Planning & Measuring Campaigns: Social Marketing Playbook
Planning & Measuring Campaigns: Social Marketing Playbook
PLAYBOOK:
Planning &
Measuring
Campaigns
meltwater.com/social
SOCIAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK: PLANNING & MEASURING CAMPAIGNS
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around
to hear it, does it make a sound? If we agree to
measure sound as a human experience, then the
answer is ‘no’. The same can be said of social
marketing campaigns.
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01 Why a Social Media Campaign?
07 Reporting Outcomes
09 In Conclusion
10 Sources
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01 WHY A
In 2015, an estimated
65% of adults
used at least one social networking site, and for
adults aged 18 to 29,
the figure rose to 90%. 4
There are many
Driving leads to
content marketing
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The influence of social
52%
of consumers’ online and offline purchases,
36%
up from
in 2014
66%
of marketers currently report
lead generation benefits
from as little as...
6
hours
spent per week wiith social media
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02 SETTING THE RIGHT GOALS
First, decide what you want your social media campaign to accomplish:
Who
do you want to reach?
Where & When
should they do it?
What
do you want them to do?
Why
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SOCIAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK: PLANNING & MEASURING CAMPAIGNS
The backbone of any social media campaign is SMART goals.
An “act now, think later,” approach to incorporating social into existing marketing campaigns can work
against the marketer or agency experimenting with social for the first time. It is less effective than an approach
that takes into account the medium’s strengths and weaknesses, while also running the risk of leaving key
stakeholders without benchmarks against which to measure success or failure.
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Before laying the groundwork
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SOCIAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK: PLANNING & MEASURING CAMPAIGNS
Many marketers starting out with social
marketing make the same common mistake:
failing to see the forest for the trees.
The field team has done their work to set up product demos at grocery
stores, aisle displays, college campus giveaways and flyers at shopping malls.
It’s now the digital marketing team’s job to extend the product launch to
social media.
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It can be tempting to opt for the low-hanging-fruit such
as shares, likes, and comments without considering the
bigger picture. However, doing so opens up potential for a
disconnect to develop between marketing departments.
Instead, consider focusing on:
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SOCIAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK: PLANNING & MEASURING CAMPAIGNS
Ensure that Objectives are
Measurable
Key stakeholders will determine the campaign’s
success by its ability to reach quantifiable goals.
company names or product names in the caption.
Images may include full or partial brand logos,
products and/or contextual evidence.
OBJECTIVES GOALS
Increase • 500 free snack sign-ups
Awareness of from existing follower base
New Product • 1,000 social shares from
Among Existing existing follower base of
Customers new product announce-
ment
Increase Brand • 1,500 new social followers
Awareness Among in target audience groups
New Customers • Increase share of voice
(SOV) in target keywords
by 3%
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03 PAID SUPPORT FOR
Faced with this new reality, the major social media platforms are now
best thought of as advertising platforms. This may represent a shift
for brands — but a beneficial one. Advertising through social channels
allows brands to cut through the clutter and reach consumers more
strategically. Social advertising also allows for an unprecedented amount
of focus and targeting, given how much users choose to share about
themselves on their social channels.
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SOCIAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK: PLANNING & MEASURING CAMPAIGNS
By definition, organic posts on social media
are untargeted – they’re seen by whoever
follows a particular user, and those eyeballs
don’t necessarily belong to your most valuable
audience.
Investing in
high-quality
content isn’t
cheap and with
paid support,
you are able to
better target your
audience -based
on criteria that
matters to you.
This ensures that your content isn’t going to
waste and is being seen by the right people for
your campaign goals.
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SOCIAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK: PLANNING & MEASURING CAMPAIGNS
Paid promotion not only ensures you’re reaching the right audience
with your content; it provides you with a wealth of information
on your campaign’s performance - information not available from
organic posts.
Campaigns can be measured and optimized based on traffic to site on a cost-per-click basis, engagement
on platform, completion of video, consumption, sharing, or lead generation/acquisition and sales. A smart
paid program helps you understand the market price for the results you want, and lets you optimize your
content program to deliver stronger results within your budget.
It is also the most impactful method of advertising that exists - In 2016, 74% of marketers
have areported using social ads - with 59% saying they’re effective, compared to print offline
promotion (used by 65% of surveyed marketers, but with only 46% reported effectiveness)
(Social Media Examiner).
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SOCIAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK: PLANNING & MEASURING CAMPAIGNS
It’s safe to say that paid support should
now be a part of nearly every social
campaign strategy.
However, the following types of campaigns may
benefit from it the most:
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04 SOCIAL CAMPAIGN
COMPETITORS
First, research the campaigns your brand’s competitors have recently run and learn how they’ve
released similar products. Most often, competitive research should include:
• Evaluating which messages garner the most engagement (both positive and negative)
• Examining their share of voice within the industry
• Evaluating the differences between their brand messaging and your own
• Looking at the way competitors are covered in the media - are there reporters or outlets who
would be interested in your announcements as well?
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AUDIENCE
RELEVANT EVENTS
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05 SOCIAL CAMPAIGN
You’ve set your goals and objectives. You know what’s going
on in the market. You’ve identified the right time, place and
message for your audience.
