How To Create A Social Media Campaign

If you're looking to be more meaningful with your marketing, have you tried running a social media campaign?

What is a Social Media Campaign?
Combining definitions from bigcommerce.com and hootsuite.com, it’s a coordinated marketing effort that reinforces or assists with a business goal using social media. They’re more concentrated and targeted than your “business as usual” social content.

Social media campaigns normally include a theme such as Holiday Gifts, New Product Launches, or most recently the Promotions East “influencer boxes”.

I chatted with Meg Erber to learn more about this epic campaign. "The SAAGNY Promotions East Tradeshow committee has been working behind the scenes for over two years to bring the Promotional Product Industry the best in-person tradeshow – STRIKE THAT, EXPERIENCE, that this industry has ever seen! We have completely renovated it from the location...down to the way we are marketing this show!"

What's different about the marketing this year?
"We decided to host a social media campaign with some of the most influential people in our industry and outfit them each with a tradeshow survival kit."

What made this survival kit different than other kits we've seen around the industry?
"This was no ordinary survival guide…we went above and beyond to make sure we equipped our influencers with products that would make you stop and pay attention when collateral hit social media. One of the things we did differently for this campaign to ensure a longer shelf life, was to add a message rather than to just slap a logo on each product. We’ve found that by having a message that aligned with the person receiving the merch, the recipient will re-use the promotional product again and again. And as Charity Gibson always says, there are three things that make good merch: 1. Usable. 2. Keepable. 3. Stealable. Speaking of “Stealable”, our campaign did hit a small obstacle when the snack portion of our kit didn’t make the actual kit!"

How did you turn the mishap into success? #KrispyThief
"We ended up shipping about 40 or so of these massive rice crispy snacks to my house and took that opportunity to turn that day into a challenge to find out who “stole” the crispy treats from the kits. At this point the campaign had taken on a life of its own and we couldn’t be prouder, except for the shame on my face when I was caught having a self-care spa moment covered in rice crispy treats!"

What was the outcome of the campaign?
"This campaign had over a half of a million impressions in total! It was a HUGE SUCCESS! Follow #promotionseast to see all of the fun!!!"

If you're wanting to create a Social Media Campaign, here are 8 easy-to-follow steps:

1. The most important step is to know your why - set your Goal & Objective.
   What do I want to achieve with this campaign?
   What will a successful campaign look like?
   How will this campaign be different from my everyday marketing?

2. Make sure you’re marketing to the right crowd - note your Audience & Platform(s).
   Who’s attention am I trying to reach?
   What’s the best time of day(s) to post for this audience?
   Which social media platforms are they on the most?

3. Research your competitors and social campaigns others have done.
   What similar campaigns have been done by other brands?
   What are my competitors doing?
   What aspects of their campaign do I like and dislike?
   

4. Plan your Timeline - check out my November 2021 post for a free planner.
   When does the campaign start?
   When does the campaign end?
   What dates will I check ongoing progress?
   When will each piece go live?

5. Create the pieces needed - aka Deliverables.
   Design all graphics, flyers, videos, and ads that are needed.
   Note key talking points for each post.
   Compile information you need to provide influencers (if you use them).

6. Check your budget and decide if you want to run Paid Ads or Boost Posts.
   Do I want to put money towards social advertising?
   What is the budget if I do?
   Which posts should I boost and when should I utilize paid ads?

7. Maintain your posts during the campaign - check out my June 2022 post for some tips.
   Are you responding to comments and shares?
   Are you weeding out potential spam comments?

8. Once the campaign ends, make sure you Follow Up.
   What data did I gather during the campaign?
   What data did I gather at the end of the campaign?
   What did I learn from this campaign?
   Was it a success?
   How does it compare to what I thought a successful campaign looks like?
   What could’ve been done differently?

The above may look like a lot, but they’re really simple questions you need to ask yourself before starting your next social media campaign and ones your future self will thank you for.