Creating a Social Media Campaign that Works
It’s no secret that social media has become an important marketing tool for businesses and government representatives too. However, creating a social media campaign that is effective isn’t all that easy.
You want to be able to connect with your audience in a way that is authentic and long lasting and creating a social media campaign is a great way to do that. However, it takes time to create a comprehensive and successful social media campaign. You have to know who your target audience is and then determine how you can best reach them.
Like any other marketing approach, creating a social media campaign takes time and extreme expertise.
Why Creating a Social Media Campaign is Important
Social media is constantly growing and it has quickly become and most effective way to reach your desired audience. Regardless of whether you are a government agency looking to expand or a small business wanting to grow your brand, social media platforms are a great way to do exactly that! However, in order for your social media platforms to bring you more business and brand awareness, it is important to begin creating a social media campaign.
So how do you ensure that your campaign is successful?
Creating a Social Media Campaign
1. Determine your target audience
The first step in creating your campaign revolves around determining who your audience is. For example, if you are a government agency that may mean appealing to people of voting age, or people that live in a specific area. Many people make the mistake of putting together a social media campaign that focuses primarily on the benefits associated with their cause, their products, or their services. In doing this you are failing to account for the challenges and needs that your audience may face.
Taking the time to become aquatinted with your audience and what they care about will help you find better and more effective ways to reach them.
2. Select your social media platforms
Now that you have a better idea of your audience you have to learn where they tend to spend their time online. There are so many different social media channels available for marketing which is why it is important to strategically choose which ones make the most sense for your target audience.
3. Develop the campaign’s goals and objectives
Before you can begin creating a social media campaign you will want to decide what your goals and objectives are. You’ll want to consider what you want to achieve with this specific campaign along with how these goals align with your overall business objectives.
Some of these goals may be:
- Communicating with your audience
- Improving website traffic
- Raising awareness to a certain topic
- Establishing or building brand authority
Making sure to define these goals while creating a social media campaign will help to ensure your campaign’s success.
4. Decide on how you will utilize each platform
Every social media platform has different practices you will have to consider when creating a social media campaign. By following the different social media rules for each platform you are able to use each channel to your advantage.
For example, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube all have live video options that you can use to engage with your audience immediately.
It is also important to note that you can (and should) take advantage of paid ad opportunities on social media platforms too. These ads allow you to expand your reach even further by connecting you with consumers in your target audience that may not be following or looking at your content.
5. Create and utilize a content calendar
Once you have determined what you want your social media campaign to achieve and how you will promote it across different platforms the next step is to create a content calendar. This part of the planning process determines what days of the week and times you will be posting content to your social media channels.
Setting up this basic outline of what each day will look like will help to ensure that you are meeting the goals and objectives of the campaign.
6. Develop content
After you have decided when you will be posting you have to determine what you will be posting. You don’t need to have a graphic designer on your team (although it does help) to create engaging content. You want this content to be unique to you and fit your brand so make sure that the visual elements and the copy you use help to do just that!
You’ll want to also make sure that you are using a call to action that uses action verbs to encourage your audience to act. This could be directing them back to your website or encouraging them to contact you directly. Your call to action should be clear and specific while encouraging engagement.
7. Schedule content
Once you have developed your content the next step in creating a social media campaign is to schedule out posts for the rest of the month. The scheduling you follow will depend on your social media campaign goal, length of the campaign, the type of content, and when your audience is most active.
Your audience’s activity can and most likely will vary from platform to platform so take the time to analyze your social media channels to determine the best time to reach your target audience.
8. Monitor and respond to engagement
The scheduling and planning while creating a social media campaign is only the first step. You will have to keep an eye on all of your social media platforms to make sure that you are engaging with your audience. This means answering any questions, responding to messages, and engaging with their posts too!
9. Make adjustments as necessary
Just because you have planned out your campaign doesn’t mean that you can’t change it as it’s happening. For example, if you find a specific post is performing well with your audience find new ways to promote it! You can do the same thing with content that isn’t resonating as well with your audience. The only way to know these things is to adjust as you go and monitoring your results as the campaign is happening!
10. Analyze the results of the campaign
The final step of creating a social media campaign is to analyze your results. A lot of work was put into creating this campaign and in order to get the most out of it, you will want to analyze the data from your various social media platforms. This will help you identify what went well and what didn’t work for your next campaign!
If you are thinking about creating a social media campaign but don’t know where to start or are looking for support, our team at Focused Image is here to help! Contact us today for more information about our social media marketing services!
