Evaluating the Effectiveness of Relational Organizing to Win the Race!
Leaders across the globe have used a number of political campaign strategies to improve engagement with people and win electoral contests. However, throughout the history of political campaigns, only people who have been able to harness the power of relations have secured campaign success. With the upcoming of the internet and social media, the outlook of campaigns has changed tremendously. People have been using this platform to reach out to more people, especially through strategies like relational organizing. Although relational organizing might seem to be a new term, it has been an essential tool in bringing in more volunteers and stakeholders and winning the race throughout history.
What is relational organizing?
Relational organizing is a political strategy by which individuals or campaign consultants harness their personal relationships to gain higher conversions. While most political campaign strategies focus on political influences and other canvassing tools, relational organizing focuses on tools at your disposal, like our ability to make relations and talk about things that matter.
Relational organizing is primarily based on peer-to-peer communications and is found to be more effective than door-to-door canvassing. By bringing like-minded people together and converting them into votes, relational organizing involves influencing individual networks and broadening the network. In simple terms, every individual has a separate network, and this network can be used to encourage other members of the network to join a campaign event, become a volunteer, and even cast a vote.
Advancements in data and technology have also scaled up the effectiveness of this method of campaigning. Thus the interaction between the candidate and people within these individual networks can be either online or offline. This has also proven to be very helpful in reaching out to more people, especially during the pandemic and gaining more votes.
Benefits of Relational Organizing
1. Building Relationships
The primary advantage of relational organizing is that it helps to develop rapport and trust. While people would either be skeptical or hostile when you do door-to-door canvassing, relational organizing works as a tool that breaks the ice. Also, as this strategy focuses on developing connections, it helps you talk to them about things that matter to you and why. This helps in gaining comprehensive community change and better appeal among the masses.
2. Overcoming the Barriers
Relational organizing also gives prominence to the act of listening which often brings several barriers that were unnoticed to the forefront. For instance, when you start asking and listening to others, you might come to know that someone within your network was not able to register for a vote or someone within the circle has not been casting a vote for a long time. This could be true regarding at least 10 percent of people within every network. So, listen to what others have to say, help them overcome the barriers and it will automatically increase participation in your favor.
3. Higher Credibility
According to Chatter Matters: The 2018 Word of Mouth Report by Jay Baer and Daniel Lemin, “83% of Americans say that a word of mouth recommendation from a friend or family member makes them more likely to purchase that product or service.” This also works in the case of political campaigns. When volunteers within the campaign contact other people they know, the chance of gaining a vote is much higher if it is followed up by direct calls or messages and door knocking.
Recommendations from peers are often more influential and add peer pressure to vote. In simple terms, people would have an inclination to cast a vote for the person supported by their peers. Also, the information you provide the campaign gains more validity if it gets passed on to networks via people within the networks. Also, the relationship between the voter, and the volunteer makes the voter more receptive to the information passed and increases its chances of further circulation.
4. Better Data and Higher Contact Rates
While most campaign strategies get stuck due to data deficiencies, relational organizing helps you gain up-to-date details about voters or even know the best time or way to contact them. This lets campaigners contact traditionally disenfranchised voters and do not turn out non-supportive candidates. Thus, unlike traditional strategies, relational organizing increases contact rates and increases the probability of gaining support from distinct groups.
Major Components of Relational Organizing
Relational organizing basically has two major components- the messenger and the medium of the message. The primary task of every political consulting firm or campaign strategist is to find the right person or the messenger who is the best person to contact the potential voter. A messenger determines the reach of your campaign and helps political field organizers gather information about other supporters and circulate the campaign details to a wider audience within a limited time.
The second major component of relational organizing is the medium of circulating the message. Although traditionally relational organizing was limited to meeting in person, the development of technology and the intervention of the internet have widened the scope of relational organizing. Thus the medium of transmission of the campaign could include generic social media posts, a direct message on any of the social media platforms, phone calls, or texting.
Also, finding the right campaign field organizer or a campaign management firm can increase your chances of success. Third Coast Strategies is one of the best choices you can make as we provide the best strategies and plans, efficient communication, and proficient field organization. Our unique campaign plan and organized strategies help you build a positive outlook with the community and gain high conversions.
We help you develop trust and rapport among the voters through the proper circulation of your messages using top-notch communication systems and a circle of efficient volunteers who can ensure higher contact rates. We connect all aspects of a campaign and bridge the gap between you and the voters. Thus, whether you are a new campaigner or a leading challenger, Third Coast Strategies can provide you with expert political campaign consultants and help you gain an upper hand over your opponents. So, launch your campaign today with Third Coast Strategies.
