UX Race to the White House: Campaign Site Best Practices
•
7 j'aime•2,308 vues
Candidates must optimize website user experience to stay competitive in the 2016 Election. They'll need to increase digital engagement with voters to mobilize money, volunteers, and votes to win the election. In this presentation, AnswerLab UX researcher Charlotte Hult defines the elements of a successful a campaign website experience.
Recommandé
Recommandé
Contenu connexe
Tendances
Tendances (20)
Similaire à UX Race to the White House: Campaign Site Best Practices
Similaire à UX Race to the White House: Campaign Site Best Practices (20)
Plus de AnswerLab
Plus de AnswerLab (7)
Dernier
Dernier (20)
UX Race to the White House: Campaign Site Best Practices
- 1. 2016 Election: UX Race to the White House Final Report – Campaign Site User Experience Best Practices Charlotte Hult, AnswerLab User Experience Researcher | March 2016
- 2. Table of Contents • Research Overview • Executive Summary • Election UX Best Practices 2
- 4. Scale Dimensions: • Utility • Usability • Performance • Intelligence • Engagement • Visual Design Research Objectives and Methodology Study Method Heuristic evaluation of desktop experience among the Top 2 Democratic and Top 2 Republican candidates 4 5 - Excellent 4 = Good 3 = Acceptable 2 = Poor 1 = Very Poor Candidates • Hilary Clinton, Bernie Sanders • Donald Trump, Ted Cruz Evaluate user success on core tasks across presidential candidate campaign sites to develop UX best practices for presidential campaigns Identify the most effective calls-to- action 1 2 Identify any relationship between digital calls to action and votes 3
- 6. Why is user experience important in the 2016 Presidential Election? 6
- 7. Candidates cannot just rely on earned media to mobile votes and donations. • In 2012, Obama’s campaign team optimized their website to reach more voters, mobilize volunteers, and increase campaign donations to win the election. • In the next 6 months, prospective presidential candidates must differentiate themselves to win the party nomination. • From July to November, candidates will continue to educate voters on their platforms, raise funds to finance their travel and campaigning, and increase volunteer reach in order to win the highly competitive 2016 election. 7 "A cornerstone of our winning strategy was using technology to reach people just learning about the President's platform, engaged supporters, and our most committed volunteers.“ -Jason Kunesh (Director of UX Research, Obama for America)
- 8. How do voters engage with the 2016 Presidential Candidates? 8
- 9. Voter Engagement Journey Which candidate do I agree with most? Who do I want to vote for? Can I trust this candidate? What’s is the candidate’s background? What does the candidate stand for? Do I believe in him/her? I’ve made up my mind, what’s next? How do I vote for him/her? Where can I attend an event? How can I help my candidate win the election? Research Compare Confirm Support Engage How can I help or support my candidate with limited commitment? Pledge commitment Register to vote Obtain a ballot Relatability Appeal Empathy Join the campaign Donate Advocate via WOM or digital sharing Attend an event Volunteer Comparison Responsiveness Credibility Persuasion
- 10. Presidential Candidate Voter Engagement Scale 10 . Donald Trump Ted CruzBernie SandersHillary Clinton Passive Engagement and Guidance Active Engagement and Guidance English Issues/Ads Text Messaging Online donations Event Schedule, Event Bright Registration, Official Events Sign Up Form -- -- Live Tweets Language Videos Campaign Updates Donations Events Volunteer Voter Registration Voter Polling Information Social Media Integration English/Español Issues/Ads/TV Appearance App Online donations Event Schedule, Event Bright Registration, Official events Sign Up, Select Preferences Overview, Deadlines, Links Locations Live Tweets, Videos English/Español Issues Text Messaging Online donations Event Schedule, Onsite Registration, Official/locally organized events Sign Up Form, Required Donation -- -- Share Buttons English/Español Issues Text Messaging Online donations Event Map, Onsite Registration, Official/locally organized events Sign Up, Select Preferences Overview, Deadlines, Links Location, Reminders, Share Buttons Engagement as of 3/07/2016
- 11. Presidential Candidate Voter Engagement Scale 11 . Donald Trump Ted CruzBernie SandersHillary Clinton Passive Engagement and Guidance Active Engagement and Guidance Candidate Raised: $25.5M States Won: 12 out of 20 Delegates Pledged: 384 Candidate Raised: $130.4M States Won: 12 out of 21 Delegates Pledged: 672 Candidate Raised: $54.7M States Won: 6 out of 20 Delegates Pledged: 300 Candidate Raised: $96.3M States Won: 8 out of 21 Delegates Pledged: 477 Source: New York Times as of 3/08/2016
- 12. Why is engagement significant? 12
- 13. Between the beginning of October through end of January, Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz significantly increased their voter engagement. 13 September 2015 Sanders had a volunteer sign up for the first primaries of 2016. Cruz did not have any instructions or information for upcoming state’s primaries or caucuses. January 2016 Both candidates added primary and caucusing guidance for upcoming states to their sites to engage voters in the election process.
