A political campaign, or election campaign, is the means by which candidates and political parties prepare and present their ideas and positions on current issues to voters in order to influence their decision making and cast their vote in favour of a specific candidate or party.
In order to pull off a successful political campaign, candidates and political parties use a variety of marketing techniques to reach voters in the lead-up to election day. This includes radio advertising, billboards, flyers, events and more.
A great way to accelerate your political campaign is by utilising SMS marketing. With open rates as high as 98% and 7.5 billion mobile phone users by 2026, an political SMS service can assist your political campaign by reaching your voters on the channel they use the most.
In Australia, political parties and candidates are permitted to send unsolicited SMS messages during election campaigns or during periods of political debate, as these communications are exempt from most spam regulations (ACMA). Political text messages, aimed at influencing votes, are not considered commercial and therefore do not require prior consent or an unsubscribe option. However, these messages must include an authorisation statement, detailing the sender's party name and state or area and the name of the person within the party. For comprehensive guidelines on these regulations, read the Authorisation of Political Communication Guide.
Make the most of those important days leading up to the big election by sending SMS alerts and updates. These could be for events, political views, positions and more.
Examples:
Many political parties are backed by their volunteers, who volunteer their time at local campaign meetings, handing out how-to-vote cards on election day and more. Online SMS provides an easy way for you to organise your volunteers, including sending them notifications, event reminders and more.
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One of the easiest ways to get in front of your voters is to send a political SMS broadcast reminding them to cast their vote on election day. In Australia, voting is compulsory and so a friendly reminder can go a long way.
Examples:
Elections don’t happen often, so make sure your voters know exactly where to go by sending a political SMS with a link to find their local polling booth. Utilise 2-way SMS to get your voters engaged.
Example:
You: "Peter, tomorrow is election day! Do you know where to vote? Reply with your postcode and we’ll send you polling booths in your local area" PromLand, Canberra, Ken G.
Peter: "4553"
You: "There are 6 local polling booths for your area. View more here: bit.ly/where-to-vote"
After the election is ended, you can take the opportunity to send your voters a political SMS broadcast to let them know if any of your candidates won their local area election, or were successfully voted in.
Examples:
When choosing software to use consider what features will make the biggest impact to your campaign. Notifyre offers:
✓ Scheduling tools: Plan ahead and put your bulk text messages campaigns on autopilot.
✓ Smooth start: Upload SMS marketing contact lists to use merge fields and contact groups. Import 100,000+ contacts at once.
✓ SMS personalisation: Make messages count with custom merge fields, emojis, Unicode and more.
✓ Stay compliant: Use subscriber tools to manage opt-ins and opt-outs.
✓ Live campaign reporting: Measure the effectiveness of your bulk SMS campaigns.
Choose a sending option that best fits your political SMS marketing goals. Notifyre offers sending from, a dedicated virtual SMS number, Sender ID or the free system number. For political campaigns that require high visibility and trust, a Sender ID is a great choice. If voter interaction is important, a VMN allows for direct responses. For a budget-friendly two-way option, Notifyre’s System Number offers a simple way to send and receive replies without a dedicated number.
Feature | Sender ID | Virtual SMS Number | Notifyre Shared System Number |
Display Name | Custom alphanumeric name (e.g., YourParty) | Standard mobile number (e.g., 0412 345 678) | Shared Notifyre number, changes over time |
Two-Way Messaging | Not available. Recipients can’t reply | Unlimited free inbound messages | Free inbound messages for up to 48 hours after delivery |
Price | Free | $17.50 per number, per month | Free |
Availability | Register your Sender ID in your Notifyre account. 1-2 business days to activate | Order in your Notifyre account. 1-2 business days to activate | Available instantly in your account. Limited to 20 SMS parts until account is verified |
Use Case | Best for one-way announcements, event reminders, and voting day alerts | Best for voter surveys, engagement, and opt-in messaging | Best for cost-effective two-way messaging |
Looking for a Sender ID for your political SMS campaigns? Sign up today!
Notifyre’s SMS gateway enables campaign managers to send messages via any device through the method that best suits them. Here are 4 ways to send SMS online with Notifyre:
Creating an SMS opt-in form for your political campaign is an effective way to reach your constituents and keep them informed. However, it's best practice to gather consent using an online form before sending text messages. Here are 7 ways how you can grow your opt-in list.
Clear Call to Action: Ensure your form includes a clear call to action. Make it obvious that by submitting their phone number, recipients know they are agreeing to receive political campaign updates via SMS.
Opt-Out Information: Your form should include instructions on how individuals can opt out of receiving messages. A simple message like, "Text STOP to opt out at any time," should be displayed when filling out the form.
The sky is the limit when preparing and managing your political campaign. By utilising SMS marketing, you can reach your voters before, on and after election day. Start sending SMS messages today with Notifyre and take full advantage of our SMS features to enrich your message and make your political campaign stand out from the rest. Sign up to get started!
You can also explore SMS tools for law firms and legal services to strengthen client relationships and keep cases moving forward with Notifyre SMS.
Create contact groups to manage your contacts, opt-ins, opt-out lists and more, all in one place.
Use scheduling tools, SMS templates and bulk contact upload to send SMS broadcasts.
Get unbeatable value with Notifyre’s pay-as-you-go SMS. Send smarter, save more!