11 Steps to the Best Social Media Marketing Campaign

Times change, and so must your latest social media marketing campaign. The ideas within your strategy that worked last year may no longer elicit the same results.People want more. Your audience craves more, and in today's environment, they're demanding more than ever.So, what's the answer?You could write, design, and share 24/7. But what does it matter if it's all created without a strategy?Instead, create a documented campaign that aligns with your organizational goals.So where do you begin?You put a plan in place with this 11 step guide to launch the best social media marketing campaign...ever!

11 Steps to the Best Social Media Marketing Campaign

STEP 1: Identify the Struggle (Pain Point) of Your Audience

Before you dive into creation, it's crucial to identify the struggle you solve.Think about it. You're a health and diet coach that's written a report to help readers lose weight.Sure, you could create a social media campaign that speaks to a general audience, hoping to cast a wider net.Or, you could create one that speaks to a specific reader, to the needs of that exact group.Rather than a generalist, you become known as a specialist.Someone who's hyper-focused on fixing the issues your audience is facing.Not only will you build credibility, but position your business as the go-to resource.That's the power behind a social media marketing campaign that's custom-designed to:

• Attract
• Convert
• Close
• Delight

And all for the exact right audience.It's one with a singular purpose and audience in mind.In the Jobs to Be Done framework, this is the struggling moment.

That situation where your audience:

• Struggles with an issue
• Seeks a solution
• Researches their options
• Makes a decision to switch

As Chris Spiek on JTBD Radio puts it,

"The struggle is like the seed of innovation. Where people struggle to do something, (it means) they care about it, they want to do something different. There is something being pulled there."

So before you begin creating a social media campaign, identify your customers struggle.What's the challenge they're facing? Think about the content you can create that becomes the solution.It's not as hard as you think and I'll show you how. Keep reading...

STEP 2: Assemble Your Team

Before you think about running a social media campaign, first get clear on the role each team member will play.Whether there's 1, 2, or 10 of you - an undefined structure leads to a muddled process and mass confusion.So let's start at the top and work our way through each role.More than likely, you're the marketing stakeholder and architect - the creator of this campaign.That makes you responsible for the initial:

• Research (identify the value)
• Preparation (confirm hypotheses, assumptions, proposed solution)
• Planning (implementation, deployment, and tracking of critical success metrics)

Everything necessary for the launch of each new campaign.I use Google Drive for this. You'll begin with a brainstorming and research session.Here you'll outline all details. Once you're done, add it into Google Docs and then relay those specifics with Sheets.Below is an example of what our team at Post Planner looks like.ROLES / Ownership

• Architecture: Rebekah
• New UX/ Major Creative Initiative: Frank
• Design/ Production: Igor, Darko, Shilja, Henry, Ambreen
• Development: Darko, Henry
• Testing: Ashish
• Copy: Rebekah, Frank, Leeann, Sveta
• QA: Leeann / Rebekah on final QA

Even if there's only two of you, make sure you know who does what.Split up the tasks across a specific period, detail your tasks, and then add to your calendar.

STEP 3: Set Your Social Media Campaign Goals

What you do today, lays the foundation for how well your campaigns perform tomorrow.Specific goals are key to staying on track.If you want to move your social media campaigns forward, stop creating ambiguous targets.Not sure where to begin?Dominique Jackson with Sprout Social suggests that you take stock."What are your strengths and weaknesses? If you have a large number of followers, but you’re not getting the social media engagement you’d like, your focus would be generating more activity.Maybe you’ve joined several Facebook groups but haven’t been active in them. In that case, your goals could center around being more efficient with Facebook groups.Taking stock of your current position or performing a social media audit will allow you to look back at what you’ve accomplished and helped you set goals to get better results."Below are the goals my team and I set for a recent campaign. What's the saying? Go big or go home! ?

1. Achieve 250,000 visits within the first 90 days.
2. Add 10,000 new contacts within the first 90 days.
3. Acquire 500 new customers within the first 90 days.

And here's the current outcome - 2 weeks in. Well on our way...

