Written by
Rebekah Radice
Published on
September 13, 2016
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!
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:
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:
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...
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:
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
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.
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! ?
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.
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:
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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
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
PART 2: The Offer
PART 3: The Tools
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:
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:
Once you've created your scripts, it's time to record your video or go live.
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.
An easy way to quickly build out your unique link is through RavenTools.
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.
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
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.
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.
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?