This year’s Republican National Convention won’t have the standard arena balloon drop, there are no parties in the secure zone, and there aren’t throngs of delegates lining the convention floor. Still, the show must go on, and despite the convention being virtual, campaigns have tremendous opportunity to plug into the enthusiasm.
Conventions are a huge momentum boost to build grassroots support. Those who attend and watch the RNC are strong party supporters, those who are ready to get to work on campaigns and view the convention as the official kick-off of the election season.
Campaigns up and down the ballot need to take advantage of that enthusiasm, seizing on the motivation and excitement to engage grassroots supporters. Here’s how to do it:
Share content.
There’s a lot of content being generated with the convention. Be sure to share that content, engage with it, and repost it as a way to boost engagement on your own pages. Your followers can then engage with the content on your pages, increasing your profile and helping you identify supporters, volunteers, and potential donors.
Talk to voters on the same platforms the RNC is using.
The GOP will be streaming the convention on Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, YouTube. Candidates and campaigns should insert themselves into the conversation by talking to voters on these same platforms at the same time. On those platforms, livestream your thoughts and responses to speeches and post photos and videos of you engaging with the convention content to encourage followers to do the same.
Get supporters to sign up for your lists.
If folks are fired up about supporting President Trump, try to get them to take action on your behalf, too. It’s a great time to build your lists and help identify voters. The convention is also an opportunity to connect with those who are engaging with convention content, but not yet your campaign, bringing new people into the fold of your candidacy.
Capitalize on the enthusiasm to get votes in the bank now.
Conventions are for the base—it motivates and energizes core Republican supporters. Don’t let them go back to their couches, waiting until October to talk to them again. In states which have early and absentee voting, ballots will be dropping in just a few short weeks. That’s why it’s so crucial to leverage excitement about the RNC and get voters involved while momentum is high.
Reid Vineis is the Vice President of Digital for Majority Strategies, a full-service data, digital, and print firm that specializes in influencing the opinion and behavior of voters, constituents, and consumers.