Now that you know what you're trying to achieve, it's time to get smart about implementation.If you want to succeed with your social media campaign, there's a lot more to it than preparation.Overseeing each aspect of your campaign through careful planning is critical.

STEP 4: Find Your Core Topics

This next step will help in every aspect of your content marketing.Here's a short version of a process I take each of my clients through......Finding the core topics you'll write and talk about, plus create content around.Take a moment to determine:

1. Your core topics (what content aligns with your business)
2. What you want to have people recognize you for (e.g. social media)
3. How success will look and feel when you get there

Because you can't identify what your audience is looking for until you know the value you provide.Here's the steps you'll take to get there:Step 1: Use tools to find the intent of your audience. (what they're looking for when searching for you)

Step 2: Take the intent and turn that into your keywords. (what you'll write content around)

Step 3: Determine how hard it will be to rank for those keywords. (can you get to page 1 of Google or are you fighting an uphill battle)With goals and benchmarks insight, you can begin to flesh out the details of the campaign.

STEP 5: Create an Email Workflow to Nurture Your List

Successfully getting leads from social media is not the end of the process.You must nurture those leads. You can do this through a series of follow-up emails.So, your next step is creating email copy for your campaign.This will become a simple workflow that will keep you in front of your new contacts.No matter what email marketing system you use:

• MailChimp
• GetResponse
• AWeber
• Constant Contact

You'll want to add 4 important pieces to your social media campaign series.From here, you can build upon it. Adding extra nurture and consideration emails.

• Email 1: Welcome
• This should go out immediately after opt-in. Remind them why they're receiving it. Then set expectations of what they'll receive in the future. This should be friendly, informational, and in your tone and voice. Keep it true to you!
• Email 2: Nurture
• This is a value add that lets your contact get to know you a little bit better. It could be a blog post, Infographic or free download. Just make sure it's in line with your social media campaign.
• Email 3: Consideration
• The consideration stage is where you can start to introduce your product or service. Give them a taste of how you help and specific features that will guide them in the buying decision.
• Email 4: Activation
• Your offer. What's that next step you're asking your audience to take?

Add these emails to your workflow and space them out. Just because they've opted in, doesn't mean they want to hear from you every day.I suggest a 2-3 day interval to keep them interested, but not ready to click the unsubscribe or spam button.

Two PRO Tips:

1. Start your campaign with a targeted emailYour existing leads should be the first to hear about your new social media campaign.Kick it off by sending a targeted email to your existing audience.Get them excited and eager to share the news. Let them evangelize on your behalf.2. Track the effectiveness of your campaignOnce you've kicked off your campaign, it's time to circle back. Determine which emails have performed and which ones haven't.Look at:

• Delivery rate
• Open rate
• Click rate
• Conversions

STEP 6: Design Custom Landing Pages

Now the fun begins!You're ready to start creating landing pages to present your offer.You'll want to write the content for your page first.Then you'll come back through and optimize your landing page for SEO.Finally, you'll ensure that your page includes a clear value proposition and a call to action.PART 1: The Copy

• What is it that you want to offer/sell?
• Describe the item in detail, but don't get too wordy.
• Who specifically does this help? What are they struggling with?
• What problems will this solve? (list 3-5)
• How will this make the person/company better? Share how it will improve their lives.
• How will this satisfy a basic need?
• How will this increase the quality of their life/business?
• How will this help them reach their dreams?
• How is this different from other products/services/tools/training out there?
• Are there any bonuses you can offer to make this even more irresistible?

PART 2: The Offer

1. What is the most compelling reason people should take action on your offer?
2. Is there a way to give a teaser or taste (e.g. one chapter of your book) before commitment?
3. Describe the item in detail.
4. What will they INSTANTLY gain from your offer?
5. Share your personal experience. Why did you create this? What did you learn through the process?
6. What testimonials or third-party feedback can you provide as proof that your solution works?

PART 3: The Tools

• How are you going to sell this item? (Paypal, Shopping Cart, etc)
• How will you deliver this item to your customer?

