Unit 9 Managing a content marketing campaign

This report is aimed to help plan a marketing campaign so they can be used so that the best strategies can be used. It will also help the company run a successful business campaign. This report will help companies marketing Campaign Fits Into companies marketing Plan and also help measure companies results in Results. This report will also give you advice on how to connect with customers and how to reach new customers.

Planning a content marketing campaign

Growing a business isn’t easy. First, you need a viable idea. From there, you need to discover a profitable niche, define a target demographic and have something of value to sell them.

What are the best marketing strategies to use? 

Use social media.

You can’t ignore social media. That’s where all the so-called magic is happening. Some businesses have been built solely on the backs of social media. It can be intimidating at first. Sure. But as you build momentum, you’ll find posting on social media to get easier and easier over time.

Of course, you could also hire a social media manager if you have money to burn. But if you don’t, just be yourself. Be authentic. Post your thoughts. Post your products. Post anything that you find relevant and useful that would help your audience either learn more about you and your business or about the industry that you’re in.

Use direct messages on platforms like Instagram and even Snapchat or Twitter to reach out to other successful businesses or even to communicate with potential customers who might be looking for your products and services. This is very powerful marketing.

Understand search engine optimisation.

This is an area of marketing that I’m incredibly passionate about. But it’s also an area that many people are deathly frightened by. Yes, SEO can be frightening. But it can also be powerful. And when you learn to leverage it and you learn SEO the right way, the sky truly is the limit.

There are companies out there who teach you how to use shady PBNs and other link schemes to “trick” Google. It might get short-term results, but in the long term, you’ll land in hot water. You can’t take shortcuts with SEO. Just like in business, you have to put in the work and the time if you want to see the results.

Some tips for doing this the right way? Don’t spam keywords. Hands down. This is one of the biggest mistakes most people make. Create your content for humans while also paying homage to search engines. But more importantly, ensure that whatever it is that you’re conveying is insightful, engaging, unique and adds a tremendous amount of value.

Reference: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/299335

Running a content marketing campaign

How to Run a Successful Marketing Campaign.

1) Know How Your Marketing Campaign Fits Into Your Marketing Plan

Ideally, before you plan a marketing campaign, you should have a marketing plan for your business.

The marketing plan is your master plan for marketing your small business. It provides the overall marketing objectives and strategies to lure your target market to your products and/or services. A marketing campaign, on the other hand, comprises just one small piece of your marketing plan—a marketing activity designed to achieve a particular objective.

When you know how your marketing campaign fits into your overall plan, you can identify your target market and how best to reach them.

2) Set Your Marketing Campaign’s Objective and Parameters

What do you want your campaign to achieve? The campaign’s objective should be as specific as possible. For example, more sales are too broad. A specific metric is required such as a specific amount of sales for a specific product or service within a specific amount of time. Why? So that the parameters of your campaign are laser-focused, and you can measure the effectiveness of the campaign as it proceeds.

A common marketing campaign objective formula is: What will be achieved + how long will the marketing campaign run?

For example, sales of face beauty masks will increase by 50 percent in three months. Or, sales of travel services will increase by 15 percent over the next eight weeks.

3) Determine How You Will Measure Success

What metrics are you going to use? Your metrics will you tell if your marketing campaign is succeeding. If not, metrics will allow you to assess whether continuing with the campaign is worth the cost.

If your marketing objective is to increase the awareness of your brand or to improve your website’s search engine page ranking, you can use Google Analytics.

4) Set Your Marketing Campaign Budget

How much money you have to spend on your campaign will greatly affect the marketing strategies you choose. A Football TV ad is much more costly than an ad on local television or on social media.

Don’t depend on free advertising and promotion strategies for your small business. This is not to say that all free marketing strategies are bad, but there is always a cost to marketing even if it is only your time. The most effective way to reach your customers may not be cheap, so be realistic when setting your budget.

