A successful marketing campaign requires a lot of planning and preparation. Whether you’re running a new ad, preparing for a product launch, developing a landing page, or hosting a social media giveaway, it’s important to establish your objectives, create a plan, and effectively measure your results in order to ensure your marketing campaign is a prosperous one. Although creating an entire campaign can be a large task to take on, there are steps you can take to ensure you reach both your target audience, as well as your campaign goals. Here’s the ultimate guide to creating a winning marketing campaign!
1) Determine Your Campaign Goals and Objectives
The first step of every marketing campaign is to determine your campaign goals and objectives. Why are you running this campaign? What are you trying to accomplish and what will move your business forward? The more quantifiable the goal, the better you will be able to both plan your campaign, as well as measure your success.
Here are some high-level marketing campaign goals that can help you define the purpose of your campaign:
Once you have determined the broader goals of your campaign, turn it into a SMART goal by making the goal:
Specific:your goal should be specific and focus on a clearly defined metric
Measurable:quantify your goal and have a way to measure success against your defined metric
Attainable:make sure your goal is realistic in terms of what you can reasonably attain with the resources that you have or the resources that will be available to you
Relevant:your goal should be relevant and align with where you are as a business and where you want to be
Time-Based:every goal needs a target date; set a timeline and an end date upon which you will achieve your defined metric.
In order for your campaign to be meaningful, it needs to move the needle in terms of your key business objectives. Make sure your goal is tied to one of your objectives so that it has a valuable impact on your business.
2) Set Your Budget
Now that you have established your campaign goals, it’s time to set your budget. You will need to determine a budget that will allow you to fulfill your campaign goals, while still making a profit. It’s important that you set a realistic budget that is large enough to communicate your message, as well as small enough to maintain your profit margins and cover the cost of your campaign. Here are 3 common factors that will help you determine your campaign budget:
Set Your Budget by Task
Match Your Competitor’s Budget, By Estimate
Percentage of Sales
Typically, companies spend anywhere between 2 to 20 percent of their projected sales on their marketing efforts. Therefore, how much your business allocates to its marketing spend will depend on the industry, the size of your business, and the stage you are in. So, based on your projected sales for the campaign, you can determine how much should be designated from your marketing budget.
3) Identify Your Target Audience
Next, you will need to identify your target audience. Your target audience will be the people or companies that your campaign will address, in which the more specific your target audience is, the higher your potential return on investment will be. Your target audience should include:
Demographics – age, gender, marital or family status, occupation, income level, education level, etc.
Geographic Segmentation – location and region where people live and work
Psychographic Characteristics – values, desires, goals, interests, and lifestyle choices
The more information you have about your target audience, the better you will be able to cater your content, messaging, and overall campaign. For more information about defining your target audience, check out our blog How to Find Your Target Audience.
4)Choose Your Channels
To determine which channels are best for your campaign, ask yourself:
Which channels does your target audience use the most?
How do the different channels align with your campaign goals and budget?
Which channels will allow for the most engagement?
If you’re a B2C company trying to reach millennials, then Instagram ads / promotions will likely account for the most success. Whereas, if you’re targeting baby boomers, then direct mail or Facebook Ads will have a bigger impact. Think about where your target audience spends the most time and how you can most effectively reach them.
5) Develop Your Content and Messaging
Content and messaging are one of the most crucial parts of any marketing campaign. You’ll need to fit the content of your brand, product, or service specifically for your target audience. You want your content to resonate and instill a sense of value and emotion, so it’s important to create a message that speaks to your target audiences’ needs, interests, and experiences. Don’t forget to showcase how your business can solve your audiences’ pain points and how your product or service will provide them with valuable benefits.
Once you have determined what you want to say, you’ll need to establish how you want to say it. Decide on a few phrases that encapsulate your message, along with designing compelling content that will help you stand out from your competitors. Now more than ever, it’s vital that you capture your audiences’ attention through thought-provoking content that is interesting, engaging, and succinct. If you’re a small business that doesn’t have in-house designers on your team, Canva is a great tool to help you create professional content on your own. Always remember to include a clearly define call-to-action (CTA) to ensure your audience knows exactly what to do or where to go after seeing your campaign. For instance, if you have created a landing page and would like to attain more leads, make sure that the landing page has a clear CTA such as “fill out our contact form to get a free quote”.
