Policies set by government agencies and leaders affect how businesses operate. This is why it is critical for companies to pay attention to political trends in order map out planning and strategy for development. And, the 2016 Presidential election is one of the most unprecedented elections since 2000. For starters, you have the first female presidential nominee in Hillary Clinton–who has been involved in public service for decades.

Many assumed she would be America’s first female president–the only question was when. Then, you have the bombastic billionaire businessman and reality television star Donald Trump–who has made headlines for decades himself. Some people pay attention to the election just for the antics and to read or hear what Donald Trump might have to say. Within this highly distracting political climate, how can you gain your readers’ attention without getting too political? We show you how here.

Prepare for competition

The world has their eyes on the 2016 Presidential elections. Each candidate’s supporters are quite passionate about why they support one over the other. Fights have broken out, Twitter wars have started–it’s the Wild West all over again. As a result, you are competing with political marketing. One such aspect is advertising.

If you spend on cost-per-click advertising to bring readers to your blog, you might notice an increase in price. This is due to the fact that politicians are firehosing the web with campaign materials. The good news is this only happens every two-to-four years. So, pay attention to battleground states where you may have already seen a large increase in CPCs. You may not have the budget to start paying 10-to-15% more for clicks. You also have some major competition on your social media platforms, as political campaigns go all out to rile up their base. So, you must be prepared.

One way to do this is to look at states where candidates are underperforming. The reason is candidates will spend more in states where they are doing well. So, you can see how CPCs vary for different states. You might even exclude battleground states from your output until the election is over. This is especially true if battleground states aren’t your top performing states.

In addition, you should adjust your current CPC bids. If you’re bidding $1.50, try experimenting with bidding at $1.25. It won’t make an impact and gives you a safety net when the bids start increasing.

Make sure your creative is powerful

You just absolutely have to stand out right now. You can do as much advertising as you want, but you need concise copy and compelling images to achieve social media marketing success. This is even more so the case if you advertise on Facebook.

Since the 2012 Presidential election, Facebook has gone above 1 billion users. Facebook will push content that users want to see. When Facebook sees a higher percentage of people clicking on your ad, they will be more likely to push it out at a lower cost-per-click.

Switch it up

We’re living through a Presidential election that is high on sensationalism. So, perhaps you need to move towards content that is much more exciting than usual. If you’re writing three posts a week, move it up to four or five. If you have a blog about cats, maybe include more video content. Perhaps you can do a mock election between two cats. They don’t have to necessarily be exact counterparts of the 2016 presidential election. Vary your content length, type and format. Add some interviews.

Ask your audience what they want to read

It never hurts to get feedback. Send out a social media poll with topic ideas, and let your viewers decide. They’re the ones visiting your blog anyway. So, you want to make sure they keep coming back. You can do that through engaging content–even during a widely publicized Presidential election.

Challenge your audience

Sometimes, the best way to get someone’s attention is to create a bit of tension. This is also known as a soft conflict. Essentially, you may want to speak honestly on a topic that may be different from your audience’s. Of course, you still want to maintain a level of respect. How can you do this with content?

You might publish a piece that asks a challenging question such as, “Is Capitalism Really That Awful?” or “Is America the True Leader of the Free World?” You can imagine how many comments you might get.

Perhaps you might even need a guest author to tackle a difficult subject. And, this can be a way of Kickstarting a conversation. Again, the best way to do it is not to attack your audience. You just provide a different viewpoint, while respecting their opinions.

How do you plan to get readers to read your content during this year’s election? Will you be using any of the above tips?