According to an Italian poet who died many years ago, Dante Alighieri, “the secret of getting things done is to act”. That has been one of the mottos of successful politicians over the years. With the competition so rampant in the political arena, anyone who fails to act is planning to fail. Now, the underlying secret is not just to act but to act in the right way.

In a bid to be successful, many political activists have gone with the use of the conventional modes of ensuring success; TV campaigns, use of posters, billboards, newspapers, and street rallies among others. Competition though only exists when you are vying to win in the same area as everyone else, whereas personal visions are unique.

Here are 5 ways politicians can use bulk SMS effectively to win elections and also stay relevant after that:

1. CAMPAIGNS

The rate at which people who own cell phones increase daily is alarming. Thus, running your campaign programs through bulk SMS can be very effective. The benefit of this over other conventional campaign mediums then cannot be overemphasized. Another thing you can be certain of is that people will get your campaign messages. It doesn’t have to be very long; you can push out the manifesto in a separate message. Just let them know you are gunning for a position in the first message. You can even forward this more than once to make them keep you in mind.

2. PUSHING OUT MANIFESTO

Now, this is a follow-up to the first campaign message. Once you have made people know about your plans of running for a position, the next thing is to let them know why you fit that position. In a short message, you can itemize the reasons you believe you are the right candidate for a position and even mention some of your track records of prior accomplishment if any. You could even send this several times before the elections proper to ensure you remain in their minds.

3. ORGANISING RALLIES

Rallying is one of the conventional modes of campaigns today and it cannot be ruled out because it has been tested to be equally effective. If you will be having a rally coming up in a particular place at a particular time, what better way to inform the people in that community about that if not through bulk SMS? You can tell them about the converging place, and if there are freebies to be given out that day, which you should want to seriously consider, you can also tell them about this.

4. MANAGING PARTY MEETINGS

For the overall success of any election, the party members involved must have discussions on plans and strategies to make them come on top at the end of the day. Bulk SMS can equally be used to intimate party members of upcoming meetings, and also inform them of the important points to be addressed in such meetings. And when there are assignments that are to be carried out by any member, bulk SMS is a viable means of following it up.

5. GET AN INFORMED IDEA OF AREAS YOU’VE GOT THE MOST SUPPORTERS AND WHERE YOU NEED TO DO MORE

You could even decide to take your SMS political campaign to the next level by including a response option in the messages. It might be something like “If you think Mr. Stage is the right person for this position, text YES to 12345 and NO if you do not agree”. In such a message you can make the identity of you the sender hidden to avoid sentimental responses. With the result gotten, you can have an informed idea of where you stand even before the elections. And if it is in a particular place or area that the NOs come from most, you can re-direct your campaign program in such areas to get more supporters. The result at the end will make the effort and resources expended worth it.

In the area of politics, bulk SMS allows you to give more, get more, and gain more in areas other conventional means won’t. And always remember that it only becomes a competition when you are doing the same thing as the other person, but when you do something special, you stand out.

Click here to see 5 more ways politicians can use bulk SMS in the second part of this series.

If you need a bulk SMS platform that helps you carry out all these roles mentioned above at the optimum, then SmartSMSSolutions is the bulk SMS gateway for you.

If you’ve not done so already, Register a free bulk SMS account and experience the satisfying experience of the bulk SMS gateway specifically designed for you.

Are there other ways Bulk SMS service can be used for politics to great effect that we’ve omitted? Share with us in the comment box below.