Today, just about everybody knows about social media. In fact, a staggering 52.2 million adults in the United Kingdom actually use it, so why are some elements of it still mystifying? Social Media Extrovert, Maria McGowan actually wrote about it on LinkedIn where she suggested that social media can be at times overwhelming for companies because of the constant morphing and development of social media platforms. Still, companies have started to recognise the numerous benefits of social media as a platform for attracting and engaging customers with 78 per cent of businesses currently having a dedicated social media output team.
So, what’s a social media marketing campaign?
Simply put, it is a planned marketing strategy that’s aligned with the aims and goals of your business through social media. You will probably be glad to know that social media marketing campaigns can be as simple or complex as you wish, so it is worth to give one a try.
Campaigns differ from daily social media efforts due to their increased targeting, focus, and measurability. Campaigns for social media marketing in Hampshire should focus on just one business goal or aim. Common goals include getting feedback from users, increasing website traffic, promoting company milestones, launching new products or services, as well as directing sales.
What benefits to social media marketing campaigns offer?
Social media marketing campaigns are useful for increasing brand awareness and are one of the quickest ways to increase social media engagement because the campaigns are both focused and goal oriented. If implemented the right way, social media marketing campaigns can help improve Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) ratings since you have the opportunity to push traffic using the campaign.
One of the most important positive aspects of social media marketing campaigns is that they are cost effective. Social media platforms don’t cost anything to sign up to, which means that you can publish your campaign content for free. If you do wish to pay for advertising on social media, the advertising streams are typically quite cheaper compared to other advertising strategies.
How are social media marketing campaigns organised?
1. Campaign Goals
What’s your goal/aim for the campaign? Are you looking to increase followers, generate more engagement online or highlight a company achievement? You have to set a goal before starting a campaign and decide what you want your campaign to achieve. Note: You will also want the campaign to fit in with the overall social media strategy.
2. Content and Approach
Prior to launching a campaign, you must first think about the best approach to take and content to use. Will you use any tactics in your campaign? For instance, you might use blogs, a guest speaker, videos, etc. You might also add something of value; some companies push for consumer attention by running competitions or offering discounts, so is this a route that you are considering?
3. Social Media Platforms
You must decide which social media platforms to share the content used in your campaign on; it is likely that you currently use one or more social media platforms for your business, but it is important to consider whether these reflect the target audience the campaign is targeted towards.
4. Engagement
Once you start sharing your campaign material on social media, it is important to be ready to engage actively with your audience. It is a waste of precious resources to create a campaign and simply allowing it to run its course. One of the most critical things you should do to improve the effectiveness of your campaign is actively engaging with those that participate, besides it is a great way for you to validate our social media presence and build customer relationships.
5. Evaluation
The secret to success in your future campaigns comes from evaluating past campaigns i.e. what worked and what did not. You need to assess the evolution of your campaign as it comes to an end. Are you able to uncover any new or surprising information? Did it reflect your overall social media marketing strategy? It is important to analyse all the content received during the campaign thoroughly since it will help you understand whether or not the campaign met its goal.