But before you launch, here’s a checklist ensuring you’re ready to go on launch day:
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CREATIVE
TESTING
For a successful campaign, especially a brand’s first, test all messages, creative and targeting. Set up test posts with one
changed variable on each post to measure effectiveness of one piece of creative or copy versus another.
TRACKING STRINGS
If the campaign leads to particular web assets on your brand’s page, use an analytics system, such as Google Analytics
or Adobe Social, to set up tracking strings and measure end-to-end impact on the web destination.
BILLING
If your brand is launching its first paid campaign, many social networks require establishing a line of credit with them first.
This means that you will need to set up your billing account up to five business days before launch and you may not be
able to spend quickly. Check each social network’s guidelines so you are prepared.
TARGETING
Setting up targeting for paid campaigns can take a long time and reveal surprising facts. It could turn out that your
audience isn’t large enough or it will cost more per action than originally estimated. Set up the campaign targeting at
least two business days before campaign launch to make any changes necessary to meet overall goals.
CHECKING EVENTS
In our current climate, news of struggle, tragedy and unexpected occurrences happen every day. For brands, the wrong
pre-scheduled social post going live at the wrong timecan garner negative publicity and impact the success of a
campaign. Before pressing “launch,” check to make sure your campaign isn’t accidentally running alongside atragic news
event and casting a poor light on your brand’s reputation.
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06 YOUR CAMPAIGN IS
1. BE PRESENT
No matter the goals and objectives of your campaign, audiences and user groups engaging with
content should be heard and engaged. If your audiences respond to content, acknowledge their
responses by “liking” their comments as appropriate, or responding with an on-brand message.
Tools like Meltwater Social and its Paid Social Analytics features enable campaign managers to
respond to both paid and organic engagements in a single dashboard in real-time.
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SOCIAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK: PLANNING & MEASURING CAMPAIGNS
3. FOLLOW THE 1% RULE
Social networks vary, as do goals and objectives, but a
general rule to follow is to shoot for at least 1% click-
through or engagement on posts. As with other forms
of marketing — like direct mail — 1% of an audience
shows that messages are resonating and that your
targeting is accurate.
5. KEEP IT FRESH
Did you notice a new trend occur during your
campaign that you could leverage? Have your results
plateaued? Adjust as you go. Create additional
graphics, alter your targeting and try new social
campaign layouts. Campaigns have a lifespan—it’s the
social marketer’s job to make it a long one.
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07 REPORTING
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Below is a report template that keeps information concise, action-focused,
GOALS & Reiterate the goals and objectives originally formulated at the beginning of the
OBJECTIVES campaign to remind readers what you were trying to accomplish.
Write this portion last. Look through all other sections and highlight key learnings
EXECUTIVE
and success factors tied to goals and objectives. Keep this section to 150 words or less
SUMMARY
as many readers will only make it this far.
TOP PERFORMING This section is important for informing future social campaigns, as well as other
CREATIVE & marketing campaigns. Here, choose 3-5 of the top performing posts and include
screenshots with a few bullet points on why they succeeded.
TARGETING
No campaign is perfect. Out of the challenges that may have occurred, identify a
few in 1-2 sentences, making sure to include:
KEY
LEARNINGS • What happened?
• Why did it happen?
• What will be done differently in the next campaign?
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SOCIAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK: PLANNING & MEASURING CAMPAIGNS
Once a report is
completed, circulate
the results to
stakeholders (sales,
customer service,
etc.) who can act
on them.
Follow up with
departments to ensure
the insights from reports
are being implemented
and used as a lens
through which they work.
Key learnings are only
useful when effectively
being put to action.
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08 ADVANCING YOUR
A solid social campaign will strengthen client relationships as the agency becomes a trusted advisor,
generating new business opportunities based on the expertise demonstrated in the campaign.
Using social tools helps you identify the right targets for your message, driving massive lifts in
engagement over other targeting methods, and helps develop a specialized agency department of
well-resourced experts for use across clients and accounts.
Additionally, it broadens the scope of social media use beyond campaign planning, as clients
impressed with your social media capabilities will come to you for their other needs, such as visual
analytics or social customer relationship management.
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SOCIAL MARKETING PLAYBOOK: PLANNING & MEASURING CAMPAIGNS
For Marketers
Proven campaign results can lead to additional
resources and budget for future social campaigns
and build strong relationships with industry
influencers, who may then become product
advocates and invaluable consultants. Successful
campaigns also gather critical insights on
competitors and audiences, which can be used by
other departments within your company.
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09 IN CONCLUSION
And while so many marketers consider the task of running campaigns difficult, tools exist to
simplify the process and dramatically optimize the results.
A strong social campaign is essential and with the correct tools, it ensures that when your
campaign launches, it will make the sound you need.
For more information on what Meltwater can do to help you with planning and measuring your
social media campaigns, please visit meltwater.com/social.
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10 SOURCES CITED
Facebook Influences over Half of Shoppers Says DigitasLBi’s Connected Commerce Report
John McCarthy, The Drum, April 2015.
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