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Mapa do Segundo Turno
Mapa do Segundo Turno

37/ 47Whom to reach

The right page, for the right person.

Sending everything to everyone is tiring. Sending the page about a problem the person faces, with a few words of your own, opens a conversation. In experiments in the United States, messages from close friends mobilized more people than the message itself[1], and conversations that included listening changed opinions for months[2].

Image for stories and link to this page.

Image for stories and link to this page.

thousand additional votes in a US election in 2010, 280 thousand of them through the effect among friends on Facebook
340
Source: study in Nature, via ScienceDaily[1].

Who faces what

  • For whomSomeone who works six days to get one day off

    Send6x1 workweek

  • For whomSomeone who fills the tank every week

    SendGasoline

  • For whomSomeone who counts every real at the supermarket

    SendHunger and food

  • For whomSomeone with children in school

    SendEducation

  • For whomWomen in your family and at work

    SendWomen

  • For whomSomeone afraid to walk in their own neighborhood

    SendPublic security

  • For whomSomeone who goes to Mass

    SendCatholics

  • For whomSomeone who did not vote in the first round

    SendAbstention

How to choose whom to reach

  1. 01

    Think of the person before the page.

    Choose someone you know and what weighs on their life: work, prices, their children's school or safety. Only then look for the page that addresses it.

  2. 02

    Send one page, not ten.

    A link about the person's life is worth more than a list. What does not concern them becomes noise and hides what does.

  3. 03

    Write in your own words.

    One line from you, for them: “I thought of you when I read this”. In the Facebook experiment, the network of close friends made the difference[1]; in another, messages from friends to friends increased turnout[3].

  4. 04

    Ask what they think and listen.

    The link is the start of the conversation, not the end. Arguments alone did not change opinions; sharing stories without judgment did[2]. The outreach guide explains how to have the conversation.

  5. 05

    Respect the answer.

    If the person does not want to talk, that is fine. Insisting closes the door the page opened.

Why

Nobody listens to what does not concern them

Campaign contact with strangers barely changes votes: in a review of 49 experiments in US general elections, the average effect was zero[4]. Those contacts came from strangers. What changes is who speaks and about what.

In 2010, a Facebook message with photos of friends who had already voted brought around 60 thousand additional people to the polls, and another 280 thousand through the effect among friends; almost all of it came from close friends, people who know each other offline[1].

In conversations that changed opinions, sharing stories and listening worked. In three experiments involving 6,869 voters, the change lasted at least four months[2]; in another, ten minutes of conversation reduced prejudice for at least three months[5].

Keeping things realistic

A page does not become a vote on its own

These studies are from the United States and measure turnout and opinions, not the choice between two candidates in Brazil. The effects are small for each person and only grow when added together. That is why what counts is the conversation the page opens with someone you know.

Within the law

What not to do

  • Do not send mass messages. The TSE prohibits advertising through mass messaging, meaning sending the same content to a large number of people[6]. Send it to people you know, one at a time.
  • Do not pay to boost posts. Paid promotion may only be contracted by parties, coalitions, candidates and their representatives[7].
  • Do not buy or use contact lists. The conversation is between people who know each other. A purchased list is mass messaging, not conversation[6].

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References07 sources

  1. 01ScienceDaily · Facebook boosts voter turnout: 61-million-person experiment demonstrates voting can be influenced by social networksStudy in Nature: the social message generated 60 thousand direct votes and 280 thousand through the network, 340 thousand in total; almost all through close friends.(opens in a new tab)
  2. 02American Political Science Review (Yale ISPS) · Reducing Exclusionary Attitudes Through Interpersonal Conversation: Evidence From Three Field Experiments230 interviewers, 6,869 voters: arguments alone had no effect; sharing stories without judgment reduced exclusionary attitudes for at least four months.(opens in a new tab)
  3. 03Proceedings of the Web Conference 2021 · Assessing the Effects of Friend-to-Friend Texting on Turnout in the 2018 US Midterm ElectionsText messages between friends increased turnout in the 2018 US elections.(opens in a new tab)
  4. 04American Political Science Review (RePEc) · The Minimal Persuasive Effects of Campaign Contact in General Elections: Evidence from 49 Field ExperimentsThe average effect of campaign contact on candidate choice in US general elections is zero.(opens in a new tab)
  5. 05NPR · Study Finds Deep Conversations Can Reduce Transgender PrejudiceAround ten minutes of conversation reduced prejudice, and the change persisted after three months.(opens in a new tab)
  6. 06Conjur · TSE veda oficialmente uso de disparos em massa nas eleiçõesTSE Resolution 23.610/2019 prohibits advertising through mass messaging and defines it as sending the same content to a large number of users.(opens in a new tab)
  7. 07Migalhas · STF mantém proibição de propaganda eleitoral paga na internetArt. 57-C of Law 9.504/97: promotion contracted exclusively by parties, coalitions, candidates and their representatives.(opens in a new tab)