Successful marketing campaigns do not happen by accident. They require time, effort, and planning to execute and perform well. Many business owners excel in their industry but do not have the time or expertise necessary to create and launch truly effective, engaging marketing campaigns.
If that sounds like you, don’t worry! We do not believe in the “secret sauce” approach. Decades of experience have taught us all successful marketing campaigns have four key components. Let’s discuss those components in-depth, so you can gain an understanding of how to build and launch a successful marketing campaign.
1. Understand Your Marketing Campaign’s Audience
Most people want to start their campaign by creating content. Perfect graphic design, catchy slogans, and impeccable copy are completely wasted if you do not have a basic grasp of who your audience is. How can you successfully market to your audience if you do not know who they are?
Claiming your products and services are “universal” is a cop-out. If internet providers and utilities (the most universal products in the world) have defined target audiences, you need to have them too!
Once you define your audience, this definition will inform everything about your campaign, from your copy and design choices to your PPC (pay-per-click) and social ad targeting. Not convinced?
Think about how you talk to your best friend. The conversation is probably casual, friendly, and maybe a little silly. Now think about how you talk to your grandmother or your grandmother’s best friend. The conversation is much more formal, and you use less slang. You probably wouldn’t mention anything even remotely inappropriate.
This is why knowing your audience is so important. To engage potential customers and convince them to choose your company, you have to speak to them in the language that is most appropriate to them.
To discover your audience, ask the following questions:
- What problem does my product/service solve?
- Who has that problem?
- What are the demographics of the people who need my product/services? (Age, marriage status, number of kids, median income, job, hobbies, interests, political affiliations, etc.)
Once you thoroughly answer these questions, you have your first customer profile! As you progress and gather data from your marketing campaigns, you may find your audience changes or is different from your original profile. That is okay. Just make adjustments to your marketing assets and internal documents. Now enjoy the results!
2. Content is King
Now that you have discovered the who of your campaign, you need to look at the what: and what your marketing campaigns are made of is content. Social posts, blog posts, press releases, infographics, memes, videos, FAQs, e-books, white paper… the list goes on.
Anything and everything you produce for your marketing campaign should focus on your target audience. This means answering their questions, solving their problems, engaging their interest, and delighting them with your service. Make sure your content is informational, interesting, and easily digested.
You should also keep in mind that at least 90% of your content should not be promotional. Offering deals and advertising your successes is great, but the majority of your content should focus on educating your target audience about the core product you offer. Offering 20% off services may get people onto your site, but answering their questions keeps them there.
The Customer Journey Through Marketing Campaigns
Every form of content fits into a specific stage in the customer journey. Build your understanding of your product’s or service’s unique customer journey, and then you can create content specifically designed to aid people in each stage.
For instance, an HVAC company may have two separate customer journeys — one for repairs and one for new installations. People who need repairs are more likely to Google “HVAC near me” and click “call now” quickly after landing on the page. Their needs are urgent. Similarly, adding a “call now” button to social posts about repairs is likely to increase conversions.
People who are considering replacing their HVAC system, on the other hand, are more likely to be in the research phase. They may Google questions like “What’s the most efficient HVAC system?” and “How to lower my energy bills.” To appeal to these customers, you should create long-form content answering common queries in greater depth. Blog posts, white papers, and infographics are best for this journey.
3. Distribution Method
Once you create content directed at engaging your audience and answering their questions, you should consider distribution. In other words, where will you advertise your content so your audience can find it?
First, come back to your target audience (we told you they were important!). Where do they spend the most time online? Be as specific as possible to get the highest ROI (return on investment) on your marketing campaigns.
For instance, the average age of Facebook users is over 40. If your market is Gen X, Baby Boomers, and older generations, Facebook is a great platform. If your target audience is younger, Instagram, where the average age of users is between 25 and 34, may be a better bet.
You should also consider your industry and specific products or services when choosing a distribution method. Verticals like legal and medical do very well with sponsored blogs because it promotes their expertise and authority. Product-heavy businesses usually do well on social media because they can post pictures and videos of their products in use, increasing engagement.
There are many ways to distribute your content, including:
- Social media
- Sponsored blog posts
- PPC
- Display ads
- Using influencers
- Guest blogging
Make distribution choices based on your market research, but watch the data and make adjustments as you go. If email is unexpectedly popular, put more of your efforts into drip campaigns. If social media is crushing it, invest in that. Go with what works for your company.
4. Data Collection and Follow-Up
The end of a campaign is not actually the end. Once a campaign is over, start collecting and analyzing data to help improve your efforts next time. The best marketing campaigns are often the fruit of data from multiple mediocre campaigns launched previously.
Watch your audience demographics, conversion numbers, engagement numbers, and traffic patterns. Are there any surprises? How can you adjust your campaign to appeal to your audience more or reduce competition? Use the data to inform your campaigns and increase conversions.
Marketing Campaigns in Little Rock
If your Little Rock business needs help creating and launching successful marketing campaigns, contact iProv today! We have decades of experience in digital marketing and have helped hundreds of clients launch thousands of social media, content, and traditional advertising campaigns.
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