 "Deploying effective social media campaigns")
Social media, which started off as a platform to connect friends, has evolved into a parallel media for communication. Today, Twitter is not only a source of breaking news but Twitter trends also make for interesting lunch table conversations. LinkedIn is the first stop for professional connections. Facebook helps one connect with not just friends but interest groups and brands. It is no surprise, therefore, that corporates have identified the huge potential of this medium and have started leveraging it for brand campaigns to reach out to their target audience.
Deploying campaigns on social media is relatively cost effective and it lets one target the audience in an extremely focused fashion; this has led to many brands exploring this platform. But while the impact has been significantly positive, it has also led to a lot of brand clutter on social media.
The challenge, therefore, is designing and deploying campaigns that break through the clutter. Camapigns should not just help in building the brand but also meet business objectives. Following a few simple steps, you can make your social media campaigns effective, not only for your brand, but also your business.
Identify the target audience: Social media is no longer a hang-out zone for the youth. Most demographic segments today are present on social media; targeting, therefore, becomes extremely critical. Make sure that you choose the right socialmedia channel for your campaign. Your audience is on a variety of platforms and each platform, as alluded above, serves a different purpose for them at different points of time. It is important to do a social media mapping of your target audience and target them on the appropriate platform, basis what your message and proposition is.
Stick to the three Es: Since the fundamental premise of deploying a social media campaign is to have a two-way communication with the target audience; one must make the campaign engaging, entertaining and educational. This holds true irrespective of the sector one operates in. You can download information to your audience through any medium, but social media is one of the few platforms where you can influence them to engage with your brand. The three Es will ensure that you are breaking through the clutter.
Integrate efforts: More often than not, companies have properties on different social media platforms, which are completely disconnected from each other. It is advisable to make the messaging within campaigns, or business units, consistent and coordinated to avoid confusing the audience. It is equally advisable, if it can be achieved, to integrate social media campaigns with offline campaigns, thereby amplifying the brand's efforts.
Link the campaign to the business objectives: It is always advisable to link the campaign to a specific and measurable business objective. Once you have articulated the business objective that you want to achieve through the campaign, make sure that each social media communication has the key message ingrained in it. While you must not make each communication look like a sales pitch, the content must remain relevant to the business objective.
Measure the impact: Ultimately, it boils down to results and this is where creating the right metrics to measure and track results becomes critical. Brands need to be swift at evolving monitoring and measurement metrics. One needs to invest in tools and processes to integrate the multiple components of social media better. Information relating to purchases, customer behaviour, social conversations and analytics needs to be well integrated to give a complete perspective on the effectiveness of campaigns.
There is no doubt, with the increasingly networked world out there, social media will continue to grow in importance and reach. If leveraged well, this can open up a wealth of opportunity for brands and organisations.
Deploying campaigns on social media is relatively cost effective and it lets one target the audience in an extremely focused fashion; this has led to many brands exploring this platform. But while the impact has been significantly positive, it has also led to a lot of brand clutter on social media.
The challenge, therefore, is designing and deploying campaigns that break through the clutter. Camapigns should not just help in building the brand but also meet business objectives. Following a few simple steps, you can make your social media campaigns effective, not only for your brand, but also your business.
Identify the target audience: Social media is no longer a hang-out zone for the youth. Most demographic segments today are present on social media; targeting, therefore, becomes extremely critical. Make sure that you choose the right socialmedia channel for your campaign. Your audience is on a variety of platforms and each platform, as alluded above, serves a different purpose for them at different points of time. It is important to do a social media mapping of your target audience and target them on the appropriate platform, basis what your message and proposition is.
Stick to the three Es: Since the fundamental premise of deploying a social media campaign is to have a two-way communication with the target audience; one must make the campaign engaging, entertaining and educational. This holds true irrespective of the sector one operates in. You can download information to your audience through any medium, but social media is one of the few platforms where you can influence them to engage with your brand. The three Es will ensure that you are breaking through the clutter.
Integrate efforts: More often than not, companies have properties on different social media platforms, which are completely disconnected from each other. It is advisable to make the messaging within campaigns, or business units, consistent and coordinated to avoid confusing the audience. It is equally advisable, if it can be achieved, to integrate social media campaigns with offline campaigns, thereby amplifying the brand's efforts.
Link the campaign to the business objectives: It is always advisable to link the campaign to a specific and measurable business objective. Once you have articulated the business objective that you want to achieve through the campaign, make sure that each social media communication has the key message ingrained in it. While you must not make each communication look like a sales pitch, the content must remain relevant to the business objective.
Measure the impact: Ultimately, it boils down to results and this is where creating the right metrics to measure and track results becomes critical. Brands need to be swift at evolving monitoring and measurement metrics. One needs to invest in tools and processes to integrate the multiple components of social media better. Information relating to purchases, customer behaviour, social conversations and analytics needs to be well integrated to give a complete perspective on the effectiveness of campaigns.
There is no doubt, with the increasingly networked world out there, social media will continue to grow in importance and reach. If leveraged well, this can open up a wealth of opportunity for brands and organisations.
By Rishi Piparaiya, director, marketing and direct sales, Aviva Life Insurance