What is a Social Media Campaign?
A social media campaign is a well-thought-out marketing strategy that uses one or more social media channels to reinforce or assist with a business goal. Campaigns differ from regular social media content because of their greater emphasis, targeting, and measurability for your business.
Think about your daily social media practices for a second. You are using your posts, Stories, Reels, and interactions to build awareness of your brand as a whole.
You use your social media platforms to promote ALL of your services or products, in hopes that they will connect with people and inspire them to reach out to you, buy from you, become a follower, and more! This is great! Because for businesses to be successful in today’s modern times, a good solid social media foundation is necessary.
But, how does a social media campaign different than your regular efforts? Great question!
A social media campaign is your go-to marketing strategy when you want to promote or advertise something very specific. For example, let’s say you have sales coming up, new product releases, a brand new book, a new training program, or even new services your company will be offering.
These are all exciting achievements, and sure! You’ll want to shout it from the rooftop, right? But, if you get on your rooftop, only a small number of people will hear it. Using a social media campaign allows you to reach out into the massive online community, whether it’s local or worldwide, to reach hundreds, thousands, or millions of people!
Remember, the phrase….”If you build it, they will come”? Well, it’s not entirely true. Sometimes you have to knock on their door, and in these modern times, that means popping into their feed by creating a social media campaign!
Why is a Social Media Marketing Strategy Important?
The critical word in that question is “strategy.” Before we can understand why it’s important, we must first understand what a strategy is.
A marketing strategy is a business’ grand plan for reaching a large number of potential customers and transforming them into paying customers.
The company’s value proposition, fundamental brand messaging, statistics on target consumer demographics, and other elements are all included in a marketing plan. In addition, the “four Ps” of marketing—product, pricing, place, and promotion—are all covered in a comprehensive marketing strategy.
Sounds fancy, right? Well, it all boils down to this. A marketing “strategy” is simply a well-thought-out plan of how you will tackle all your different channels – including social media.
And this can include your daily posts and your social media campaigns. In layman’s terms, it means that you attack social media with a “plan” versus a “willy nilly” approach. Putting thought into what you will post, what your caption says, and even what type of graphics you use all combine to create your brand.
And it’s this brand that customers and clients will either fall in love with and purchase or simply ignore. Because of this, it is essential – no, it’s crucial -that you have a social media marketing strategy.
Without a defined strategy, creating and promoting a business on social media can be counterproductive. You’ll find yourself simply posting for the sake of posting, with little rhyme or reason, and getting little to no return from your efforts.
Realize that today’s consumers are savvy, they’re smart, and they know what they like. You just have to show them that you are what they need and like!
Here’s Why You Need A Social Media Strategy
If we haven’t convinced you yet, let’s break down exactly why you need a social media strategy and what it will do for your efforts to build your brand and create sales from social media.
It’s Your Blueprint
At the very foundation of social media marketing strategies or blueprints lies an understanding of where you want to go as a business.
What are your objectives for the coming year? What do you want to achieve in the next ten years? All of these factors influence what is and isn’t included in your social media marketing strategy. Your social media strategy is what you plan to do to maximize the effectiveness of your marketing campaign.
Your Competition is Already Using One
Not only is social media essential, but it’s also not an option; it is mandatory. Why? Because your competition is already most likely there. If you want to see your business thrive and grow, you need to be on social media too! It is an essential part of marketing and business now.
Customer (and Potential Customer) Engagement
One of the best aspects of social media is that it allows you to connect with, interact and engage with anyone. Even people who would otherwise be too timid to reach out or ask questions can and will on social media. Why? People feel comfortable behind their computer screens and phones, making them more likely to engage with brands and businesses.
Think about your local community. How many times have you driven by a business and wondered what they do or what their prices are…but you most likely never stop to check it out, right?
Direct connection with customers is possible thanks to social media. So instead of driving by -they pop into your inbox. And it is also readily monitorable, so you can see what is working and not working based on your engagement.
You’ll Have Small, Achievable Steps
Having a strategy means you can break your process down into realistic, achievable steps, which will help you target your goals and your audience more effectively. In addition, a “plan of action” or strategy will create better connections with your target audience.
It Saves You Time
We’ve all been there. You know you have to post something on social media, but you don’t know what to post. So you sit and wonder, and think and struggle to come up with something. That takes time; it drains your energy and can even be frustrating.
But, when you have a social media strategy, all that goes away. It saves time since you have everything already laid out ahead of time instead of scrambling each time.
More Brand Awareness
Having a strong, solid organic presence is what every business dreams of. But, it takes time and effort to get there. Creating and managing a social media strategy will make your organic presence stronger, which will ultimately help you build your brand confidence, trust, reliability, and revenue.
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Types of Social Media Campaigns
So, now that you know what a social media campaign is and why you need it, we have some incredible ideas for implementing them. Creating a unique marketing strategy for your business will help you stand out from the crowd. And it’s not about sticking to one type of campaign. Mix it up! See what works and what doesn’t, monitor your results, and create a unique marketing strategy that works for you.
Here are some great ideas for your social media campaigns.
Contests and Giveaways
Hosting contests and giveaways on social media is an excellent way to build engagement. Here are some reasons why running social media giveaways and contests are right for you.
- Contests and giveaways are one of the most common social media campaigns
- They are attention-grabbers and do great at boosting engagement and bringing in new followers/customers primarily because your fans/followers will work for you tagging people. Which, hello! That introduces your brand to new customers and clients.
- But you must follow the platform’s rules and regulations
- Here are some ideas for a successful Instagram giveaway
Partnerships
Another great way to reach a larger audience is to have someone (other than you) sing your praises. Creating partnerships with followers and fans means they will “shout it from the rooftops” for you. And what could be better than that? A whole community of little ambassadors telling everyone why you’re so great. Love it! Here’s how social media partnerships can help. You can also set up partnerships with other brands to share audiences!
