When thinking of SMS marketing, using it for politics isn’t necessarily the first thing that jumps into your mind. However, with the recent explosion of cell phone and smartphone use over the past 6-7 years, SMS marketing for politics has become imperative to any political campaign. In fact, President Obama leveraged SMS in his favor during the 2008 presidential election so well that he ended up winning Mobile Marketer of the Year for his efforts.

So why did a presidential candidate like Obama choose to go mobile? For starters, almost literally everyone over the legal voting age of 18 carries some type of a cell phone with them all the time. In fact, the percentage is well over 90%. Along with this, 99% of those phones are capable of sending and receiving SMS text messages. So with a shocking majority of people over 18 using cell phones, and 99% of those phones being SMS capable, what politician WOULDN’T want to go mobile with their campaign?

Not only does mobile give an advantage since seemingly every has a cell phone, but they are also the most personal medium in which you can reach the people. People text everyday, and statistically speaking, 1.2 TRILLION text messages will be sent this year alone. No other medium gives politicians the capacity to send messages DIRECTLY to their voters’ hands. If direct, personal communication is not the epitome of all that is holy in marketing, then we challenge you to find it.

SMS messaging also gives politicians the ability to communicate with their voters without coming across as spammy. Why? SMS messaging requires voters to opt-in to the service in order to receive text messages. So just by building up your database, you know everyone you text has already made it clear that they are interested in what you have to say. Your messages won’t be unwelcome since they already opted-in. If they get tired of your messages, then they can simply reply STOP to opt-out. It’s as simple as that.

To opt-in to your service, all voters need to do is text your short code with your keyword. That’s it. No bells and whistles, no confusion; simple and straight to the point. Voters love this and so do politicians.

If you’re a politician and you are looking for a way to communicate DIRECTLY and PERSONALLY with your voters and prospective voters, then mobile marketing is EXACTLY what you need. Simply put, there is NO better way to for politicians to communicate and interact with their voters. So what’s the wait? Implement SMS marketing into your political campaign today and who knows, you may just follow in Obama’s footsteps and become the next President of the United States.