Hopefully by now, you have read our latest blog breaking down what a campaign entails and how you can implement one for your business. Campaigns can be effectively executed on a small or large scale, permitting it aligns with your overarching goals and desired outcome.
Running a campaign on your social media platforms is a great way to execute a focused, creative, and trackable campaign. HubSpot, the CRM platform developer, says “social media advertising reaches audiences in a low-cost, impactful, and effective way. This is exactly why social media campaigns have become a crucial marketing technique for businesses everywhere.”
In this blog, we will break down how this can be achieved using a targeted approach.
How to determine the right channel
Using the term social media can be very general as this can involve a range of platforms including (but not limited to!), Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, TikTok and LinkedIn.
The best way to determine the ideal platforms to use for your campaign can be determined by the following factors:
- What platforms you have readily available: If you already have a range of social media channels set up with branding and ongoing content, this is a great place to start.
- What other platforms you need to set up: If you envisage your campaign going live across a range of social platforms, you will need to ensure they are set up and optimised before pushing campaign content live.
- Where is your target audience present?: This is a vital piece of information you will need to be aware of when selecting the right platforms for your campaign. If you are wanting to target a younger demographic, applications such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat would be your ideal platforms. A study released by Pew Research Center, determined that “Majorities of 18- to 29-year-olds say they use Instagram or Snapchat and about half say they use TikTok, with those on the younger end of this cohort – ages 18 to 24 – being especially likely to report using Instagram (76%), Snapchat (75%) or TikTok (55%).” Ensure you do some research before getting your campaign live, so you know you will be speaking to the right audience to ensure the best result for your campaign.
- What is your creative and content vision?: Depending on how you see the campaign coming to life, you will need to consider the platform and how the campaign will appear. If you are considering video style content, perhaps Tik Tok and YouTube are the ideal platforms to use. If you are considering static content with a combination of lifestyle and influencer contributions, then Instagram and Facebook ads may be the way to go.
Once you have carefully considered your social media platforms to house your campaign, it is time to commence work on the creative side of things!
Creative content
Now you have selected your platforms of choice, it is time to commence the creative process. You may have a wonderful creative campaign concept but to truly harness the value of this concept, you need to consider the type of content such as images, partnerships, videos, and audio and how they will appear on your preferred social media platforms.
Starbucks considered this when executing their Unicorn Frappuccino Campaign. Due to the visual nature of the drink, they promoted their limited-edition drink campaign on Instagram with a special ‘leak’ on Reddit. Forbes reported that “The arrival of the drink was leaked on Reddit — and co-workers shared photos of the product before it was announced on social media! This created huge suspense for consumers and included them in the concept prior to product launch.” From this leak, the beautiful pink drink began trending on Instagram with 155K+ images being shared by customers. This is a great example of how a business has pre-planned its creative content and executed it effectively across its social media platforms.
If you have decided to push your campaign live across video style platforms, this means you will need to have video assets! See below a list of social platforms that lend themselves nicely to visual and ‘sound on’ experiences:
If your campaign requires more visual style content with copy and potential collaboration with influencers, we recommend considering these platforms:
You can also consider other types of platforms for your campaign, if visuals are not a main component of your campaign, including:
Remember, you don’t have to use only one platform to host your social media campaign – you can use a range of platforms in strategic ways to get the best outcome to achieve your goals.
Management and tracking
One of the greatest things about running a campaign on social media (apart from the creativity, hype, and buzz) is you can easily track it! The majority of the social media platforms we use daily, such as Instagram and Facebook, provide you with a suite of metrics across all of your content including organic and paid.
This means, once your campaign is live, you don’t just set and forget! Ensure you set reminders daily to check in on your content’s performance. If your content isn’t effectively working, based on your goals, such as generating awareness or increasing web clicks, it may be worth reflecting on your current strategy and content plan to see if you can make tweaks.
This was evident with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the evergreen toy company Lego took this opportunity to not only promote their brand but also amplify the message of staying at home and staying safe. This mini-campaign was executed across multiple social platforms including YouTube and Instagram. They also elevated this campaign by hosting a suite of at-home activities and ideas on their website. According to the Digital Marketing Institute, “…the campaign’s inclusive messaging and content-driven direction offered audiences the perfect storm of engagement and educational value, which has so far resulted in record sales during the pandemic.”
So, remember to keep checking in on your campaign, engage with your community and tweak whenever it is needed!
Campaign, set, social!
We hope that now you have made it to the end of this blog, you are feeling inspired and excited to get social! The main things that are essential to consider when planning your social media campaign are:
- Channels: Where will your campaign live?
- Content: What content works best for your preferred channels?
- Tracking: Keep on top of the campaign performance and tweak if needed!
We look forward to seeing what you come up with and how your creative ideas flourish. If you require some creative, design or social support to finesse your campaign concept, please send us a DM or an email and we will be happy to help you elevate your campaign to success.
