UK political parties 'should increase online direct marketing efforts'

Political parties in the UK need to improve their online direct marketing tactics ahead of the next general election, an industry expert has said.
In a column for Econsultancy, Graham Charlton said that for political parties to capitalise on the benefits of the internet ahead of the general election, they need to focus on email marketing.

Drawing on the example of Barack Obama´s presidential campaign in the US where email marketing was used effectively by the Democrats, Mr Charlton notes that email is a powerful tool for those mounting major political campaigns.

It enables political parties to build an accurate profile of their supporters and bypass traditional media outlets by communicating directly with voters, he added.

According to Mr Charlton, political parties in the UK, including Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, need to improve their email marketing practices.

Last week, writing on ClickZ, Jeanne Jennings said subject lines play a key role in email marketing.

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