Digital GOTV Plan Why You Need One

by The Campaign Workshop

Digital GOTV plan A suburban community of colorful houses.

Digital GOTV Plan: A Must for Today’s Campaigns

A good digital GOTV plan, is not your father’s get out the vote effort. It used to be that GOTV was driven by walk lists, yard signs, door hangers, coffee and doughnuts. But as folks start to focus more on digital GOTV, having an actual plan to push turnout digitally is a must in our interconnected world. You still need the doughnuts and door hangers, but digital will add a layer of outreach that you did not have before.

How does digital GOTV work? Digital GOTV works very similarly to how face-to-face GOTV does. It is a process of using layered digital tactics to push turnout and participation in a specific race.

How does it work for the rest of my campaign? A digital GOTV plan should not replace other GOTV efforts, but rather work holistically with your other tried and true methods. It is a process of layering digital and old-school tactics to create as much engagement as possible.

Can I really do this and an old-school voter turnout program? You don’t have a choice. Your opponent is using digital tools and you can’t be left behind. It doesn’t mean you need to use every digital tool available to you, but you should choose tactics that fit with your strategy.

Is this a good use of last-minute money? It can be a way to use the last-minute money, but you would need to plan for it ahead of time by creating ads, pulling lists, designing landing pages, and so on. Digital efforts need time for planning in order to be successful. While you may be tempted to throw a few thousand dollars on some digital ads in the final days of GOTV, make sure you’re doing so with a clear goal and plan in mind.

Can it help me win? We say yes. A good digital GOTV plan can help engage voters that you wouldn’t be able to reach through traditional GOTV tactics. And reaching more voters means getting out more of the vote!

What digital tools are available to me? There’s a large range of digital tools that can be used to enhance GOTV, including mobile and email; social media platforms such as Facebook/Facebook live, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube; GOTV-related web content; relational organizing tools such as Hustle or VoterCircle, and team and slate card tools such as Ballot Ready.

Should we include paid digital buys? You have to. Paid digital ad strategy for GOTV helps reinforce traditional media and allows you to reach audiences that you might not reach otherwise.

Understand your resources: One part-time intern can’t do all of this. Real staff with established lists will be needed to execute these programs. Only pick tactics and strategies that you have the capacity to do as a campaign.

Looking for a list  tactics for your digital GOTV Plan? Check out our post that goes into digital GOTV in detail here.