Elements Of A Good Social Media Campaign

So you want to start a social media campaign. Great! But you're not sure where to start? Just looking at the social media platforms makes you dizzy? Should you start with Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Google+,Twitter, LinkedIn or some other hot new site? Take a deep breath. We'll get through this together.

The first thing you need to do is decide who your audience is. Who do you want to reach with your message? Once you know who you want to reach, and you want to be specific, then examine the demographics of each social media platform and see which closely resembles your audience.

Here are some basic demographics on the platforms:

• Pinterest users are primarily women between the ages of 35 - 54
• Facebook users are getting older: men and women between the ages of 35-54
• Facebook recently lost about 30% of users between the ages of 13-24
• Instagram users are primarily younger adults, between the ages of 18-29
• Google+ users are young adult males between 19-24
• Twitter? The largest group of Twitter Followers are 18- 29 years of age and evenly split between men and women.
• Linkedin's users are primarily between 25-54, and 63% are male.

The second step is set campaign goals. To be successful you must start with a goal and determine what you want to achieve with this campaign. Will you increase your audience, awareness, sales or just understanding of your product? Setting these goals will give you the focus for your posts and allow you to measure your effectiveness. In order to truly track your progress, make the goal a number or something measurable that will help with the metrics - Sales totals, Likes or followers.

The third step is to have a call to action and have an offer. For people to take action they must have a reason. If you want them to provide data, like email addresses, they will need to get something in return. The incentive can be useful, informative, engaging or entertaining. This worthwhile content includes: contests, exclusive offers or a sneak peak at a new video. To make this content effective to your goal, tie it back to brand loyalty. Including things like a downloadable marketing guide, a 2-for-1 dinner offer (depending on your business – you'll want to tailor it to what you do) can help garnish qualified leads.

The fourth step, and most important, is to create a landing page. This is one of the most important pieces to your campaign. This is where people will go once they click on the link in your campaign. I can't stress enough how very important this most neglected piece is. It will allow you to capture your visitors' data and is where people sign up for your offers, register, download, or purchase. A social marketing campaign can drive traffic to your landing page, but it's up to the landing page to convert those visitors into leads.

A landing page needs to have a clear call to action, a form to collect information to qualify a lead, and an explanation about what someone will receive after submitting their information. To make your landing page will provide effective metrics, run the following test process:

Create at least two versions with different headlines, graphics, and text.

See which one converts best.
You can also create different landing pages for different social media platforms. Just develop test and measure and tweak what does not work till it does.

The final step is the Launch. Check your list:

• Create an effective landing page
• Make an offer they can't refuse
• Make sure offer and landing page is tied to your campaign goals

That's it; your social marketing campaign is ready to be launched. Social media is one way to promote the campaign; you can also use e-mail lists, traditional print media, as well as word of mouth. Try the campaign on your e-mail lists; send them to your landing page. You might be pleasantly surprised.

You can use one campaign and spread it across several social networks. Promote your coupon on Facebook, share your offer with your Twitter followers, share the benefits of your services or white paper with your LinkedIn group.

It is ok to run your campaign on multiple networks, just remember to repackage the message for each to avoid being annoying or repetitive. Mix it up a little; test different styles and posting times. Watch the insights to learn what worked and did not; make changes accordingly.

Social Media campaigns are a great way to get your message to your target audience and to grow your client base. They are flexible and easy change. When done right, the effect on your business can be great growth.

Try the campaign yourself or get a professional. But try it; the rewards can be great.