- Reach a larger audience
- Validate that your brand is authentic
- Provide more context around what your brand is all about
- Create more trust with potential audiences (and future partners)
Events
Social media is the best place to promote it if you have an upcoming event. Why? Because everyone is on it. So, if you want to get a lot of eyeballs on your event details and people in attendance, you need to market it on social media.
- Social media is a great way to promote an event.
- Create an event on your Facebook page, promote it on Instagram/Facebook, and more
- Bring people together online or offline.
P.S.If you’d like tips on using Instagram to sell event tickets, we have an expert guide ready for you.
Polls
It’s no secret that our current population wants to be entertained. That’s probably why they can never put down their phones. But, hey! That works to your advantage. Create interactive polls to engage with your followers. Here’s how you’ll benefit from them.
- Polls will Increase your engagement.
- Gain insight into your followers
- They can be more engagement-focused or more serious research-based (like cats vs. dogs just for engagement that isn’t too intimidating or can be more serious and directly related to something you want to find out)
Tips for Successful Social Media Campaigns
We all want our time and efforts to turn into a trailblazing social media campaign, but it isn’t magic. Instead, there is some effort and elbow grease needed to achieve maximum results. So, here are some sure-fire ways that will help you create a rockstar social media campaign.
Formulate Clear & Specific Goals
Remember that whole “willy nilly” approach we mentioned earlier? Well, it’s not the best way to approach your social media marketing. And when it comes to creating a successful social media campaign that will give you a good ROI, you need a marketing plan, a strategy that includes goals. So here are a few tips to get you started.
- Make sure they are achievable and realistic. Usually, the more specific your goals are, the easier it will be to achieve them.
- Choose one specific goal for your campaign
- Make sure your goals align with the overall brand
Research Your Target Audience
One of the great things about creating a campaign for your social media marketing is narrowing down who gets to see your ad. Why is this important? Ads cost money, right? So, suppose you just publish a social media campaign without targeting a specific audience. In that case, consumers who aren’t interested in what you’re selling will see the ad and possibly click on it, which will cost you money. And that’s money with no ROI. So, to maximize your results, use these helpful tips.
- Tailor your campaign to whichever audience you are trying to target
- So that you don’t try to reach too much and end up getting none
- Think about what demographics, what kinds of interests, etc.
Maximize Posts
Posts that include a picture or video perform twice as well as those that do not. And, easy-to-understand infographics or visuals are appealing to people. In addition, people are more likely to retain knowledge or information when social posts are coupled with pictures. Including links in your campaign is also an excellent method to keep your followers interested in your material and direct them back to your website.
And, make sure to pay attention to how long your posts are. Your followers may not connect with your posts if they are too long, or your text may be chopped off. Here are some tips for maximizing your social media campaigns by using the best images.
- Format your image sizes for each platform
- Use attention-grabbing images
- High-resolution images only
- Always obtain permission to use photos (or use royalty-free images)
Include A Clear Call To Action
Don’t forget this vital nugget. It may be small, but it may be one of the most essential parts of your campaign. Make sure to add a clear and concise “call to action.” What does that mean? Well, simply put, it tells the consumer what to do next. Here’s how it benefits you.
- This invites direct engagement.
- Invite them to answer polls, enter contests, join mailing lists, try something for free, etc.
- The goal is to bring them in so that you can convince them to become a customer.
Be On Top Of Responses & Communicate With Followers
Now, this tip is critical. Make sure to monitor the responses and reactions of followers. You may receive comments, likes, shares, and more. These are fabulous because it means your followers are engaged, but failing to respond or acknowledge them could harm you. So, be present, be active and engage. You’ll be glad you did!
- Respond quickly to potential customers
- Build up a positive perception of your brand with fast responses
- Customers will notice it
Provide Incentives
Another fantastic idea to help build your trust, engagement, and brand following is providing incentives. Everyone loves free stuff. So, when you use different tactics like giveaways, discounts, etc., your followers will engage more. And, as a bonus, they’ll likely share your promotion with people they know, which will expand your reach. Here are some ideas on you can provide incentives.
- Give the audience a reason to engage and pay attention
- Prizes, discounts, exclusive content
- Ensure the incentive is relevant to your brand and appealing to your target audience.
Create A Content Calendar & Posting Schedule
One of the best things you can do when designing your social media strategy is to create a content calendar and posting schedule. Then, carve out some time to schedule your posts for the week or the month. We promise having dedicated time for scheduling and publishing will save a lot of time and headaches. And now, there are excellent online social media tools that can help you create your content schedule and keep you organized.
- Plan out what you will do ahead of time so that you are not scrambling at the moment
- This will allow you to look over the entire campaign and make sure it is aligned with your goals and brand.
To increase the chances of creating a successful social media marketing campaign, you need a robust plan in place before you start. The first step is to set goals. Then you must determine your target audience, plan your content using a social content calendar, monitor your campaign using the appropriate tools, and track your campaign’s performance over time.
With millions of active social media users worldwide, it’s pretty clear that social media is the go-to place for any business wanting to create an online presence. Practicing these steps will ultimately help you stay focused and organized. All this helps you build a solid social media campaign.
Since most of the population has accounts on at least one of the social media platforms, it’s more important than ever for you to be there too. Whether they are online to keep up with their family and friends, checking out restaurants, or browsing for upcoming purchases, consumers are waiting to be wowed by you!
You’ll be well on your way to making a successful business social media campaign if you follow these tips. And you’ll achieve rockstar social media status in no time!
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