Welcome to Episode 13 of The Cs of Social Media: Campaign.
So far we’ve covered Concept, Context, Curation, Contributors, Creativity and Channel. We’ve also explored Calendar, Consistency, Content, Community, Conversation and Crisis.
Today, we’ll delve into the basics of social media marketing and promotional campaigns. I’ve developed 5 Ps to help you. They are: Purpose, People, Platform, Price and Performance.
What is the PURPOSE of your social media marketing? Do you want to create brand awareness and name recognition? Do you want to launch a new brand or product? Do you want to drive sales? Do you want people to sign up for a newsletter? WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Every social media campaign must be hinged on a clear PURPOSE as it determines every other step.
The next P is PEOPLE. Where are the people you’re trying to reach? What social media platforms are they on? Facebook may be popular for instance, but can your audience be better reached via text messaging? Is your audience even on social media? What city is your audience in? Are they male or female? Draw up a very clear demographic profile of your target audience before you begin promotions.
A sample demographic may be: Single urban male between 25-30 years old who lives in Lagos, loves football & politics and owns a smart phone. Using your defined demographic, you’re ready to choose a PLATFORM. This is the next P.
For the sample demographic defined earlier, banner ads on a football blog would be a great PLATFORM for reaching the target. You may also partner with a sports content company to tack your messages unto daily scores. During political season, you can push out promoted tweets because the target audience loves political chatter. Your messages may include a political hook to draw him in.
Now you see how the choice of PLATFORM ties in closely with PEOPLE. The 2Ps are related.
PRICE is the next P. You may want top placement on Google Searches for your product or industry but may not be able to afford Adwords. You may not be able to bid high enough to purchase display ads over a long stretch. However, you may be able to afford credible social media advocates to hype your products online or on their blogs. You may be able to pay for Facebook ads to drive signups for your mailing list and then you can switch to direct engagement, thereafter. In social media marketing, “cut your coat according to your size” without sacrificing your PURPOSE. This is where creativity kicks in.
On a final note, measure PERFORMANCE not only at the conclusion of your campaign but while it’s running. Facebook & Twitter allow you to choose several images & messages for a single campaign. You can assess which image or message performs well and give priority to them while discontinuing others. That way you can get more bang for buck. Do a lot of A/B testing to see which campaign activity actually delivers the results you need. Include tracking codes so you can measure whether your campaign drives traffic to your website .
In conclusion, make sure you’re consistent in your campaigns. Sometimes it just takes a little time to gain traction.
I wish you success on your social media journey.
