Advanced Micro-Targeting: Campaign Data Targeting Is Key to WinningEveryAction Admin Mon, 08/05/2024 - 08:00 by Joe Fuld (He/Him) Advanced Micro-Targeting Tips for Your Campaign Advanced micro-targeting can be the tactical advantage you need to win your campaign. Before delving into micro-targeting, voter modeling, and other advanced-targeting, let’s begin by defining targeting to ensure we’re all on the same page. This process is crucial for all campaigns-candidates, ballot initiatives, independent expenditure, and more. Political targeting is the process of examining your entire district (or universe) and then narrowing it down to the people you must communicate with to win. Every campaign has limits - whether people, time, money, or all the above. Effective targeting helps you utilize your limited resources as effectively as possible.What is micro-targeting- Micro-targeting entails finding audiences using a combination of voter history, turnout data, and demographic information to reach particular audiences. Start with a vote goal - Once you’ve identified your target audience, align it with your vote goal to determine whether you need to expand or reduce that target. Developing your vote goal is the best way to define your universe. Do not target voters without establishing a vote goal. Your target universe must be large enough and in the right  areas for you to win the election; without a vote goal, you lack this information.   Understanding Demographic and Geographic Targeting: Geographic targeting - Is exactly what it sounds like – targeting people based on where they live. For candidates, it engaging with voters in your district; for advocacy, it means reaching out to people in your targeted cities (districts). Before pulling your voter universe, ensure the districting data on your voter file is accurate. Demographic targeting - Is a bit more complex and may require careful consideration of the voters you need to win. It may also involve polling or other research. Demographic targeting can utilize models (likely provided by a state party for down ballot races), voter file data, and potentially commercial or other data. Partisan Targeting - If you are run in a tightly contested primary in a predominantly Democratic district, targeting all Democratic voters may not be your best option. If you are looking to run in a swing district that leans slightly Republican, you may need to include some progressive Republican voters to win. Either way, you want to use your poll numbers or historical data to find the most likely voters you can  persuade or that will vote for you but may need encouragement to get out and vote. Voter History - Once you’ve identified your district’s residents and the demographics you should focus on, you must  know who will vote Voter history is critical in targeting; unless you have unlimited resources, you must make core decisions about whom to engage. Depending on the kind of race you are running or the issue you are working on, you will need to decide whether to talk super voters (those who always vote), people who vote sometimes, or those who never vote. Voter history can also give us clues on how tuned a voter is to elections or issues. What is Advanced Micro-Targeting? With the growing use of modeling and robust data manipulation software, even small-budget campaigns can access advanced targeting and testing. As you can imagine, all these techniques and tools create (almost) unlimited ways to cut and divide your data into your targeted voter universes. Large organizations and campaigns have teams of people working to segment their audiences to find voter universes, not only for campaigns but for specific pieces of the campaign as well. What is a voter model and how is it created? A voter model is usually created by asking a random sample of voters questions about an issue or cause. Models are connected to voter files and use a scale rating to assess where voters stand on support or opposition to a candidate. What kind of information is modeled? Different models emerge daily, encompassing various types that estimate behavior, turnout, affinity for a candidate, or connection to an issue. Many issue models cater to campaigns, covering diverse topics such as climate change, gun control, abortion rights, healthcare, and vaccine hesitancy. Candidate connection models are equally abundant, ranging from custom models tailored to specific campaigns to nationally based ones like a Trump support model. Numerous behavioral models also exist, identifying individuals who read mail, are likely to take action, or prefer obtaining information through streaming, among many other issues or candidate-focused models. Advocacy micro-targeting - Existing off-the-shelf issue models can have many uses in advocacy spaces, so can publicly available data and other first-party data lists. Take time to dig into what data is out there and how it can propel your advocacy campaign forward; existing data can solve many strategic gaps. Messages can target specific individuals (opinion leaders, board members, influencers) and districts/areas. Membership micro-targeting - Behavior, demographics, and partisanship of your members can aid your engagement efforts. Identify at-risk members based on their engagement with your organization and target them for greater involvement. Targeting members who are unregistered to vote or who don't frequently vote could also be helpful for registration to engage low-information voters.Targeting differs based on tactics - Different communication methods require varied targeting approaches. Whether direct mail, door-to-door, or digital, your ability to target and the techniques used will differ slightly. Targeting for Canvassing - When targeting canvassing, your approach will base itself on turf and how voters cluster in walkable areas. If conducting a fundraising canvass, consider building turf based on past donors. Targeting for mail - Some individuals may need to be contacted via direct mail or phone, especially if in-person contact isn't feasible. This reason forms a distinct targeted group you can identify in your voter file. For advocacy, sending mail to a specific area or location based on people's views on issues can also be a powerful tool.Digital micro-targeting - The data above can be utilized with digital platforms for micro-targeting voters. Additionally, there are digital-specific methods for micro-targeting, such as geofencing, worksite targeting, and IP targeting. As evident, advanced micro-targeting techniques and tools used for reaching voters and potential advocates are continually evolving. There are numerous options for targeting, depending on your goals and needs. We invest significant time thinking, reading, and working on our targeting strategies.Have a question about advanced micro-targeting for political campaigns or advocacy? Reach out to us here. We are happy to connect with you!  Sign Up for our Blog! Meta Keywords advanced micro targeting Meta Title Advanced Micro Targeting: Micro Targeting Is a Key to Winning Meta Abstract How to use micro-targeting, models and data to create advanced targeting for winning political, non profit and advocacy campaigns. Meta Description How to use advanced micro-targeting, models, and data to create advanced targeting for winning political, nonprofit, and advocacy campaigns. Categories Political Targeting Tags Data Driven Campaigns| Micro Targeting| Political Data| Digital Targeting| Micro Targeting Voters

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