Effective Social Media Marketing: Understanding Campaign Types and Goals

Don’t be disappointed with your next social media campaign. To maximize your marketing efforts you must understand the capabilities and limits for the type of campaign you wish to run and set marketing goals accordingly, or define your goals first then choose the most suitable campaign type. Whether you’re thinking of running a sweepstakes, an online contest or another platform-specific campaign, this article is for you. It will guide you through the pros and cons of some of the most popular promotional mechanisms out there today.

Marketers running interactive promotions are generally after one of the three goals listed below. In our experience working with local and international brands, we’ve found the savviest of the group are able to design campaigns that accomplish multiple objectives:

Goal 1: Generate leads and data
Generating qualified leads is often seen as the most important goal for any marketing campaign. Attracting new customers is essential, so grab your target audience’s attention with a great promotion and use the opportunity to collect information from entrants and voters. Expanding newsletter subscriptions or contact lists with people who care about your brand can drive new business. However, gaining an email address or Twitter handle may be irrelevant without supporting information so be sure to ask the questions to learn more about your (potential) customers.

Goal 2: Engage socially
More brands are looking to tap into social media’s power to build lasting relationships with their customers. Conducting engaging campaigns with thoughtful planning, execution and follow-up is a proven way to reach customers and keep them loyal. Make brand ambassadors of your customers by encouraging them to share your message through the social web. Leveraging multiple channels (e.g., brand site, Facebook, Twitter) is a great way to amplify the effect of your campaign.

Goal 3: Gain content or consumer insight
Digital technologies make it easy for anyone to become a content producer, and user generated content (UGC) defines the web as we know it today. A promotion that invites users to contribute their content not only creates a deeper investment in your brand, but also serves as a means to crowd source content that can be leveraged across multiple channels and in future marketing campaigns. A contest with public voting can also be utilized to solicit feedback from customers and gain insights on their preferences.

Whether you agree with these three goals or have different ones, consider how your chosen campaign type can deliver on your objectives. First, note the difference between a contest and a sweepstakes. A contest rewards skill; winners are determined based on skill, popularity or judging. A sweepstakes awards winners at random; winners are determined based purely on chance.

Although interactive UGC contests require more planning and effort than a simple give-away, the potential ROI and ability to reach multiple goals is much greater. Using our platform and available tools, you can capitalize on social media activity, gain new leads, and access valuable data and content.

We’d love to hear what campaign types you have found work best for your goals. Let us know by getting in touch today.

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