The term ‘marketing campaign’ tends to cause a bit of discomfort to anyone who hasn’t done one before. Add in social media to that and things can get a bit hairy. But does everyone know what a marketing campaign actually is?
I’d prefer to describe it as an organised course of action to promote and sell a product or service with a defined start and end date and target audience. Because a campaign is a more short-lived exercise than an overall strategy campaigns could change regularly. So how can you create a successful marketing campaign?
Have a great idea
Before you even look at the logistics of implementing a marketing campaign, you need have a compelling idea. Start by brainstorming your ideas into a document and for each idea identify the scope of the project.
Know who you’re talking to
When looking through your list of campaign ideas, always think about your target audience first. What geographical areas do you want to target? How old are they? What gender are they? What are they more likely to respond to?
You need to ask yourself how you can deliver the most value you can to your target audience. It might take a bit of research – you might find you’ve got an audience you didn’t know you had!
Don’t be vague about goals
Once you’ve narrowed down which idea you want to run with, you need to be specific about what you hope to achieve with the campaign. Don’t be as vague as ‘I want more sales’ – you need to get right down to the actual numbers. Think about your Key Performance Indicators (downloads, page views etc) and what is most important to your business.
Build a landing page
Not always essential but you need to have somewhere to direct your audience once you’ve caught their attention. You might already have a page on your website to send people to, you might have one that needs a bit of work to optimise it for search or you might need to build one from scratch. There are many elements you can add to your landing page to make it more interesting to your audience, so involving a website design agency can be really beneficial here.
Distribution of a campaign
No matter what your campaign is about, you need to decide which channels you want to use. This will most likely be based on where your target audience hangs out online and what they are mostly likely to respond to. And then you need to look at everything you might need to make the campaign happen. If you decide to go with social media for example, you’ll need to create a suite of assets (still images, gifs, videos, messaging) to use to promote it. Email marketing can also be used with a list of people who have consented to receiving marketing materials from you( GDRP is fast approaching! ) – it’s a great way to re-engage with an audience who’s already interested in your service or product. So you’ll need an email template, content and a suitable contact list. Whichever way you decide to go, messaging and design is key here.
TOP TIP!!! Track everything! There are multiple ways of doing this but make sure you’re keeping an eye on which ads, emails and blog posts are working for you. This lets you tweak your campaign as you go so you’re always getting the best results.
Lead nurturing
Woohoo! Your campaign is up and running! The leads are pouring in! Your job is not done.
For a lead to convert, it usually requires multiple exposures to adverts, communications, emails etc. You need to be following up on any leads you get from your campaign. There are plenty of programmes to help you do this that you should consider before starting your campaign. You can also use any potential lead for retargeting campaigns further down the line. Whatever you do, don’t let those leads go cold.
Lather, Rinse, Repeat.
The same steps can be taken for all your marketing campaigns and should fit in with your overall marketing strategy. At the end of each campaign, you should really sit down and look at what has and hasn’t worked with your latest campaign so you can update and change your approach based on the learnings from your previous campaigns.
Marketing campaigns can be a big undertaking when you’ve got other things to focus on within your business. However, you really can’t afford to overlook the importance of a great campaign and the value it brings to your brand. Elastic Creative has years of experience working with clients in every sector and we thrive on adding value to brands of all shapes and sizes. If you’re looking to propel your brand to the next level, get in touch and find out how Elastic can help you.