On this week’s episode, Izaak’s guest is Chandra Sharma. Chandra Sharma is the Vice-President of Meridian Pacific, Inc. Chandra is also a Digital Media expert when it comes to campaigns and he will be talking about how best to utilize paid digital media in your race.

Chandra defines digital media as the communications in the digital space. This can be from Facebook and Twitter posts to 30 second ads on Youtube or Hulu. With the increase of mobile devices usage, it has been key for campaigns to communicate their message through the digital space. Chandra states with programs such as Facebook and Instagram ads, campaigns can micro target their audiences at an affordable price. Digital media has become a lot more affordable in recent years and now any type of campaign should budget to spend money on paid digital media advertising.

Chandra says that some of his most successful paid digital buys were audio and video ads on Pandora; however, he does say that this may be out of budget for smaller campaigns. Facebook and Instagram ads are more suitable for smaller campaigns.

There are two questions you have to answer when using paid digital. The first is  “Who do i want to talk to?” You shouldn’t just be boosting random post or ads to a general audience. You need to target specifically to your district and your audience.

The next question is what would your audience find interesting with this content? Just re-posting press releases will not engage as well compared to a picture or video post.It’s important to have good content that is engaging. Don’t post a 12 minute video of you explaining all your issues. You can use a 30 second ad that hits your major talking points, which you be more effective in your communication. Basically, shorter ads are more effective.

Chandra says that 20-25% of your budget should be devoted to paid digital media. Facebook and Instagram ads provide the most bang for your buck if you’re running a smaller campaign. When you’re putting out these ads, run them for 3-4 days to see what the responses are. You can react quickly and change your messaging from your feedback on your initial ads.

Chandra says that a big opportunity for using digital media is pre-roll video footage. Examples of these are the 15 sec ads you see on YouTube right before a video. These are effective mediums to be delivering your communications.

If you would like to connect with Chandra, you can email him at [email protected].

Intro/Outro Music: http://www.purple-planet.com

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