[In our previous article about how to get far more name-recognition from your yard signs, we showed how a few simple tweaks can make your signs FAR more readable, and readable from further away. And in the follow-up article, we showed how proper positioning can then give you double, triple, quadruple the voters reading your signs as they drive by. And now … a new way to double or triple your name-recognition in a way nobody else is using.]
As we described in the last two articles, most campaigns overlook the fact that before anyone can read your (poster, yardsign, advertisement, headline), you must first “CATCH THEIR EYES.” And we showed how to super-charge yard sign design to be readable from much further away, and how proper placement can do even more, getting 5 to 9 times as many people actually seeing and reading your yard signs.
Now how would you like to discover how you can legally display YOUR yard signs weeks or months before your opponent does?
I warn you, you are going to totally wonder why nobody has thought of this, but before I totally spill the beans …
Let’s Back Up, and Consider the Purpose of a Yard Sign
Why are we putting them up? What are they supposed to do?
As we discussed earlier, it’s a real simple strategy. For my example let’s say we’re in a year with a presidential election. In such years we get a larger overall turnout, but the so-called “undervote” becomes larger. Meaning that all these people show up to vote for the president of their choice, or perhaps to vote against the vile, demonic scum who opposes the candidate they like. And maybe 90+ percent of all voters show up and vote for the president.
But the down-ballot races — the local, regional, or even state offices — these races often discover to their horror that 20% or more of those voters never marked the ballot for these down-ballot races.
Why not?
The most likely reason is that these voters have NO CLUE who these other local candidates are, and so they don’t vote, figuring that they’ll leave these unknown races to be decided by other people who know more. And those lost votes, the under-vote, these could be YOUR votes! These votes could mean the difference of winning.
A Simple Solution
So the simplest thing to do about that problem, the first thing to do, is to get people to RECOGNIZE YOUR NAME.
Not sell them on your platform. Not show them your lovely wife and well-scrubbed children. Not to talk about how the Chamber of Commerce loves you. Not to give detailed reasons they should vote for you.
Simply and only to get Name Recognition.
What’s the quickest way to get Name Recognition? You stick signs all over the place with your name on them. That is the Number 1 and perhaps the ONLY function of yard signs.
And it works so well — because if the voter recognizes your name and knows nothing else, he’s still far more likely to vote for you. It worked in the past. It works today. And it will work in the future.
Basic Name-Recognition Strategy
So let’s for a moment stop talking about “yard signs,” and instead let’s call it the “Basic Name-Recognition Strategy” —
- You go out where there’s a lot of people every day, like driving up and down a busy street.
- Then you use a distinctive design to show your name, and stick it where these people will see it.
Now imagine if you will … that in your town or county, there was a really, really popular club, with lots more members than groups like Rotary or Kiwanis, lots more members than the PTA or baseball clubs, lots more members than the YMCA or Community Center. Let’s make up a name for this super-popular club. Let’s call it the “Fabulous Bookclub.”
And what if HALF the people in your whole city or county were members, and liked to go there. That’s a lot of people.
And even more surprising, suppose that some members go there now and then, but what if over 60% of the members went there every single day! That’s a LOT of people going to the Fabulous Bookclub every day.
PORTLAND, OREGON: For example, if the Fabulous Bookclub was in the city of Portland, Oregon, then it has over 290,000 members, and 182,000 of those members go hang out at the Fabulous Bookclub every single day.
JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OREGON: Or consider Josephine County in southern Oregon, which has rather a low total population. If the Fabulous Bookclub was in Josephine County, then it would still have 42,000 members, and about 27,000 would visit the club every day. That’s a lot of people, because Josephine County only has 85,000 people, but 27,000 are there at the club every single day.
In other words, no matter the size of your city, or county, or state … the number of people who visit the Fabulous Bookclub, and the number of people who go there every single day … is FAR GREATER than the number of people who drive up and down the main drag every day!
Now of course, people visiting the Fabulous Bookclub aren’t driving at all. They’re hanging out inside the club, and since they’re not zooming around in cars, then if you could display your signs inside the Fabulous Bookclub, all the people would actually have lots more time to see your signs, and lots more time to read your signs. Because there’s far more voters there to see your signs than there are drivers zooming up and down the street, and they have more opportunity to see your signs, too. And that means a LOT of Name Recognition, for you.
Good News!
Well, good news for you. Because there IS a club like that. It’s already located in your city, and in your county.
But it’s not called Fabulous Bookclub.
Nope.
Because, actually, it’s called Facebook.
