Digital Political Campaign Goals, Rules, & Methods

The upcoming 2024 election is almost here. Before Indonesians start voting for their preferred candidate, there is an important period called the election campaign.

Election campaigns are important moments in the democratic process. It was during this campaign period that all prospective politicians competed vigorously to gain public support.

One of the political campaign goals is to serve as a venue for introductions, conveying the vision and mission, and providing an overview of the work program plans.

In an atmosphere full of enthusiasm, election campaigns generally present a series of activities in the political sphere.

Considering that the aim of the election campaign is to familiarize political figures with potential leaders, the methods used during the process are quite diverse.

Political campaign methods can be carried out through public meetings, door-to-door (direct) campaigns, the use of mass media, or the implementation of digital campaigns.

In the world of modern politics, the existence of digital marketing in election campaigns cannot be ignored.

This is because digital marketing can provide opportunities to reach a wider audience and interact directly with potential voters.

Even though political campaign goals are mainly to gain as much trust and votes as possible, the procedure should not be carried out haphazardly.

There are several rules that must be obeyed during the campaign period. To understand it thoroughly, consider the following information in full.

What Is an Election Campaign?

Election stands for general election, an important process in the world of democratic leadership.

In the process of running an election, there is one crucial step that is useful for changing the perception of potential voters towards a positive assessment.

The election campaign is a stage that is also included in General Election Commission Regulation (PKPU) Number 23 of 2018.

It states that a campaign can be carried out by a team formed by the pair of candidates and the political party concerned.

So how long does the election campaign actually take? In general, the election campaign period lasts 75 days.

During this 75-day period, of course, there are a number of election campaign rules that political candidates must obey. Here's more you need to know!

Election Campaign Rules

In order to ensure the success of fair elections, the entire process needs to be in line with the applicable regulations.

Election campaign rules have been regulated in Law Number 7 of 2017. There are several procedures that must be obeyed by all parties involved in Indonesia.

In general, the regulations in it emphasize that elections must be held based on general, free, direct, confidential, honest, and fair principles.

The other principles that must be adhered to so that the political campaign goals can be achieved:

• Ensuring the law is in the highest position
• Uphold the scope of professionalism
• Independent and orderly
• Prioritizing honesty throughout the process
• Accountable: willing to provide strong and transparent reports
• Effective and efficient

In addition, in order to achieve the political campaign goals fair and square during an election, every individual involved must also prioritize the principle of dialogue.

This means that election campaigns should be carried out with high integrity and be willing to open up space for dialogue and discussion.

The Don’ts During an Election

In order for the campaign process to run according to the provisions, the law has implemented a number of prohibitions during an election, including:

• It is forbidden to carry out activities that can incite or pit individuals or communities against one another.
• Prohibited from carrying out activities that can damage the integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
• It is prohibited to issue comments that may lead to insults to religion, race, ethnicity, group, or other election participating entities.
• Violence is strictly prohibited during the campaign.
• It is forbidden to promise material benefits to a mass of supporters. 

Political Campaign Goals During an Election

As previously explained, the election campaign is one of the most important stages in the world of politics based on democracy. Below are some of the objectives of the election campaign in Indonesia.

1. Increasing Public Awareness

One of the political campaign goals during an election is to raise public awareness about the importance of choosing a candidate for a leader who will take full responsibility for the next few years.

Raising awareness here means that the campaign aims to get the masses acquainted with candidates, political parties, and relevant political issues.

Election campaigns aim to ensure that voters have a good understanding of the options available and the implications of their decisions in the general election.

2. Gather Mass Support

Behind the action of realizing the vision, mission, and values of the entity as a political figure, the aim of the election campaign is, of course, to gather support from the wider community.

Through a strong political campaign and well-organized work program, you can convince voters that you and your political party are the best choice for representing the masses and achieving the targeted goals.

3. Changing and Strengthening Public Opinion

Election campaigns also have the aim of influencing public opinion on political candidates and issues.

Through activities such as conveying political messages that are relevant, interesting, and convincing, campaign objectives to change or strengthen voters' views of a candidate or a party can be properly achieved.

4. Building Trust and Intrapersonal Connections

One of the main political campaign goals is to build a positive image and trust in the candidate or political party concerned.

The reason is that, through campaigns, political figures can show consistency, transparency, and integrity in every action.

It is also through election campaigns that you can build intrapersonal connections with the mass of supporters and strengthen trust in your work plans and strategies.

5. Mobilizing Voters

Indirectly, election campaigns also aim to mobilize voters to use their voting rights in general elections.

With the festive nature of the campaign, the possibility of mass abstentions can be minimized.

This is because election campaigns can encourage voters to be actively involved by casting their votes and ensuring strong representation in general elections.

Methods in Planning a Political Campaign

According to the regulations stipulated by the general election commission, as stipulated in PKPU No. 3 of 2018, the objectives of the election campaign can be achieved by several methods.

Starting from face-to-face meetings to the application of social media and websites, here are the types of election campaign methods that can be used.

1. Live / Face to Face Campaign 

Just as the name suggests, this direct campaign involves direct interaction between the campaign team and potential voters.

Through direct campaigns, politicians have the opportunity to speak directly with potential voters in order to hear their aspirations and concerns.

With the direct election campaign method, the process of building interpersonal relationships can be established more quickly.

However, face-to-face campaigns tend to require more resources and have a limited audience.

2. Print Campaign

To this day, election campaigns through print media are still common. This method involves the use of print media such as brochures, pamphlets, leaflets, and posters to convey political messages.

One of the advantages of the election campaign method with print media is that it can reach voters widely, especially in areas that do not have internet access.

Utilizing print media can also support the purpose of political campaigns by providing detailed information to prospective voters.

Even so, this method of dissemination by print media requires great effort in the distribution process, and the risk of updating the information is limited.

3. General Meeting Campaign

Since 2019, the General Elections Commission (KPU) has passed rules on the general meeting campaign method, namely by dividing it into two zoning systems, each consisting of 17 provinces.

This means that each election participant will be given time to campaign in a predetermined zone within a period of 3 days, after which they can move to another province. 

4. Digital Media Campaign

Campaigning through digital media has become one of the most effective election methods and has become a popular choice in recent years.

The reason is that this method can involve many platforms and various supporting strategies. By utilizing social media and implementing SEO on the website, it is hoped that the political campaign goals can be achieved properly.

Through this campaign method, election participants can gain flexibility in conveying messages and can help target specific audiences.

Digital media campaigns can also be used as a powerful method of increasing visibility on search engines.

However, please note that digital media campaigns face a high level of competition.

If you intend to achieve your political campaign goals by employing digital marketing methods, then working with third parties, especially digital marketing service providers, can be very helpful.

Your digital campaign will become more structured and invite more potential voters if it successfully displays an attractive and easy-to-navigate user interface (UI).

Election campaigns that are carried out through digital media, such as websites, still require regular supervision by specialists in their fields.

It would be even better if the digital political campaign maintenance was carried out systematically with the help of developers and SEO specialists.

For that, you can use SEO services from cmlabs to achieve election campaign goals and win unanimous votes from the masses.

With cmlabs, optimization of your website pages will be more targeted, and your visibility as a trusted political figure will be easy to navigate on the SERPs.