UK politicians sticking with direct mail to help them win elections
While U.S. President Barack Obama was able to turn to social networking sites to boost his presidential campaign, politicians in the United Kingdom are sticking to direct mail to help gain votes to lead them into office, reported MarketingWeek.
These politicians are not falling behind in the use of digital innovations, but are using direct mail because of the great benefits that have been achieved by direct mail ventures in the past, said the website.
Through the use of direct mail, London mayoral candidates Ken Livingstone, Boris Johnson and their party colleagues running for office in the U.K. are able to reach the older voter base that is needed to win this upcoming election, according to the website. It has been found that using a door-to-door campaign is the most effective marketing tactic to achieve this goal.
Those who are launching direct mail campaigns like the ones underway in the U.K. can increase the effectiveness of their campaigns by using postal address verification software that ensures these mail pieces reach the right potential voters, or customers.
While politicians in the U.K. can find success from using direct mail, a recent CNN article from Wesley Donehue, a Republican internet consultant, highlighted the dangers politicians can face when using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Donehue found using these types of sites can create too much transparency regarding how campaigns are run, which may scare off potential voters for ill-advised reasons.