- 14. Between the beginning of October through end of January, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump did not significantly increased their voter engagement. The result? 14
- 15. High engagement candidates with strong calls to action raised more money than candidates with less engagement in January. 15 Source: Wall Street Journal as of 2/21/2016 Bernie Sander raised 6.4 M more than Hillary Clinton. Ted Cruz raised 1.5 M more than Donald Trump.
- 16. Candidates must optimize their user experience to stay competitive in the 2016 election. Candidates will need to increase engagement with voters to mobilize money, volunteers, and votes to win the election. 16
- 17. Campaign Site UX Best Practices 17
- 18. 18 Which candidate do I agree with most? Who do I want to vote for? Can I trust this candidate? What’s is the candidate’s background? What does the candidate stand for? Do I believe in him/her? I’ve made up my mind, what’s next? How do I vote for him/her? Where can I attend an event? How can I help my candidate win the election? Research Compare Confirm Support Engage How can I help or support my candidate with limited commitment? Voter Engagement Journey
- 19. Integrate voters’ terminology and language into the site’s navigation, calls to action, and content to increase voter discovery and appeal 19 Ted Cruz Bernie Sanders Donald Trump Research
- 20. Offer persuasive video content to educate voters and facilitate organic word-of-mouth and digital sharing of the candidate’s platform and message 20 Ted Cruz Donald Trump Research
- 21. Use imagery, video, and text messaging to create a feeling of familiarity and relatability between the candidate and voters 21 Bernie Sanders Hillary Clinton Ted Cruz Research
- 22. Exemplify the candidate’s real-time pulse on trending topics and issues in the presidential race 22 Ted Cruz Hillary Clinton Research
- 23. Build empathy and rapport before asking for contributions 23 Hilary Clinton Ted Cruz Compare
- 24. Provide context and comparison to differentiate the candidate from the competition 24 Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Compare
- 25. Establish credibility and social capital to develop voter trust and approval by aligning with prominent world leaders and highlighting mentions in the mainstream media. 25 Donald Trump Ted Cruz Compare
- 26. Guide voters to registration forms and polling locations 26 Bernie Sanders Ted Cruz Confirm
- 27. Ask for the voter’s commitment before arriving to the polling location 27 Ted Cruz Hillary Clinton Confirm
- 28. Provide clear calls to action to inspire the voter to join the campaign and influence the presidential election 28 Ted Cruz Bernie Sanders Support
- 29. Share the impact of monetary contributions to motivate voters to donate and underscore the contribution’s urgency 29 Bernie Sanders Bernie Sanders Bernie Sanders Support
- 30. Provide consistent, findable campaign events and volunteer opportunities to increase returning voter engagement and mobilization within local communities 30 Bernie Sanders Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Engage
- 31. Allow voters to choose level of volunteer engagement 31 Hillary ClintonTed Cruz Engage
- 32. Acknowledge voter’s support & translate engagement into small wins and empowerment 32 Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders Engage
- 33. Want to Learn More? Keep up-to-date on the latest AnswerLab research insights, get access to best practices, and find out about upcoming UX events. Sign up for our newsletter.
- 34. Unparalleled Insights. Exceptional Experiences. Thank You Charlotte Hult Zara Logue Tanya Bashaw Lead Researcher Research Manager Marketing Manager chult@answerlab.com zlogue@answerlab.com tbashaw@answerlab.com
Notes de l'éditeur
- Campaigns for the 2016 presidential election are in full swing and every candidate has some form of digital presence. As a user experience researcher, I’m fascinated by the many ways in which our lives are shaped, improved, and sometimes complicated by digital tools and experiences. So I dove into this rich topic to understand how user experience might be impacting voters. I found that candidates must optimize website user experience to stay competitive in the 2016 Election. They will need to increase digital engagement with voters to mobilize money, volunteers, and votes to win the election. I hope what I learned inspires campaign strategists to create user experiences that increase voter turnout and get more people involved in the future leadership and direction of our country.
- My research approach To define successful campaign site experiences for voters, I sought to learn: What are the ‘UX Best Practices” for presidential campaign sites? (How can each candidate’s Director of Digital optimize their onsite engagement?) What are the most effective calls to action on campaign sites? What relationship, if any, is there between digital calls to actions and offline voter behavior? To answer these questions, I conducted a heuristic evaluation of the Top 2 Republican and Top 2 Democratic candidates. I finalized the Top 2 Republican candidates on Super Tuesday, March 1st, 2016 based on the number of pledged delegates. On a scale of 1 (Very Poor) to 5 (Excellent), I rated each campaign site based on these key user experience elements: utility, usability, performance, engagement, and visual design. To counter order and personal bias, I analyzed each candidate for 4 weeks capturing screenshots of the site’s features, tools, messaging, and design. Each week, I alternated the order of candidates and used Chrome’s Incognito Tab to view the site as a new user with ‘fresh eyes and perspective.’ To understand the evolution of each campaign site, I used The Internet Archive’s Way Back Machine to review historical desktop screenshots and identify major site changes from September – March.
