Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Flipboard 0 Launching effective social media campaigns is no easy task. There are far too many things competing for your audience’s attention – including big brands with even bigger pockets. As a result, you need lots of patience, analytics, hard work, and impactful marketing to achieve successful social media campaigns. Luckily, this feat is entirely possible – even for small businesses with limited budgets. You just need the right tips and insights. Here’s how to start a social media campaign the right way. How to Run a Social Media Campaign Establish Your Goal The most significant difference between launching social media campaign runs vs. regular social media marketing is that campaigns are shorter and have a specific outcome in mind. Thus, you should always start by clearly stating your campaign’s goals, such as promoting a particular offer or webinar event. But stating the goal isn’t enough. You should have clear metrics for success, too, so you’ll know when you reach your goal. For example, maybe you can call your lead generation campaign a success if you’ve managed to add 500 new contacts to your email list. Write a Brief Once you have your campaign goal in place, the next step is to craft a brief. This document explains the campaign’s objective, plus the social media marketing ideas and strategies to help you get there. A brief is essential because it helps streamline the communication of the campaign details to everyone involved in the project. It also motivates your team, avoids confusion, and keeps them aligned towards one goal. Create Engaging Content With your creative brief done, it’s time to craft content to help you fulfill it. But not just any regular content would do. In today’s crowded social media scene, you need engaging content that stands out. Depending on the nature of your campaign, you can consider one or a few content ideas. For example, contests and giveaways are always terrific because they give people a reason to take action. But don’t neglect your campaign message for the sake of creating something viral. Your content should still support your primary campaign. Analyze Your Results Gathering insights on your results is one of the most essential parts of any social media campaign. When done during the campaign, it allows you to see problem areas and help you pivot your campaign for better results, as needed. Post mortem analysis is also incredibly valuable. It tells you which aspects of your campaign didn’t work, so you can change tactics and improve your results in future campaigns. Social Media Marketing Campaign Tips for Success Here are a few more “how-to” social media campaign tips you can test right now. Follow the Trends One of the easiest ways to catch your audience’s attention is to tap into whatever’s trending. For example, if there’s a trending topic, you can discuss that in your posts and tie it back to your campaign. Holidays also work well as sources of social media marketing ideas. However, try to be tasteful and sensible in how you handle a trending topic. If you’re forcing it to fit your brand or campaign, your followers will see it from a mile away. Use a Campaign Landing Page You should always dedicate a landing page solely for your campaign and direct your social media links to that location. This helps create a cohesive campaign funnel that gives a better experience to the visitor. Sending them anywhere else can confuse them, which can lead to lower conversion rates. Adapt Your Content to the Buyer Journey Sometimes, a piece of content fails not because it lacks value but because it doesn’t match the customer’s journey. Thus, a good pivot is to create content that aligns with that need. For example, if your campaign targets users at the decision stage, you’ll need content that arms them with information to actually make a decision. Social proof like testimonials or product videos are good choices. Follow Up With Your Contacts It’s vital that you follow up on your contacts during or right after your campaign. They’ve already shown interest in your brand. As a result, it’s crucial to keep that momentum going. You can easily do this with email marketing, direct messages, or even a phone call. Use URL Shorteners A link shortener like Bitly is one of the most overlooked but often crucial social media marketing ideas to help your campaign succeed. This is especially true if you use long UTM URLs for tracking (which you should) since it shortens them, making them easier to read. You can also generate custom links in Bitly, allowing you to add your brand name and campaign name into memorable URLs. Plus, Bitly’s analytics tool tracks link clicks, giving you valuable insights into your campaign. Twitter Tweet Facebook Share Email This article originally appeared on The Bitly Blog and has been republished with permission.Find out how to syndicate your content with B2C Author: Desiree JohnsonView full profile ›More by this author:5 Campaign Planning Fails That Give Us Goosebumps5 Ways to Treat Your Business With Branded Links10 QR Codes Facts That Will Give You The Chills