Creating a marketing campaign is crucial for any online engagement project. Without one, you could be missing out on many opportunities and lose access to your community and stakeholders (aka ‘customers’), but that does not mean that every marketing campaign is a good campaign.
There are a few focus-points of your strategy to keep in mind when aiming to meet the wants and needs of your potential visitors. It’s a critical first step into understanding how the constantly progressing marketplace relates to you, and how it affects the relationship between your business and your community.
What has endured the test of time are the foundations of performance in marketing and advertising campaigns to drive traffic to your digital engagement projects.
Remembering these foundations in all aspects of your campaign planning will improve your chance of success:
1. Target Audience
This should always be the first step in every marketing strategy. This doesn’t mean to ignore potential visitors; everyone interested in your project should still be able to get participate, but try narrowing your marketing campaign to a category of people most likely to engage.
Remember to keep in mind that pleasing everybody might be quite challenging. However, by identifying the needs of your categorized users, you will begin to adjust your marketing campaign specifically to an interested audience. This allows you to create blog posts and advertisements in a language they understand and gives you a platform to connect easily with them.
2. Communicate Properly
Research your target audience, and identify habits with the key demographics. It is the pillar of a successful marketing campaign. This also helps you keep up with the current trends that are constantly changing.
Also, keep in mind that people react differently based on the media context; for example, learning about your project may relate differently to a person when they are at work versus when they are relaxing at home.
Appealing to the right audience with the right messages catered to their current state of mind is key.
3. Be Creative
This is marketing – don’t be afraid to get creative! This can stir emotions and is more likely to convince people to get involved in your project. A big trend right now according to the American Marketing Association is video. Mark Zuckerburg has already spoken at length about its benefits. After all, it is the next best thing to being in person.
It’s important to know how to communicate with your audience and keep it fun and interesting. The connection you develop with potential clients is a key aspect for a successful marketing campaign.
Social media is certainly important, so consider paid advertising on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These ads are featured in front of a huge audience, even if you don’t see a large following from these ads – exposure is also incredibly important.
4. Have Measurable Data
If decisions and outcomes are to be made on the outcomes of your project you need to accept accountability for the results. Track your marketing success with Google Analytics for website conversions. Review metrics and tactics to optimize and extend what’s working and eliminate what’s not. Test programs over a 30 to 60-day period, and evaluate the results, and repeat the ones the provide you with success.
These core marketing strategies create a sustainable loop, as the data obtained from one campaign helps drive the next. It also provides you with metrics that weren’t as successful, and what programs did not provide the engagement you were looking for.
The way we promote engagement projects has evolved quickly over the past two decades; although the details may change, the desired outcomes do not. These foundations continue to guide practitioners in lifting their projects to higher levels of success.
Further Reading:
https://www.inc.com/theupsstore/seven-essential-components-to-a-marketing-plan.html
