away with data? Take targeting a step further by testing your texts to see what resonates best with your audience. By experimenting with different MMS messaging styles, like a casual tone with a GIF versus a more formal tone with a high-quality video, you will have data to compare and analyze which approaches garner the most responses. Our built-in tools make it easy to measure, adjust, and refine your strategy in real-time. If one method isn’t delivering results, don’t hesitate to pivot and try something new.

2024 GOTV Game Plan

This election cycle is shaping up to be more chaotic and uncertain than ever, with new technologies and voter behavior changing the foundations of how successful political campaigns run almost on a weekly basis.

With a smart GOTV strategy that can facilitate the highly personalized outreach voters now resonate with (like texting), you can keep them informed, engaged and ready to go to the polls. Remember, personalization, timely messages, interactive content and targeted segmentation are your key ingredients for success.

Next Steps: Bring your team together (or contact our pro Messaging and Campaign Strategists 😉) to brainstorm innovative ways to engage your voter base and experiment with new texting strategies before Election Day. The better prepared you are now, the greater your impact will be when it counts.

💬 It’s time to get texting

Ready to win your election? Visit our website at RumbleUp.com or contact our sales team at sales@rumbleup.com to chat about your outreach strategy.