Fresh polling data for you to use in your work
Written by Emily Swartzlander
We know election years are a great time to recalibrate your communications strategy. Why? Because election years mean lots of research and media organizations are gathering extra juicy data about how people are thinking and feeling.
You can use all this fresh polling data to guide your work!
One of the best ways to ensure your communications are as effective as possible is making sure you understand your audiences’ values and barriers – or what your audiences most care about and what keeps them up at night.
Voter polls and election-focused research are great sources of information to understand your audiences’ values and barriers, which is a cornerstone of any good strategic communications planning process.
We’ve pulled the latest and greatest data about how Americans are feeling and what they care about. Today, we’re going to share three of our key findings and takeaways with you.
Americans are stressed, anxious and depressed.
Earlier this year, Sesame Street’s Elmo crashed the Internet when he tweeted a simple question: How is everybody doing?
Turns out people needed to vent. Nearly 15,000 people responded to Elmo, and the vast majority said they’re feeling lonely, tired, sad or full of dread. This anecdote feels reflective of data we’re seeing about how Americans in general are feeling right now. Data shows that:
More than half of Americans are feeling exhausted, depressed and full of dread.
Forty-three percent of Americans say they feel more anxious than last year.
The election is one of the top three reasons for our increased stress and anxiety. Worry about the economy and gun violence are the other two top reasons.
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What this means for your communications:
Stress and anxiety are big barriers that would prevent your audiences from taking the actions you need them to take to make the world a better place. You can overcome these barriers by:
Focusing on the positive. Research shows that repeating barriers or problems in your messaging actually reinforces those barriers. Instead, focus your messaging on the brighter world you want to create for children and families.
Connect through storytelling. Storytelling helps build relationships. Relationships foster connection, and connection lowers stress and anxiety. Voila! (Check out our top tips for how to tell thoughtful, respectful stories that honor your communities and authentically build connections.)
Parents, educators and nonprofit leaders are burnt out.
Burnout is a “state of emotional, mental and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress,” according to Psychology Today. Research shows that people who are burnt out are less engaged, more likely to make mistakes, more likely to miscommunicate, more likely to have trouble concentrating and are more likely to forget information.
Right now, more Americans are experiencing burnout than at the height of COVID-19. This is even more true for parents, caregivers and educators. Recent polls reveal:
More than half of all parents (57 percent) are burnt out. For working parents, the number is higher (66 percent).
Teachers and principals also report higher levels of stress and burnout than other adults.
Half of communicators are worried about morale both within their organization and among their partners as we get closer to the election, and 41 percent of nonprofit leaders are worried about burnout among their staff.
What this means for your communications:
Two effective strategies can help you overcome the effects of burnout and more effectively reach parents, caregivers and educators.
Keep it simple. Your audiences don’t have the capacity for jargon or for complex language. Keep your sentences short and your word choices accessible. (We have a resource for how to simplify your messaging! You can download it here.)
Take time to recharge. Yes, you are passionate about your mission. But you are also a human being. Taking the time to care for yourself will not only help you, but it will support your work and allow you to help move your organization’s mission forward.
Child and family-focused issues continue to have widespread support.
Here’s the positive news – voters value issues that matter to children and families. Here’s what we’re seeing:
Voters across party lines have positive views of public schools and teachers, according to a 2023 National Education Association voter survey. This is especially true when it comes to their neighborhood schools.
More than 70 percent of voters (both parents and non-parents) say they have a favorable view of public school teachers, which is an increase over the year before.
Additionally, more than half (54 percent) of voters feel positively about public schools in their state, and 62 percent feel positively about their neighborhood schools.
Paid leave is “polling better than ever before.” According to one 2023 poll, 85 percent of voters in battleground states favor paid parental, family and medical leave – including a majority of Democrats, Independents and Republicans. Many are calling it a “core economic issue.”
There is widespread support for increasing child care access and affordability. Nearly all (93 percent) of voters believe it’s important for working families of young children to be able to find and afford quality child care. Three in four voters believe increasing federal funding for child care and early learning is a good investment.
What this means for your communications
Reinforce the values your audiences care about in your messaging. The data is on your side!
Share specific action steps your audiences can take to support your work. By breaking down big ideas into digestible pieces, you’ll encourage audiences to take action – especially when it comes to advocating for systems change. People are more likely to act when they don’t feel overwhelmed by a problem that feels too big to change.
Regardless of the election results in November, we’ll be here working alongside you to make the world a better place for children and families.
Together, we’ll keep finding data-backed ways to reach your audiences and realize your vision for a brighter future.
