Mobiles are the stuff of dreams for politicians, says Melanie Batley, because you reach people instantly, with an almost guaranteed chance they will pay attention

For those of you who hit the campaign trail during the election, you were probably told repeatedly just how fed-up people are by politicians. And yet, even the most disenchanted voters still wanted to talk.

This may seem contradictory but people will always want to discuss the issues affecting their lives, and they still believe politicians have some power to help them.

It takes engaging with people directly to get them politically involved and motivated to vote. The problem is that many traditional campaigning methods simply don't cut it in this fast-paced world. Most people don't have time to attend a political event, aren't home to answer the door and are so saturated with mass marketing that they've learned to tune it out. So political success in the 21st century depends on personalised communications, using mediums people will take notice of.

On that note, it's time to take another look at the humble mobile phone.

Compared to other electronic forms of communication such as the internet, mobile phones are more portable, affordable and widely used. One survey found that almost every adult in the UK, except the very old, owns a handset. In fact, the number of active mobile subscriptions now exceeds 75 million - that's more than one for every man, woman and child.

Now consider that 22.9 billion text messages were sent in just one quarter of 2009, equivalent to 333 messages per subscriber. Figures show that across all age groups, over 90 per cent use text messaging, except for the over-60s, where the figures dip slightly to 86 per cent for women and 79 per cent for men. Not only is text messaging almost universal, but 95 per cent of all text messages are read within four minutes; an impressive performance when you take into account that fewer than 20 per cent of all email messages are opened.

Given the potential for reaching people instantly with an almost certain chance that they will pay attention, mobiles should be the stuff of dreams for politicians. Sure, you may say, this is nothing new. Parties have been using text messaging since the 2001 election.

That's true, but the scope has been very limited even during this most recent election campaign. Unless the tool is fully integrated into a campaign's communications strategy, it is not particularly effective in a political context.

Let's take the Obama campaign as an example of the possibilities. Every poster, lawn sign, television commercial and piece of mail from the Obama campaign had a special text number asking people to text the campaign, after which a person would immediately receive a response. For example: "Welcome to Obama Mobile News and Updates. Reply with your zipcode to get local Obama info."

Supporters were sent between five and 20 messages a month, depending on their level of interest and the stage of the campaign. Through text, they were asked to visit the campaign's website, forward text messages to friends and family, and attend events. They also received quick, mini text polls about key issues, information about voter registration and reminders to go out and vote on election day. The campaign even offered free ringtones with Obama's voice and mobile phone wallpapers.

Obama also announced his vicepresidential nominee via text. The campaign invited anyone interested in being the first to know to text the campaign; a PR triumph that added millions of new mobile numbers to an already impressive database.

Of course, there are limitations to text - by definition they cannot exceed 160 characters, so no lengthy manifesto detail there. But the medium can be used as a gateway to gather large numbers of new supporters, while boosting other campaign activity from volunteer recruitment to campaign communications, attendance at events and GOTV.

As a greater proportion of phones have internet and video capabilities and the number of people sending and receiving picture messages continues to rise, more possibilities for campaigns are on the horizon including photos and video streaming.

A mobile strategy is not just useful during campaign season, but could be very effective for promoting local issues or inviting people to major events. Consider engaging a commercial provider for mobile communications, as many of the major UK retail brands do for their marketing campaigns. Text messaging is an important tool in 21st century communications, so it should be an integral part of political campaigns in the UK. Text Yes to BATLEY(228539) if you agree.

Melanie Batley has worked as a US campaign adviser and was a researcher for the Conservative Party