How to Start Social Media Campaigns

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Step 2 – How to Start a Social Media Campaign – Figure out Where you Stand.

When starting a new social media campaign, it’s essential to figure out where you stand and build a campaign from scratch. Some critical questions are: will you focus on a brand or something else on your targeted platforms?

• Which platforms are you posting to, i.e., Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram?
• The frequency do you expect to post?
• Do you have any followers? How will you get more followers?
• What’s the engagement you’d expect on each post?
• How much of your follower base is “dead?”

These are crucial questions to ask yourself when starting a social media campaign.

To maximize the potential for your campaign to take off, we need to post to as many platforms as possible. It would help if you established a crowd of fans that can rely on content from you but whose feeds aren’t inundated with your posts. Also, you must push out unique content, not the same old stuff that your fan base may get bored with and stop following you. Doing this will help you reach maximum engagement and follower interaction and a higher chance of your campaign spreading like wildfire!

Step 3 – How to Start a Social Media Campaign – Determine Your Target Audience.

Your target audience is one of the most crucial things to focus on when starting a new social media campaign. Now that you know what you wish to accomplish and where you stand in social media prowess, you need to figure out who you want to appeal. In other words: who would be the most likely to share your campaign with other like-minded individuals? We can use social listening apps to determine what appeals to our audience and then change our posting behavior to match what the people want. This will allow you to better appeal to your audience and better understand what audience you are looking for.

Step 4 – Start a Social Media Campaign – Create a Brand.

Now that you understand your goal, how can we best market that to people? Creating a catchy slogan, an easily recognizable logo, or even just a cute video are all ways to establish yourself as an entity in the public’s eyes. Many companies have created minimalist logos by using icons with few colors. Icons are more recognizable, but you are reminded of the brand every time you see something that reminds you of that icon!

An excellent example of an effective logo would be found in Tinder’s rebrand. Their logo used to be just their name, with a bit of a fire icon used as the dot in the “i.” Now, their logo is just a simplistic image of fire. Not only does this help them when trying to spread their name around, but it is also much easier to market to people. It takes more space on a page to write out “Tinder” when using a fire icon. However, innovative branding and logo design are essential when creating a social media takeover.

Step 5 – Create Content Worth Viewing.

Although it may seem daunting, if you have followed the steps until now, we already know what our audience wants from us. Using our Save the Turtles example from before, if our audience is looking for emotionally charged media showing off the dangers of plastic in the ocean, that is the kind of content you need to give them. The momentum this content gave the Save the Turtles movement also allowed other types of branding, like clothing and apparel, to be marketed to that same audience. Not only did their message get out to the world, but they got paid for it, and that money was, in turn, used to fund more content and advertising. Quality content marketing and advertising truly is the gift that keeps on giving. Hence, enticing words should be well thought out when creating social media content.

Step 6 – Create a Schedule.

Now that our content is ready to be released into the wild, we must ensure it is coming out correctly. It is essential to schedule posts to ensure we aren’t inundating our audience with spam but aren’t hanging them dry. Creating a calendar can be helpful for this. Let’s look at the Save the Turtles campaign’s Instagram page to understand how often we need to post. They post once every 2-3 days, which keeps a healthy balance of interest and awareness about their campaign. Each post averages about 1,350 likes, meaning approximately 7.9% of their fan base likes each post. This is impressive, as most other accounts of this same nature average around 5-6%. Good job, Save the Turtles!

Step 7 – Interact with Your Fan base.

Although your campaign might be going smoothly, we can’t leave it alone for too long! In between posts, make sure you are interacting with your fans. Reply to their comments, answer emails, respond to feedback, and don’t just leave them hanging. A social media campaign with a personality is much more likely to take off than one that feels like a robot. Even certain companies are considering this mentality when posting. For example, Slim Jim, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Arby’s, Burger King, Chick-Fil-A, and many more big-name brands treat social media as more of an opportunity to seem less like a business and more like a friend. Bands, CEOs, and others are also copying this, which appears to be working. Just remember: don’t spam your audience! Give them just enough to keep them wanting more.

Step 8 – How to Start a Social Media Campaign – Follow up.

At this point, your campaign should be nearly over. Everything must end, and your social media takeover has run its course. In a last-ditch effort to squeeze as much out of your efforts as possible, follow up with photos/statistics showing your success! What did your campaign achieve? How did your campaign change the world?

Most importantly, thank your fan base! After all, you couldn’t have done it without them! Make sure they know this, and you will have put yourself in an excellent place to start your next social media campaign soon. Once you have decided to put your movement to rest, make a final goodbye post for everyone to see. We want to leave a good taste in everyone’s mouth, and giving them closure is a great way to do this.

Take Away on How to Start a Social Media Campaign

Well, you’ve just managed a social media campaign from start to finish! Although it may seem impossible initially, it’s all about the hard work and determination you put into it. Making sure you have a goal, a target audience, content people care about, and the time to show those you care about are all you need to take over the platform of your choice. One of the most important things to remember when creating your campaign is that not everyone will appreciate what you are doing, and not every campaign is created equal. Some people have more luck than others, and some have better ideas than others. Although harsh, you must remember this when making your campaign.

Also, keep in mind that this journey will not be easy, and it will take time. Sometimes your effort on a particular platform may end abruptly when the forum is closed. For example, Google Plus was a potential social media platform but was later shut down. At one time, numerous social marketers debated Facebook vs. Google Plus!

Whether you own a restaurant or are a database developer working on logistical applications, social media is necessary for today’s market! Sometimes it takes two days, sometimes it takes two weeks, sometimes it takes two months, and sometimes it takes two years. Don’t let this discourage you, though, because, in the end, it will be worth it. Remember the importance of social media coupled with a website, social media tools, SEO tools, and other digital marketing strategies to get you exposure.