Running a marketing campaign can be intimidating when you don’t know where to start. So, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to promote your business.
The first rule of business is to always have a plan for everything. There’s a lot of planning involved especially when you’re launching a marketing campaign. But that’s not the hard part at all, it’s executing those plans that are difficult. How you walk the talk will determine the outcome of your startup.
Once you’ve created a marketing plan, it’s time to set it in motion. An idea is only as good as how it translates to real life. Planning is only one part of the process that estimates the amount of heavy lifting you’re supposed to do. And the tasks may seem overwhelming, but you can overcome all your hurdles by simply coming in prepared.
To start, equip yourself with knowledge of what a marketing campaign is and how you should run it.
What is a Marketing Campaign?
A marketing campaign is part of your business’ marketing plan. It’s an event or a series of activities to promote a certain part of your product or services. The campaign’s scale will largely depend on the company’s size and its needs.
For example, a large corporation that regularly releases new products is expected to launch campaigns frequently. Veterans in the industry could run their campaigns without much effort and trouble because they already have a solid following.
For small businesses that are still making a name for themselves, a marketing campaign is a make or break factor. For one, it becomes their introduction to the market. Hence, a good first impression is a must.
Here are some of the common goals of a marketing campaign.
How does it work?
Now that we’ve defined what a marketing campaign is, it’s time to find out how it works. As previously mentioned, the scale of the campaign will depend on what a brand is trying to achieve.
In some instances, a week-long publicity event might be necessary while sometimes, a few posts on social media will suffice. A company can tap into various types of media in print, broadcast, and digital platforms.
Guide to Running a Marketing Campaign
1. Target market
The first step to wooing anyone is knowing what makes them tick. Before you get around to formulating your strategies, get to know who you’re doing your campaign for. Do your research and study the best marketing campaign examples.
Researching your target audience plays a big role in the success of your campaign. A lot of startups fail because they didn’t know what their market truly wants. Learn about their interest, what content they frequently consume, and how they respond to certain things.
2. Goals and Performance Metrics
When it comes to running a marketing campaign, the go-with-the-flow method doesn’t work. In fact, when there’s no concrete plan in place, it can lead to disastrous results and a whole waste of resources. Working towards a specific goal is better than just winging it. Be intentional with your results and set fixed performance metrics.
Whether you want to generate leads, improve your visibility, or stir up engagement with the public; there has to be a primary goal. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) offer a quantifiable comparison to gauge the degree of your progress.
Evaluate your campaign over a certain period and make major decisions throughout. You’ll find it more productive when you’re working towards one certain matter than just trying things out.
3. Budget
In business, you can’t afford clumsy spending. Running a marketing campaign takes a chunk out of your business budget, which is why you must have a set amount for it.
Get to know all your options for promotion before you set about tapping one channel. Remember, a billboard can cost three times more than a paid ad on social media.
Be realistic when you’re setting your budget and study what the ideal figures for it. Marketing experts recommend spending only 2-5% of your sales revenue while the U.S. Small Business Administration suggests 7-8% of your gross revenue. Assess how much cash you can burn and how long you can sustain the cash flow.
4. Timeline and Action plan
Create a step-by-step action plan for your marketing campaign and explicitly write down who does what. Yes, you have to be specific; from the people involved to the very last penny you’re paying for the activity.
Say, for example, you want your product mentioned in a podcast. You can sign up to have your brand as a sponsor for a podcast episode and have it promoted on air. Startup Hustle, a podcast for entrepreneurs, does a lot of guesting and sponsorship deals with small businesses and startups.
5. Channel
When more than half the world’s population is online, it can be overwhelming to reach out to them. The World Wide Web is huge and the possibilities are endless. But you can’t go around just exploring every nook and cranny. You must make use of your time by selecting your platforms wisely.
Filter what communication channels you plan to use. How do you want to communicate with your audience? Through emails? Social Media? Direct mail? Use what you’ve gathered in your market research to discover what platforms they frequent on.
6. Results Analysis
You learn from each experience. Perhaps, one of the biggest advantages of running a marketing campaign is taking in all the valuable data from it.
You get to learn what your target market likes, and most of all, what works for you. This paves the way for smarter and more strategic campaigns in the future. And the data you’ve collected will also be useful when you create your GAP analysis.
Build your Marketing Team
One of the factors that make up a good marketing campaign is a great marketing message. You need to say the right words to leave a lasting impression on your audience. Whatever platform you tap into, be sure you’re sending out your message professionally and creatively.
This is why hiring marketing experts such as content writers and graphic designers come in handy. A dedicated creative team will provide you with the materials you’ll need to effectively execute your marketing campaign.
On top of that, we have tech experts to back you up in building your software. Hire top-notch software engineers, project managers, and QA specialists to improve and maintain your applications. If you’re looking to scale up your startup, we’ve got your back. Talk to us today!