Political SMS Marketing: The Ultimate Guide to Engaging Voters in 2025

Voter engagement. Political fundraising. Real-time election updates.

There are so many use cases for SMS in the political sphere.

So how do you create an SMS campaign that cuts through the noise and drives action?

This guide walks you through everything—strategies, tools, and actionable tips—to make your SMS outreach for campaigns a success.

Let’s dive in!

Use Cases for Political SMS Marketing

So what can you actually use political SMS marketing for?

Here are some major use cases.

Event Announcements (and Reminders!)

What better way to announce your events than by sending a notice directly to people’s phones?

And sending reminders about those events can really help drive up attendance.

“

Don’t forget about 'Brunch with the Mayor' hosted by Kevin Lawrence this Saturday at 11am in the Knolls, 3rd floor! Come listen to Kevin and Mayor Jorkins chat about issues impacting you and your family - and enjoy some good food! More info here: [link]

“

Big news! Mary Davies is hosting a rally in Des Moines on October 20th 1:00pm at the Iowa Events Center. Don’t miss it! Details here: [link]

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Reminder: Join Jose Suarez at 2:30pm CST for his Supporter Appreciation Webinar. Bring your energy and ideas! Here’s your join link: [link]

Asking for Donations

No one likes asking for money.

But SMS gives you an easy way to quickly ask your supporters for financial support—and you can even include a direct link to make donating as easy as possible.

“

Elaine Porter needs your help! We are so close to reaching full funding for the year. Would you consider giving? Any amount is helpful—whether it’s $5, $500, or $5,000! Donate here: [link]

“

Thank you for joining Jessica at the rally! Let’s keep the momentum going—chip in $10 to help our mission to make Lincoln better: [link]

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You can make a difference. Help Jozue Marcos fight for your community. Donate any amount today: [link]

Voting Reminders

One of the biggest issues any political candidate faces is actually getting people to show up to vote.

SMS allows you to send direct reminders to your supporters to help make sure they get their voice heard.

“

Don’t forget - Today’s Election Day and Joseph Barnes needs your support! Make sure your voice gets heard by VOTING TODAY. For info on polling locations, see here: [link]

“

Your voice matters! Help Priscilla win so she can make your voice heard. Polls are open from 7am to 7pm tomorrow. Don’t forget to bring your ID if required. Find info here: [link]

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Hi [First Name], you can vote by mail! Request your ballot today and make sure it’s postmarked by [date]. Start here: [link]

Campaign Announcements

SMS is an easy way to let your supporters know about important announcements regarding your campaign.

Picked a running mate? Have a new major endorsement? Is there a new major bill you’d like to champion or oppose?

Let people know via SMS.

“

Shaniqua Johnson is pleased to announce that Governor Piper has just given his full endorsement! Check out the endorsement statement here: [link]

Political SMS Marketing Examples in Real Life

How can a political SMS marketing campaign actually look in real life?

See some examples below. (Note that we are not endorsing any political candidates or taking any kind of political stance in sharing these examples.)

Barack Obama’s 2008 Campaign

The Obama campaign effectively integrated SMS marketing by encouraging supporters to sign up for text updates, offering incentives such as free ringtones and bumper stickers.

A standout moment was when Obama announced his vice-presidential pick via text message, creating a buzz and deepening engagement. Nielsen estimates that 2.9 million U.S. mobile subscribers received a text message from the Obama campaign over the weekend.

Fundraising Efforts in the 2020 Elections

During the 2020 election cycle, campaigns sent over 5 billion political text messages—and by one report, over 80% of these were donation requests.

RoboKiller reported, “With COVID-19 limiting in-person campaign tactics such as rallies or door knocking, texting has become one of the primary ways political campaigns are generating funding and voter support for one of the most contentious presidential elections in history.”

Voter Turnout Campaigns

Research indicates that individuals who received political text messages were 1% more likely to vote in the 2018 midterms.

This statistic highlights the effectiveness of SMS marketing in leading voters to act, particularly in competitive races where small margins can determine outcomes.

SMS Marketing for Local vs. National Political Campaigns

SMS marketing tactics differ significantly between local and national political campaigns.

