As Sri Lanka approaches its 2024 presidential election, the importance of a robust digital advertising strategy cannot be overstated. While social media platforms have become a popular choice for political campaigns, it is essential to recognize the significant role that open web platforms play in creating a strong share of voice. The open web offers unique advantages, particularly in reaching diverse audiences and ensuring a broad and impactful presence in the digital sphere.
Web Audience Perception and Share of Voice
According to social listening stats (source: Locobuzz) derived from web audience data and show the performance of SJB with 146.6k total mentions and 6.7k average mentions per day, NPP with 180k total social mentions and 8.2k average mentions per day and current president Ranil Wickramasinghe with total social mentions 114.1k and average 5.2k mentions per day who are the main candidates in the upcoming presidential election in Sri Lanka 2024.
Beyond Walled Gardens: The Open Web Advantage
Social media platforms, often referred to as “walled gardens,” provide a controlled environment for advertising where content is primarily viewed by users within the platform. While these platforms offer targeted advertising, they also come with limitations, including restricted access to broader audiences and data. In contrast, the open web encompasses a vast network of websites, news portals, and blogs, offering a more comprehensive reach. Advertising on open web platforms allows campaigns to engage with a diverse and extensive audience, ensuring that their message is not confined to the echo chambers often found on social media.
Aggregated Local Audiences and Language Support
One of the significant benefits of using a local open web platform for digital advertising in Sri Lanka’s 2024 presidential election is the ability to aggregate local audiences on a common platform. By leveraging local websites and news portals, campaigns can ensure that their message reaches a broad spectrum of the electorate, including those who may not be active on social media. This is particularly important in a country like Sri Lanka, where internet usage patterns vary across regions and demographics.
In addition, a local open web platform offers robust support for local language advertising, a crucial factor in a multilingual nation. By delivering ads in Sinhala, Tamil, and English, campaigns can effectively communicate with voters in their preferred language, enhancing the impact of their message. This level of localization is often more challenging to achieve on social media platforms, where language options and audience segmentation can be limited.
The Strategic Importance of Open Web Advertising
As political campaigns strategize for the 2024 presidential election, it is essential to prioritize a strong presence on open web platforms. By doing so, they can achieve a balanced digital advertising strategy that goes beyond the confines of social media and taps into the full potential of the internet.
Therefore, the advertising arms of the candidates in presidential election battle in Sri Lanka should embrace the cutting edge features of local open platforms which offer a powerful means of reaching a wide and diverse audience, fostering trust through credible placements, and ensuring that the campaign message resonates across different languages and regions.