6) Set a Timeline
Creating a timeline for your campaign will give you a much stronger understanding of when, how, and how often you’ll need to promote your campaign, as well as act as a guide when it comes to measuring success. Here are some steps to help you establish your campaign timeline:
Determine how long you want to run the campaign, and then mark your start and end dates.
Take a look at the marketing promotions and channels for your campaign and create a promotions schedule starting from your launch date. Based on your resources, how often can you afford to promote your campaign content?
Map out your promotions and create a calendar with specific dates regarding when you would like to run your promotions.
By visually mapping out your campaign, you’ll be able to evenly distribute your promotions on each channel, as well as ensure a seamless process for both you and your team.
7) Launch Your Marketing Campaign
If you have ensured that everything is well planned out for your campaign, then implementing your campaign should be the easiest part. You’ll need the right team to implement and coordinate all of the scheduling and moving parts of your campaign, and there you go – your campaign will be up and running!
8) Measure and Analyze Your Results
Rather than waiting until the campaign is over, you should be actively monitoring and accessing the metrics and results as your campaign progresses. Doing so will allow you to check your progress, as well as make any changes to the campaign before it has finished. If one aspect of your campaign is doing well while the other is not, you’ll be able to make adjustments to help improve the results.
Once the campaign is over, analyze the results to determine whether you have succeeded in reaching your campaign goals outlined in step 1. If you were successful, determine how you can capitalize on that success and turn it into even greater success. If not, figure out what prevented you from reaching your goals and what you can do to improve your results next time around. What was the final outcome? Were there any unexpected outcomes that can help you improve your business and marketing in the future? Turn your results into valuable action items that will help you grow your business. At the very least, your campaign should give you a better understanding of your audience, marketing methods, and creative influence, which will support you when running future campaigns.
—
We hope this blog provided you with valuable tips that will assist you in running a successful marketing campaign! However, if you need further support in marketing your business, Bailey Creative can help you bring your marketing to the next level. Check out our digital marketing services to learn how our team can take your marketing to where you need it to be! Please feel free to fill out our contact form, give us a call at 519-837-8333, or send us an email at info@baileycreative.ca to get started!
Want more digital marketing advice, tips & tricks, articles, and facts? Don’t forget to sign up for our monthly Digital Digest Newsletter to stay up to date on our services and ideas! As a digital marketing agency, we’re here to answer any questions you may have, help your business grow its digital presence, and reach the audiences you need. Contact us to grow your online channels and to build your brand’s digital marketing potential today!
Ultimate Guide to Creating a Winning Marketing Campaign
A successful marketing campaign requires a lot of planning and preparation. Whether you’re running a new ad, preparing for a product launch, developing a landing page, or hosting a social media giveaway, it’s important to establish your objectives, create a plan, and effectively measure your results in order to ensure your marketing campaign is a prosperous one. Although creating an entire campaign can be a large task to take on, there are steps you can take to ensure you reach both your target audience, as well as your campaign goals. Here’s the ultimate guide to creating a winning marketing campaign!
1) Determine Your Campaign Goals and Objectives
The first step of every marketing campaign is to determine your campaign goals and objectives. Why are you running this campaign? What are you trying to accomplish and what will move your business forward? The more quantifiable the goal, the better you will be able to both plan your campaign, as well as measure your success.
Here are some high-level marketing campaign goals that can help you define the purpose of your campaign:
Once you have determined the broader goals of your campaign, turn it into a SMART goal by making the goal:
In order for your campaign to be meaningful, it needs to move the needle in terms of your key business objectives. Make sure your goal is tied to one of your objectives so that it has a valuable impact on your business.
2) Set Your Budget
Now that you have established your campaign goals, it’s time to set your budget. You will need to determine a budget that will allow you to fulfill your campaign goals, while still making a profit. It’s important that you set a realistic budget that is large enough to communicate your message, as well as small enough to maintain your profit margins and cover the cost of your campaign. Here are 3 common factors that will help you determine your campaign budget:
Typically, companies spend anywhere between 2 to 20 percent of their projected sales on their marketing efforts. Therefore, how much your business allocates to its marketing spend will depend on the industry, the size of your business, and the stage you are in. So, based on your projected sales for the campaign, you can determine how much should be designated from your marketing budget.