5) Create a Timeline and Action Plan

Record exactly you are going to do and when. This will greatly increase the chances that you follow through and will give you a record to evaluate the success of your marketing campaign.

For instance, suppose you are selling bicycle seats designed to be more comfortable than most. Here’s a possible campaign plan:

• Sponsor local Sea-to-Sky bike race in September ($500 to become a sponsor).
• Send out a press release when you first become a sponsor (free if you do it yourself).
• Send out another pre-race press release in late August.
• Place a series of ads in the local newspaper, one in June, one in July, two in August, and one post-event in September (5 x $125.00 = $625),
• Post sponsor info on your business Facebook page

Now that’s about as simple a marketing campaign as you can have—simple is fine if it gets results. This is also an example of a marketing campaign that could easily be augmented.

Suppose, for instance, that there was a local person who was going to be in the bike race that was willing to wear a jersey with your business name and logo on it for the cost of a free bike seat. Suppose as well that they were willing to be the face of an online marketing campaign, whether free or for a price. You could then set up a Facebook page and Twitter account documenting their training for the race (and, of course, promoting your bike seats). On race day and leading up to race day, you could tweet about their progress.

See how easy that is? And all for less than $2,000.

You could also get more promotion benefit out of your race sponsorship by advertising in other places. For example, buying banner ads on bike-related websites or placing ads in appropriate magazines.

6) Execute

Write your ad copy. Firm up your dates. Place your ads. Search for and approach someone to be the face of your online marketing campaign. Whatever actions your campaign involves, execute.

Go back to your action plan timeline and check items off writing in the date of completion. It will keep you organised and motivated.

7) Measure Your Results

When the campaign is over, it’s time to measure its success. How many bike seats did you sell per week or month pre-campaign? How many are you selling post-campaign? If your marketing objective was to increase sales of bike seats 25 percent over four months, compare May, June, July, August, and September sales figures.

Reference: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-run-a-successful-marketing-campaign-2948364

Originate content for a content marketing campaign

Heightened Brand Affinity

One of the most beneficial bonuses offered by content marketing is increased brand affinity, in which consumers feel passionately about and share the values of a company or brand.

Brand affinity is the Holy Grail for marketers. Individuals with high brand affinity aren’t just into your products or services – they’re into you as a brand in a major way. They love what you sell, frequently tell their friends and family about how great you are, and will vouch for your products without any prompting or coercion whatsoever.

In short, customers with high brand affinity are your super-fans, and they’re arguably your most valuable customers.

And when it comes to prospects, the ones who feel an affinity for your brand will be much more likely to become a customer if they’ve already learned about you through your content. We’ve seen that click-through rates are dramatically higher when you look at audiences who know your brand well.

How Does Content Marketing Help Brand Affinity?

Reputation plays a huge part in developing and sustaining brand affinity. It’s not enough to merely make or sell high-quality goods or services. You need to become a trustworthy voice in your industry – and one of the best ways to do that is by producing high-quality content.

Shared values are central to the idea of brand affinity. Content not only helps drive traffic to your site but also affords you the opportunity to demonstrate what your values actually are as an organisation.

How Can I Develop Greater Brand Affinity Through Content Marketing?

Regardless of what kinds of content you publish, it’s crucial that you develop a unique voice. The reason so much content on the web is bland and instantly forgettable is that far too many sites are afraid of actually taking a stand on an issue or putting forward a specific point of view.

I’m going to challenge you to go one step further by sharing and demonstrating your organisational values in your content.

Take Word Stream, for example. We know that online advertising can be daunting enough without adding layer upon layer of complex terminology and industry buzzwords, so we don’t use them. We try to be as straightforward and accessible as possible with our content, and we apply these same values to every facet of the company, from our relationships with Google and Facebook to how we onboard new customers.

We also know that as effective as they can be, PPC and digital marketing can be… well, a little dry. That’s why we try to lighten the tone of our content by including memes, gifs, and the odd Star Wars gag.

Reference: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/04/25/benefits-of-content-marketing