Social Media Marketing is the answer to all of your problems! It’s free! It’s easy! You just pop something on Facebook and boom you go viral!
If only it were that easy. Social Media channels are crowded corridors which makes them great places to share information but also creates a lot of competition. It might not take you viral, but a good plan goes a long way. Below are the components of creating a social media campaign plan that I consider a “must have’s” for success. I created an easy-to-use two-page worksheet to walk through each of these steps that you can download by joining my email list.
So WAIT! What do I mean by campaign?? In this case, we will be creating a series of social media posts that work toward a particular goal.
Campaign Name: This may sound silly, but I often have 4 or 5 different SM (social media) campaigns running at the same time. I name them all so I can keep them straight in my mind.
Description: A campaign can be for anything. It can be an event promotion, a product launch, sharing specific information, or pretty much any tight focus. Writing down a description (or the focus) of the campaign is a great way to keep our focus on the right things. What are you hoping to accomplish?
Goals: I am a BIG believer in SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. It’s easy to get caught up in SM platforms’ vanity metrics (like reach & engagement), but I like to stick to things I can see. RSVP’s for events, reactions, comments, and shares for posts. If you are driving people to a landing page or sale, use those measurements instead.
Target Audience: Who are trying to reach? Sometimes it’s your existing social audience. Other times you are looking to branch out. Think about who they are and how to find them.
Campaign Length: How long do you want to run this campaign? 7 Days? 1 year? This can be determined by how long you have, but it can also be a matter of freshness. How often do you want to serve the content to your audience?
Post Frequency: So many folks cannot imagine posting once a day. They don’t want to bother people. Did you know that a Facebook post has a half-life of 90 minutes and 120 minutes for Twitter? Go see how often your favorite business page posts.
Platforms: Wooo. So many platforms to choose from. Each one has its own pros and cons and its own personality. I’ll be delving into that topic soon. For now, here is a sample list and you should stick to where you feel comfortable being social. Facebook pages, Facebook groups (your own and others), Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Snapchat are a few options.
Relevant Tags: There are two types of tags you should consider. The first (and simple one) is tagging collaborators. If you are working with someone, use the @ sign (on most social media platforms) to tag them in your posts to mention them. It will get their attention and often result in a comment or share. Win/Win! Hashtags identify messages on a specific topic and are especially helpful on Instagram and Twitter.
Post Preparation: Once you have put some thought into all of these items it’s time to begin creating a list of posts. I like to use a checklist-style to make sure I have everything ready to go!
- Title: What will you call this post?
- Platform: What platform is it for?
- Image: Make sure your images are the right sizes if you are using them.
- Link: If you are linking somewhere double check the link AND the image it scrapes (or pulls from the link source).
- Text: Write the text that will accompany the post.
- Call to Action: Don’t forget to tell the audience what you would like them to do next.
Posting Schedule: Before I begin posting I like to create a full schedule that includes all platforms and the posting dates. Then I can check them off as I schedule or live post them.
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