And there are more people there, every single day, than there are drivers on the main drag. More people there every day than people on the street seeing ALL the yardsigns you got.
So think about it — How would you like to show your name to all those people? 🙂
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Now back to how to display your signs to huge numbers of voters …
Here’s the Calculation:
We know that Facebook has 1.6 billion members world wide, and we know that 1 billion log in every day.
That tells us that, of all Facebook members, 62.5% log in every day.
In the United States, the population is 322,762,000 people, and 162,500,000 of them are Facebook members.
That tells us that over half of all the people in the USA are Facebook members.
That means that, in any city, in any county, in any state, half the people are Facebook members.
So if you were a candidate in Jackson County, Oregon (total population 211,000), there are 106,000 Facebook members in your county … and 66,000 of your voters are hanging out on Facebook TODAY.
And they’re there tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that. Right up to the election.
Here’s a simple worksheet so you can calculate just how many Facebook members (voters) are available and easy to reach, in your voting area …
Going Beyond: Legal Restrictions on Yard Signs
Now you may have wondered earlier, why I was able to say you can display your signs, weeks or months before it’s legal to place yard signs on lawns. And now I bet you’re seeing the answer …
Because as you know in many jurisdictions, you can’t put signs in yards earlier than, for example, six weeks before the election. But there is no law against placing a sign on Facebook — and not just where your pals can see it, but where every single Facebook member in your city or county can see it — every day, if you wish.
You can legally display your signs — with your name — to those thousands of voters, right now, today.
And tomorrow. And the next day.
By golly, it’s a digital yard sign!
And more people see it — every day — than all the people driving up and down the main drag.
Now consider this — Putting up these digital yard signs is a lot quicker than pounding a sign into somebody’s lawn.
And you don’t have to get anyone’s permission.
And let’s show your signs only to people of voting age!
And what if there were certain precincts where voters are more likely to swing your way, and we could show more of your signs in just those precincts?
Insider Information: How to Get The Most Votes
“Make a Post” versus “Boost a Post” versus “The Real Deal”
MAKE A POST: Obviously, this can only be seen by people who are following your page. So if you had 400 followers, including Aunt Betty in Winsconsin, no other Facebook members will see it. And in fact, many or most of your followers can miss it, too. For example, if Aunt Betty has a lot of “friends,” even if she checks in every day, your post may have already moved down by fourteen screens. So, yes, some of your friends or followers will see it, but only some of them. This is a good way to stay in touch with followers, but not a good way to outreach your message to more more people.
BOOST A POST: This is a dumbed-down system that Facebook offers. It’s designed for people who don’t know much about advertising. You pay them some money, and they’ll show it to some folks outside your friends and followers. Boosting can be useful in some cases; however, it’s greatest weakness is that you can only partially select who your post will be shown to, and that means that some of your money is likely wasted. By our calculation, the cost of boosting will often be more much greater than placing ads through the (more complex) Facebook Ads Program, which is …
THE REAL DEAL: The professional advertising program — usually managed for you by a professional with experience — allows access to much greater control, additional targeting options, and fine-tuning of whom your ad will reach. An experienced professional can access analytics and adjust the targeting so that your ads become cheaper and cheaper, and more and more effective over time. In many cases, contact information for visitors to your website can be captured, making possible further targeted email and highly-specific follow-up ads to be shown specifically to these visitors who have already proven themselves interested in your message. This “multi-touch” approach is highly persuasive with voters.
This more technical approach is probably not suitable for do-it-yourselfers. Facebook’s research has revealed that anything beyond the “boosting” process is generally confusing and unworkable for people without extensive experience in analytics, copywriting, and interactive computer advertising methods. To learn more about this option, and to inquire about our super-targeted advertising methods …
Am I Saying “Don’t Use Yard Signs?”
Heck, no! Yard signs are tried and true, and I’ve taught you the best kind of design so that 3 times as many people see your yard signs. And I’ve shown the best yard sign placement that doubles or triples the number of people who can read your yard sign from the street. And now I’m showing you how to take Name Recognition to a whole new level.
And that’s not all, because — with the digital yard signs on Facebook — you can add a headline, a position statement, and a link to your website or your videos. Think “yard sign on steroids,” appearing daily on thousands of computers, tablets, and cellphones, so that everybody sees it!
There’s more.
But that’s all we have time for today. However, if you and I should have a chance to chat, we can go over it some more.
Maybe we should chat.
🙂
Best wishes for Getting Yourself Elected,
— Arthur Cronos
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This original article is from http://GetYourselfElected.com …
http://elected.adopsis.com/legally-show-yard-signs-before-legal-deadline/