3) Identify Your Target Audience
Next, you will need to identify your target audience. Your target audience will be the people or companies that your campaign will address, in which the more specific your target audience is, the higher your potential return on investment will be. Your target audience should include:
The more information you have about your target audience, the better you will be able to cater your content, messaging, and overall campaign. For more information about defining your target audience, check out our blog How to Find Your Target Audience.
4) Choose Your Channels
To determine which channels are best for your campaign, ask yourself:
If you’re a B2C company trying to reach millennials, then Instagram ads / promotions will likely account for the most success. Whereas, if you’re targeting baby boomers, then direct mail or Facebook Ads will have a bigger impact. Think about where your target audience spends the most time and how you can most effectively reach them.
5) Develop Your Content and Messaging
Content and messaging are one of the most crucial parts of any marketing campaign. You’ll need to fit the content of your brand, product, or service specifically for your target audience. You want your content to resonate and instill a sense of value and emotion, so it’s important to create a message that speaks to your target audiences’ needs, interests, and experiences. Don’t forget to showcase how your business can solve your audiences’ pain points and how your product or service will provide them with valuable benefits.
Once you have determined what you want to say, you’ll need to establish how you want to say it. Decide on a few phrases that encapsulate your message, along with designing compelling content that will help you stand out from your competitors. Now more than ever, it’s vital that you capture your audiences’ attention through thought-provoking content that is interesting, engaging, and succinct. If you’re a small business that doesn’t have in-house designers on your team, Canva is a great tool to help you create professional content on your own. Always remember to include a clearly define call-to-action (CTA) to ensure your audience knows exactly what to do or where to go after seeing your campaign. For instance, if you have created a landing page and would like to attain more leads, make sure that the landing page has a clear CTA such as “fill out our contact form to get a free quote”.
6) Set a Timeline
Creating a timeline for your campaign will give you a much stronger understanding of when, how, and how often you’ll need to promote your campaign, as well as act as a guide when it comes to measuring success. Here are some steps to help you establish your campaign timeline:
By visually mapping out your campaign, you’ll be able to evenly distribute your promotions on each channel, as well as ensure a seamless process for both you and your team.
7) Launch Your Marketing Campaign
If you have ensured that everything is well planned out for your campaign, then implementing your campaign should be the easiest part. You’ll need the right team to implement and coordinate all of the scheduling and moving parts of your campaign, and there you go – your campaign will be up and running!
8) Measure and Analyze Your Results
Rather than waiting until the campaign is over, you should be actively monitoring and accessing the metrics and results as your campaign progresses. Doing so will allow you to check your progress, as well as make any changes to the campaign before it has finished. If one aspect of your campaign is doing well while the other is not, you’ll be able to make adjustments to help improve the results.
Once the campaign is over, analyze the results to determine whether you have succeeded in reaching your campaign goals outlined in step 1. If you were successful, determine how you can capitalize on that success and turn it into even greater success. If not, figure out what prevented you from reaching your goals and what you can do to improve your results next time around. What was the final outcome? Were there any unexpected outcomes that can help you improve your business and marketing in the future? Turn your results into valuable action items that will help you grow your business. At the very least, your campaign should give you a better understanding of your audience, marketing methods, and creative influence, which will support you when running future campaigns.
—
We hope this blog provided you with valuable tips that will assist you in running a successful marketing campaign! However, if you need further support in marketing your business, Bailey Creative can help you bring your marketing to the next level. Check out our digital marketing services to learn how our team can take your marketing to where you need it to be! Please feel free to fill out our contact form, give us a call at 519-837-8333, or send us an email at info@baileycreative.ca to get started!
Want more digital marketing advice, tips & tricks, articles, and facts? Don’t forget to sign up for our monthly Digital Digest Newsletter to stay up to date on our services and ideas! As a digital marketing agency, we’re here to answer any questions you may have, help your business grow its digital presence, and reach the audiences you need. Contact us to grow your online channels and to build your brand’s digital marketing potential today!
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