- Which presidential candidate’s user experience drives the most voter engagement? With a stronger understanding of a voter’s journey, I sought to compare and contrast each campaign’s online engagement relative to the other candidates. Analyzing and synthesizing each campaign’s strategy to educate, inspire, and mobilize potential voters and committed supporters, candidate’s engagement ranged from passive to active guidance. In the passive to active engagement spectrum below, I ranked each candidate based on the following dimensions: language translations, multimedia, campaign updates, social media integration, donation process, event registration, volunteer sign up, voter registration and polling instructions.
- To determine the elements of an exceptional digital campaign experience, I wanted to understand a voter’s journey navigating presidential candidates. Synthesizing my analysis across Republican and Democratic candidates, I realized that campaigns identify voters in the one of the five stages; research, compare, confirm, support, and engage. Similar to a retailer’s top to bottom funnel, campaigns need to guide voters to zero in on their preferred candidate to convert (vote), checkout (donate), and share their experience (volunteer).
- You might be thinking “Engagement — so what? Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are leading with the most pledged delegates yet they have the lowest engagement.” And you are right. However, Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz have stayed competitive and influenced the media’s narrative because they have significantly increased their voter engagement. From the beginning of October through the end of January, Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz have refined their user experience to focus on registering voters and guiding them to the polls.
- High engagement candidates with strong calls to action raised more money than candidates with less engagement in January. As seen in this chart, Sanders raised more than 6.4M more than Clinton and Cruz raised 1.5M more than Trump.
- Voters follow a journey through 5 stages: research, compare, confirm, support, and engage. Similar to a retailer’s top to bottom funnel, campaigns need to guide voters to zero in on their preferred candidate to convert (vote), checkout (donate), and share their experience (volunteer). There are experience enhancements at each step of this journey which, when made, increase overall voter engagement. Digital strategists should consider the following best practices along the voter journey
- To integrate voter’s terminology and natural language, Cruz translates his calls to action into Spanish, Sanders uses inquiries such as “How To Vote” in his navigation, and Trump utilizes political terminology familiar to the voter in an authentic tone.
- To educate voters, Cruz and Trump host multiple videos explaining their stance on specific issues, controversial commercial and video advertisements, and TV/debate appearances. These quick sound bytes facilitate organic word-of-mouth and digital sharing more than dense written content.
- Sanders builds relatability with voters by showcasing the faces of his campaign and supporters on his home page. Clinton continues the conversation with voters by offering campaign updates via text from Team Hillary. Cruz’s live videos and photos build familiarity and give voters an inside glance of the Cruz and his campaign on the road.
- Clinton acknowledge her stance on the recent death of a Supreme Court Justice, Scalia, and the implications of his empty seat. Cruz displays his stance on gun control and second amendment rights as highly debated in the 2016 Election race.
- Clinton’s pop up overlay acknowledges a controversial issue to build rapport and empathy before asking new site visitors to donate on her home page. Cruz’s splash page immediately asks for a voter’s contribution before building a relationship with a new site visitor. Similar to non-profit organizations, donors are unlikely to contribute until he/she understands the organization mission and impact.
- Trump differentiates himself from candidate Marco Rubio by displaying a television commercial against Marco Rubio. Clinton contrasts herself from Sanders highlighting 6 policy differences discussed at a Democratic debate.
- Trump displays his mentions in the mainstream media and most recent Tweets to build social capital with voters. Cruz highlights his approval from prominent leaders to establish credibility with voters.
- Sanders provides instructions to find polling location, to vote as a college student, and to determine absentee voting eligibility. On Sander’s site, users can set a calendar reminder to vote in the primaries, sign up for reminders, register to voter, or check their registration status. Cruz provides details on Ohio’s voting process, requirements, and deadlines.
- Cruz and Clinton ask voters to official endorse a candidate and commit their vote before arriving to the polls.
- Cruz provides five clear calls to action for Ohio voters to mobilize volunteers and spread the word. Cruz supporters can stay connected by downloading the Activism App. Sanders inspires voters to start a political revolution through three calls to action; attending events, sharing with friends, and volunteering for Bernie.
- Sanders provides instructions to find polling location, to vote as a college student, and to determine absentee voting eligibility. On Sander’s site, users can set a calendar reminder to vote in the primaries, sign up for reminders, register to voter, or check their registration status. Cruz provides details on Ohio’s voting process, requirements, and deadlines.
- Sanders allows supporters to filter by type of volunteer event and location to mobilizes voters within their local communities. Trump provides a schedule of his campaign rallies with links to get tickets. Clinton provides a list of events based on your zipcode to increase engagement for returning users.
- Cruz allows voters to select his/her preferred level of engagement from prepopulated list of activities. Clinton does not allow voters to select their level of engagement and requires a donation to process the voter’s volunteer registration.
- Sanders acknowledges the voter’s support for his campaign and empowerment of donations. Trump and Clinton acknowledge the donor by first name translating his/her contribution into impact.
- Learn about the latest in user experience research. We offer research findings, explain trends, share best practices, and more through our newsletter and blog.