PoliMinute: A text message from CPAC
If you don’t know who Ted Cruz is, you’re about to. Last weekend, Sen. Cruz (R-TX) gave the keynote address at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), and walked away with 16,000 of the most conservative political activists in the country.
Here’s how:
With one simple request, the senator invited these activists spread his message and amassed a powerful list to support his leadership PAC: Jobs Growth & Freedom Fund. After repeating his call-to-action, the senator’s Facebook and Twitter page included. Within 24 hours, the SMS list over 17,000.
What can we learn from this?
- Most Speeches Are Forgettable: Of the thousands of people that heard his speech on-site or online, few people will remember exactly what he said. Using speeches is an effective platform for building your mobile list and remaining connected to your supporters.
- Nothing Beats Personal Ask: There many ways to invite people to opt in to your mobile list, such as email, campaign collateral and social media. But nothing will beat person-to-person requests.
- Keep Keywords Simple: Sen. Cruz is the common word and is call-to-action to make it memorable and easy to answer. He could have used his name, but people could have easily misspelled it.
- Repeat Repeat Repeat: While not everyone can speak at national events like CPAC, repeating a call to action for social media and other tools can extend the return.
- Don’t Botch the Opt-in Reply: One mistake Sen. Cruz did make is sending a lackluster message to all those who opted in. The candidate should have sent the link to his PAC or requested further information from the subscribers like their zip code.