5 Steps to a Successful Social Media Campaign

This might be a little early for me to give ‘gyan’ on creating a successful online campaign, so consider this an opinion without being judgmental on right or wrong. 

So what’s new about this article? The internet is overflowing with information on creating kick ass campaigns. All you have to do is follow basics.  In fact, while working on this blog I came across a lot of articles on creating super campaigns but they all looked good on paper. However, the operational side of the story gives you a slightly different picture. So I am only going to share what I’ve had learned in the past couple of years while executing and monitoring several campaigns.

Digital media is a lot like an on-ground activation.

One thing that I always keep on saying is that digital is nothing but like an on-ground activation. Unlike traditional ways of communication like TV, print and radio, people come here with their own set of pre-defined objectives. Like in the case of on-ground activation, you usually have your mind already made up for shopping or just trolling around with friends when you are going out to a mall or a market. That activation corner in the mall will be the last thing on your mind, unless it is really awesome.

Same goes with digital. People are online usually on a look out for something or to catch up with their buddies (not to forget stalking). You don’t go online thinking that today you will participate in some campaign which appears on your FB timeline.

People are generally lazy.

Even if something is really interesting, people WILL NOT WASTE their time and energy understanding what you have to offer. That brings us down to the following parameters that you should always take care of while deciding a campaign.

Five steps towards a successful campaign

1. Content- the difference maker

If you want to make your mark on social media, first and foremost you should provide quality content. Whosoever said that was absolutely right. However, my advice here will be understand your TG and then think of an idea. At times it does happen that you come out with great content but miss out on the consumer connect. Do a simple research on your TG’s activeness and then think of an idea which they can relate with. That’s it! It’s that simple. Otherwise you may find yourself wasting time and money on something that isn’t producing results, when you could be allocating those resources toward something that is.

2. Design/Looks- face of your campaign

This is an absolute necessity. This is what people will look at before getting into reading content. There is nothing better than an uncluttered and clean design. The theme of your design should be in sync with the theme of your campaign. This will help you communicate at least half the story through the imagery.

3. Simplicity- ease of use

I am a firm believer of the fact that how so ever big the idea is, it should translate into a simple words for the users. As mentioned earlier, people will not invest their time in understanding the great idea you have to offer. It should be as simple as 1,2 and 3….. Confusing or layered communication should be avoided all the time.

4. User Journey- the intuitive factor

All of us have been using internet for a long time now. We know that whenever we take our mouse over a clickable area, it turns into a hand. We know that the brand icon will always take us to the home page. Well all I am trying to say that we have got accustomed to some signs. Don’t try to challenge that unless you are from apple. Another point, make sure that it’s a smooth flow in terms of user journey. Each page/button/link/CTRs of your campaign has to be consistent.

5. Gratification- the game changer

Last but not the least, the gratification. Simple rule- the bigger the gratification, higher the interaction. But what I have experienced is that nothing works like a quick gratification. Generally a campaign with gratification should not be more than 30 days. If your campaign is longer than that then you should make sure that there are sub winners throughout the period to sustain the interest.

Basic Hygiene

Promotion

Make sure that you make the best use of all the platforms available to promote your campaign. A few users who participated in one of the campaigns that I worked on came up to me saying that they got to know about it much later and that’s why din get the perfect score even if they tried hard.

Viral-friendly

Even if you know that your campaign is not going to be huge viral you should never miss out on the option of making it viral friendly. Make sure that you have social plug-ins inserted on your campaign wherever possible. Remember- you can never plan a viral (unless of course you blast it with media money)

Happy Campaigning!