Social media ads reach voters where they scroll
By Ally Myers
2024-25 Broward League president
In the lead up to the primary election on Aug. 20, our League invested $1,800 for Facebook and Instagram ads – not posts, but advertisements. We were both gratified and surprised by the results.
For the actual investment, the ads were shown 475,011 times and reached almost 195,000 users. The data collected indicated that about 2,100 users likely remembered the ad, which is our goal – for social media users to remember there is an election and to go out and vote!
For every 1,000 times the ads were shown, the cost was $3.79, well under our original goal of $10. This means it was a very efficient means of outreach and well worth the money spent.
Somewhat surprisingly, the ads reached more males than females – about 75% of the users were males and 25% females. Not surprising was the fact that the ads garnered more results on Instagram than on Facebook.
With only weeks until the general election, the Broward League continues to target our GOTV messages to young and minority voters, but with a twist. From a creative standpoint, VOTE411.org continues to serve as the base of the ad, with a call-to-action message.
Based on what we learned in the Primary Election, we are addressing low-turnout county commission districts and have further narrowed the target audience to ages 18-45. This series of ads features Black and Hispanic young adults, with a variety of slogans. All of them can be translated into Spanish. This campaign offers many options, mixing faces, messages, and languages to correspond with a geographical and demographic approach.
We will be targeting County Commission Districts 1 and 7 with bilingual ads. Together, these districts include approximately 102,000 Hispanic, 59,000 Black, and 57,000 White registered voters. These two districts include a small portion of Hollywood and all of Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Southwest Ranches, Weston, and West Park. English-only ads will be run in County Commission Districts 8 and 9. Together, these districts include 37,000 Hispanic, 113,500 Black, and 59,500 White registered voters. The configuration of Districts 8 and 9 means we will target specific zip codes rather than entire cities.