7 Rules to Come Up with the Next Big Social Media Campaign

“Social media is like a teen sex, Everyone wants to do it but nobody knows how to do it" 

Haven’t we all been through the same journey of tormenting our brain to come up with a magical campaign that will take your brand to the next level? Alas! There was never and there will never be a set rule book to help you instantly generate a VIRAL SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN.

But there are definitely certain rules which will help you to create an outline for your next campaign. Some of them are as follows:

1)      Clearly define the objective:

It is imperative to  define the objective of your social media campaign. You can classify the objective broadly in two overheads

• Brand Awareness
• Direct Sales or Lead generation

If the campaign objective is not clearly highlighted it results in wastage of valuable resources. In one my previous company we had executed a social media campaign with an objective which was not clearly defined. After the campaign was evaluated we realized it did not generate any leads neither did it give an instant rise in traffic. However, the campaign was not a flop since it was ideated more from the brand awareness perspective whereas the end result expected by the top management was instant sales or rise in traffic.

Key Takeaways:

• The campaign objective should always be clear before ideating a social media campaign.
• If the objective is direct sales or lead generation, ROI should be factored in. ROI in simple words is defined as the money which is earned on the investment.

2)      Revolve the Campaign around the “Emotion” factor

There is nothing which is as strong as emotion.  People are compelled to share emotions than anything else. So if your social media campaign lacks the emotional connect then it is missing the virality factor.

Case Study:

Krispy Crème case study on social samosa is a great example of how a brand leveraged the occasion of Father day’s  to build an emotional connect and drive sales.

Here is the link of the case study.

Key takeaway:

• No amount of analysis or data can ever substitute the emotional connect of a campaign.

3)       Chase Engagement and not likes or Followers

The biggest campaigns fail because their focus right from the ideation stage is more on getting likes or followers and not creating the real engagement in people. It is easier for a brand with deep pockets to get likes or followers by spending money but difficult to create engagement if the campaign idea is not focused on creating engagement

Key Takeaway

Focus on creating engagement rest will automatically follow.

4)      Don’t reinvent the wheel, invest the resource in inventing the FUN Factor

So do you really need to come up with a great idea which has never been implemented before? The answer is a Big NO. It is a well-known quote “Good Artists copy and great artists steal”. Try working on the ideas which have been implemented before by tweaking the fun part in it.

Key Takeaway:

FUN factor in the campaign is the decisive part in making or breaking it.

5)      Don’t create “NAMESAKE METRICS”

We all are obsessed with data, believe me we all are at some point of time. Just because you have to show ROI does not mean you create namesake metrics or include those metrics in your report which does not add any value.

Key Takeaway

Metrics like bounce rate, CTA make more sense than putting the number of likes, people talking about us in your social media report. 

6)      Explore an Integrated Campaign Idea and not social media specific idea

Many social media professionals do not understand the very basic that social media marketing is a part of digital marketing and not apart from it. You should always try to ideate a campaign which can be integrated across all online marketing channels and not restrict it only to social media.

It may not always be possible to come up with an integrated marketing campaign idea. But it is definitely worth exploring it first rather than restricting the thought process to social media domain.

Key Takeaway

Integrated campaign hedges the risk of the amount invested in the campaign and has a better chance of a positive ROI.

7)      Avoid post or tweets which are “SALES CENTRIC”

It is definitely frustrating to see a brand constantly promoting its products or services rather than really taking efforts to engage with the fans or followers through a good story. It isn’t a crime to promote your product or services but its a crime if it is right in the face of a reader. Build a nice story and then subtly promote your brand. The impact would be 2x than a normal sales post.

Key Takeaway

Your brand will be noticed more if it is promoted through a nice story.

So the next time you ideate on an idea try keeping the above points in mind to create a campaign which touches people’s heart. Rest will automatically follow.