Here’s a breakdown of some of these differences.

How do you target audiences?

• Local campaigns

Local campaigns are able to use microtargeting to segment their audience based on very specific demographics, interests, and local issues. For example, Republican women in their 40s who voted on such-and-such an issue, or Democrat men in their 20s who participated in such-and-such local event.

This kind of targeting allows you to send hyper-personalized messages that uniquely concern your local community.

Local campaigns can have a greater focus on building actual relationships within the community. You can even engage voters in personal 2-way SMS conversations about local issues.

• National campaigns

National campaigns obviously have a much larger audience.

Therefore, while you can (and should!) still segment as much as possible, your approach by necessity is much more generalist.

What kinds of messaging strategies can you use?

• Local campaigns

Local campaigns can use SMS to promote local events in a much more intentional way than national campaigns.

That way, you can really drive up attendance so you can garner more support.

You can also have a better pulse on which events and issues need a more immediate response, and SMS can help drive people to take quick action.

• National campaigns

National campaigns are more limited in messaging strategies because they aren’t as targeted.

But as with local campaigns, you can still use SMS for major campaign announcements, fundraising efforts, and even community events (if you have data that allows you to segment your audience).

How Political SMS Marketing Works (and How to Get Started)

So how does it actually work to go about political SMS marketing?

There are a few simple steps.

1. Choose an SMS Marketing Platform

The first step is to select an SMS platform that meets your needs and gives you a good experience.

You can use an out-of-the-box online SMS platform or an SMS API service that you can program according to your needs (if you have developer resources).

Mobile Text Alerts offers both an online platform and an API.

2. Get Subscribers Loaded In

Once you have a platform up and running, you can start adding subscribers to your SMS database.

SMS platforms offer opt-in methods such as “text to join” and web forms, and you can also import a spreadsheet of subscribers if you already have an existing list.

3. Create Your Campaigns

You can then automate or schedule out your SMS campaigns from within your online SMS platform.

If you have subscriber data, you can segment your campaigns to make sure people only receive the most relevant messages.

4. Monitor Campaigns and Responses

After your campaigns are sent, you can monitor their performance within the online SMS platform’s dashboard.

You can also monitor and reply to any responses your campaigns receive.

Selecting the Right Political SMS Marketing Platform

If you’ve done any kind of research on SMS platforms, you’ve probably realized that there are a lot of platforms out there.

How do you choose the right one for your political campaigns?

Many of these platforms are very similar when it comes to features, so some of the other elements you could consider would be…

Dependability

SMS can be complicated.

There are a lot of regulations on the back end that SMS platforms must manage in order to help make sure their customers’ messages are successfully delivered.

You’ll want to make sure to choose a platform that knows how to navigate all of those complications so that you have a reliable service to use.

White Glove Treatment

Does the sales and support team give you white glove treatment?

Even if the SMS platform is a perfect product, your interactions with the company’s employees can make or break your experience.

Price

Pricing with SMS platforms can be a bit tricky.

Keep in mind that the prices you see listed online may not include added fees (particularly “carrier fees,” which are fees that the mobile carriers charge SMS providers and so the SMS providers pass them on to their customers).

Mobile Text Alerts has no required added fees for our listed subscription plans.

Get a free trial account with Mobile Text Alerts now to see for yourself how it works.

Best Practices for Political SMS Marketing

Political text messaging can be highly effective when you keep best practices in mind. Here are some key strategies to help make sure you get the most out of your campaigns.

1. Get Permission

It’s always best practice to get permission before sending SMS campaigns rather than “cold texting.”

(People don’t particularly enjoy receiving unsolicited political SMS!)

The good news is that SMS platforms makes the opt-in process pretty painless by offering opt-in mechanisms such as “text to join.”

2. Be Careful About Message Content

Mobile carriers are pretty strict about what kinds of content can be sent over SMS.

Even if you have a legitimate reason to send sensitive content—such as a discussion about a marijuana-related initiative or sexually-based crimes, for example—it’s best to refrain from any reference to potentially taboo topics.