STEP 7: Write an Announce Blog Post

Each campaign deserves to get shared, and the best way to do that is through a blog post.Write a post that introduces your audience to your new campaign.Make sure the post centers on your campaign keywords and includes the specific long-tail keywords you're targeting.Hubspot uses the announce post tactic quite often.

The goal is to:

• Write a quick post for your readers or anyone with the problem you're going to solve
• Optimize that content for people and search engines
• Make your copy and content natural and attractive to both

STEP 8: Make Use of Video (Live and Recorded)

There's no doubt about it.Video is hot, hot, hot.Creating several videos (produced and live) that support your campaign is a must.Here's where to begin:

1. Take key points from your campaign, break them down into a simple bulleted list.
2. Show your audience how to do something, make something better, fix their problem.
3. Usually, 2-3 video scripts is enough. And they do not have to be long and complicated.

Once you've created your scripts, it's time to record your video or go live.

STEP 9: Get Post Content Ready for Social Media

Social media is one of the best ways to share information about your campaign.You can use it to raise awareness and promote your offer.You'll want to create content for each channel. This should be customized to the social network, including copy and graphics.Also, think about using paid search and other channels.And don't forget to make unique tracking URLs for your posts.Use a tool like Bit.ly or Google URL Builder to monitor through UTM parameters.Not familiar with UTM tracking?This is the best way for you to see what content is showing up on social and the campaign that sent them there.It's a necessary addition to your social media campaign.

Here’s how you do this:

• Create a unique link for all assets within your campaign.
• Add the URL to each social media post.
• Use your tracking URL in your Facebook or Google+ cover with a Call to Action.
• Use it in your Facebook Call to Action button. Lead fans to your latest campaign.

An easy way to quickly build out your unique link is through RavenTools.

How does this help you?

Your campaign deserves a fighting chance at success.UTM parameters and unique links give you the insight you need to continuously iterate.Rather than hoping for an outcome, you predict what your audience is looking for.

STEP 10: Create Graphics for Blog, Email and Social Media

if you want your campaign to stand out on social media, you have to earn the attention of your audience.And you have to do it in a short amount of time.That's where customized graphics for any blog posts, emails, and social posts come in.As Vivek Patel points out."According to webdam.com, posts that include images produce 650 percent higher engagement than text-only posts. Incorporating visual content not only enables your audience to get a faster and a better grip over your message, it also facilitates better retention of the information you dish out."Constant Contact is well known for its consistency in design across all channels.From social media to email headers and landing pages - a streamlined look is evident.

If you want something you've never had, you must do something you've never done. #quotes https://t.co/5r33bxTxxF pic.twitter.com/OO1cpcwL6D

— Constant Contact ✉️ (@ConstantContact) September 12, 2016

STEP 11: Launch Your Social Media Campaign

You're finally ready for launch. Congratulations!And this is the point where the real work begins. ?It's time to promote, promote, promote.You've spent hours of your time putting this campaign together. Why wouldn't you want to spread the word?The quickest and easiest way to promote is to create a checklist. This includes repeatable processes that become non-negotiable's.Each step is a rinse and repeat with every campaign you launch.Not sure where to begin? Heidi Cohen has created a comprehensive distribution checklist.Modify based on your bandwidth and team abilities to execute.

Final STEP: Analyze and Report Results

Once you launch, it's time to track and measure your campaign results.Analyze the data and compare them to the goals that were set in the beginning of the campaign.Find out what content is resonating with your audience and converting into real prospects, and what can be changed or adapted if it’s not.Google Sheets is an easy way to organize all of the data and numbers. Capture as you go so it doesn't become impossible to keep up.

Last Thoughts

There's no way around it.Capturing audience attention is going to take work.Putting your first campaign together will require a commitment on your part.But think of the benefits......When you stop pushing random content, you start pulling your audience through the marketing funnel effortlessly.Let your social media campaigns be the catalyst. Move buyers and prospects through the decision-making process.Decide today: what's the best social media campaign you can create to shake up engagement, drive more traffic, and build business buzz?