They say that a campaign is only as successful as its leader, and this is as true in business as it is in politics- only a lot more difficult these days. With the emergence of new marketing tactics, you have to integrate the old with the new.
Are you preparing to launch your marketing campaign, or are you in the beginning preparatory stages? In any industry, you’ll need to define, follow, alter and involve yourself throughout the campaign to meet your objectives. This is true for traditional, emarketing and social media.
Consistency Is Key
From the first brainstorming moment to the last detail in your campaign, you have to be committed. You have to plan, continuously evaluate and make changes if necessary. There’s no way you can attain your marketing objectives by focusing merely at the start of the campaign and then leave it to its own devices.
What, Exactly, Is a ‘Campaign?’
To put it simply: you try different methods to get people interested in your product or services enough to buy from you. For success in your campaign, you’ll need to focus on two primary parts: your target audience and your objectives. They actually define your business goals and strategies.
Reachable Objectives
Are your goals quantifiable (‘We plan on acquiring 50 new referrals monthly.”) or impossible for your business to achieve? This includes:
- Budget: money, resources and time
- Target Audience: understanding, locating and reaching them
- Method Integration: traditional marketing (fliers, etc.), email marketing, using social media/content/SEO and mobile marketing strategies
- Measure Returns: monitor the success, modify the campaign
Target Audience and Niche
How well do you know your customers, and what they want or need? How does (and how can) your company bring value to your clients? Identifying your target audience is a priority. It helps define which type of marketing will work best. Take two examples of two very different segments:
- Retirees, read the paper and active in the local community (local ads, fliers and emails would make more sense than a TV spot)
- Dual-income parents with one child, online usage nights and weekends (online social media engagement nights/weekends, engaged marketing)
The niche market is finding an area your competition hasn’t yet or doesn’t cover, and find a way to fill that need. This is where you specialize to your business’ strengths, streamline towards your audience and listen to them. Finding your customers a solution- with value- will gain you loyalty and referrals.
Use a Clear Message
You have your objectives set, you’ve figured out who your customer base is (and could be)- now it’s time to figure out your message. This is extremely important, since it’s not just your identity. It’s an introduction. Tips to keep in mind:
- Make your brand clear. You can’t get brand recognition with an abstract name or advertising that seems vague. Build your brand credibility (by testimonials, quality content, etc.).
- Keep it simple. What is your goal? To increase sales? Find potential clients? Focus on the goal your business needs, and stick to it. Too much information or muddled presentations of your message kill it.
- Keep it friendly, informative and direct. The most successful marketing campaigns give customers an offer they ‘can’t refuse.’ This is where quality content is king. Use casual language in your campaign, with visuals/graphics/videos to help carry across the message.
Integrate Your Campaign
You don’t have to completely banish traditional marketing from your budget, but it is less popular. Make choices about traditional expenses carefully (fliers only, newspaper adverts once weekly, etc.) and include online marketing tactics for your advertising message, such as:
- Social Media Marketing: Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for B2C, or business-to-customer; LinkedIn for B2B, or business-to-business; and GoogleAdwords for potential clients (comparison shoppers) This can also include video sites like Youtube,, and viral marketing.
- Email Marketing: tried-and-true, it’s still a stable and consistent way of getting your message out there and building your client database.
- High-Quality Content: using your company’s home website to post consistently informative and useful information helps build your brand, raises ‘product trust’ and it’s excellent word-of-mouth advertising. SEO (search engine optimization) can be included here, within content.
- PPC, or Pay-Per-Click: advertising on sites that you only pay for if a consumer hits your ad or your banner.
- Mobile Marketing: one of the latest trends in marketing, it makes use of mobile phone and tablet applications to reach target audiences.
After choosing which types of marketing methods are the most appropriate for your objectives, don’t forget the last and most important step in running a successful marketing campaign: monitoring how well it’s doing, and modifying to get the most returns. It will also keep you measuring and assessing the viability of a similar campaign for different products or services.
The campaign part of a marketing plan is one of the most challenging, because it’s one of the most involved aspects. It’s not just necessary- it’s crucial- to use effective advertising to have a successful business.