3. Make Sure People Know How to Opt Out

It can hurt your campaign performance if the mobile carriers get a lot of reports of people complaining about your messages.

The mobile carriers actually recommend that you include opt-out instructions in every text message.

And with SMS platforms, all that people need to do to opt out is reply STOP, and they’re removed automatically.

4. Watch Out for Frequency

Be aware that most of the time, people don’t want to receive political texts every day—or even a few times a week!

SMS campaigns usually work best when used sparingly. Try to keep your campaigns at one per week or less. Otherwise, your recipients will start to tune them out.

Ways to Improve Your Political SMS Marketing Campaigns

What are some specific ways you can see even better results from your political SMS?

Here are some ideas.

1. Automated Campaigns

You can create automated drip campaigns and workflows so that you don’t have to micromanage everything.

Automation options also allow you to make your campaigns very tailored and targeted.

2. 1-on-1 Messaging

SMS platforms typically have a 1-on-1 inbox you can use to reply to your subscribers’ responses to your campaigns.

This 1-on-1 messaging gives you a good opportunity to really connect with your supporters and get personalized with them.

3. Hyper-Personalization

One untapped way to really make the most of your political SMS campaigns is to use adaptive groups/segments to group your subscribers according to specific data points (for example, location, voting history, party affiliation, etc.).

If you do this kind of hyper-personalization, you’ll be able to send highly tailored and effective messages.

How to Reach Younger Voters with SMS

Younger voters engage differently.

And SMS is an effective way to reach them because it’s one of the few communication mediums that are common across all kinds of age groups.

Here are some ideas for how to reach young people specifically with SMS.

1. Use Polls and Surveys

SMS polls and surveys can be an active way to help engage young voters by asking for their opinions on issues that matter to them.

This serves the dual purpose of gathering valuable data while also making voters feel involved in the political process.

2. Understand Pop Culture

If possible, partner yourself with or identify with public figures (such as musicians or influencers) that younger audiences resonate with—and then promote your SMS updates using that public figure’s platform.

You can try to become a guest on popular local or national podcasts and promote your SMS there.

You do want to be careful with pop culture engagement, however. If not done correctly, it can feel out of touch, like you’re trying too hard.

3. Be Active on Social Media

Social media is where the young people are!

Use every social media platform at your disposal—in particular (for young people), YouTube, TikTok, SnapChat, and Instagram.

These can be effective platforms to promote your SMS services.

Political SMS Marketing FAQ

Check out these answers to some other questions about political SMS marketing.

What Is Political SMS Marketing?

Political SMS marketing is the use of texting by political candidates to promote their campaigns. Some of the uses of political campaigns include event announcements, fundraising, voting reminders, and campaign announcements.

Why Is Political SMS Marketing Essential?

SMS has 55% open rates and 100% “view rates”—which means it’s a highly effective means of marketing.

SMS also has a very broad reach as a medium that’s used by all kinds of people, young and old, male and female, across all races and demographics.

In fact, SMS is so ubiquitous that you’d be remiss not to at least consider using it.

Is Political SMS Marketing Legal?

You bet!

Political SMS marketing is totally legal and is a commonly used strategy.

It’s especially “legal” if you are getting consent from your subscribers before you send them messages.

Will People Be Annoyed to Receive Text Messages?

People won’t be annoyed to receive text messages as long as you do the following:

• Get legitimate permission from people to send them messages
• Don’t send too many messages (try to limit it to 2–4 messages per month)
• Only send messages that are relevant to them (this is where segmentation and targeting can come in handy)
• Include opt-out instructions so that people know how they can unsubscribe

Take the First Step with SMS for Your Political Campaign Now

At this point, political SMS marketing is a no-brainer for anyone running for office.

But you don’t want to wait until the timing is down to the wire—you can start planning and growing your subscriber list now.

Get a free trial with Mobile Text Alerts now so that you can engage with your supporters in the most effective way possible!

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Author bio:

Sangeetha Iyer is a conversion copywriter who helps early SaaS companies increase their email ROI with customer-centric onboarding and lifecycle email marketing strategies.

Find her on LinkedIn.