Marketing campaigns are often self-contained parts of your overall marketing plan that are concerned with a specific product or service or launch. But that doesn’t mean all your hard work on one campaign or project should only exist in that campaign, expiring once it’s over and its goals have been met. And you certainly shouldn’t reinvent the wheel the next time another campaign comes rolling around. Instead, take the hard graft you’ve put into the strategy and document it. That way, people have a handbook to guide them before they build a new campaign plan, so they know what to do and when.
A quick reminder why you should always document your marketing campaign plan
According to a Content Marketing Institute report, 65% of the most successful marketers had a documented strategy, while just 14% of the least successful get it on paper. Clearly, writing down your campaign plan has a dramatic impact on your marketing performance.
Just throwing out content and hoping it attracts the right audience is a recipe for disaster. You need a cohesive, well thought-out plan, distributed to meet the brand mission and cater to the needs of your audience while ensuring all stakeholders are reading from the same script.
Marketing strategies afford everyone in the organisation visibility over why and how campaigns come together. When everybody understands how team members collaborate and communicate, you’ll see the alignment of the different components and teams that exist in every campaign, which can also assist buy-in from senior members of the organisation. This makes the collective stronger than the sum of its parts, creating the ideal environment that encourages teamwork.
Acknowledging your content plan by writing it down and reviewing it is crucial to making sure it stays in line with your company’s goals. This way it becomes a living document that can change and evolve with time and experience.
Here’s how to gain momentum
Make it a priority
Marketers who fail to document their content marketing plans and strategies fail to make it a priority. Often, pressure means that we’re more inclined to ‘get down to business’ and try to produce something as fast as possible. This method can produce fast results (if you are lucky) but it also risks leaving gaps in campaigns and ups the likelihood of mistakes.
Make time
Leading on from our first point, one of these perceived pressures is that we can’t seem to find the time to document our strategies. But then, if it was important enough, time would be provided for it, wouldn’t it? Well, this just isn’t the case – you’re going to have to make an active effort.
Take responsibility
Responsibility can be a fine motivator. If no one currently oversees documenting the content marketing strategy and issues arise from this lack of documenting, then ‘the buck’ can be passed around and no one really needs to care. Taking it on as your duty will help motivate you to do a great job: think of it as your legacy.
Where to start?
Lack of knowledge gives people the perfect excuse to kick a task further down the to-do list. The reality is that procrastination is not your friend, and the internet is packed with guides to help you document your marketing plan, which renders this excuse null. In fact, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of it right now.
What goes into a marketing campaign document?
The first thing to do is think about how your content marketing strategy will address several areas—areas that are very similar to what you might ask yourself when planning a marketing campaign. Like target audience, goals, the ‘big picture’, and how to know if you’re on the right track.
Target audience
You need to set this one out in stone. Who are you trying to attract? Write it down. Better yet, turn your notes into specific distinct buyer personas. That includes names, photos, wants, needs, and pain points.
How does content push leads?
When, where, how and what kind of content to create will all depend on what you want your target audience to do at a point in the marketing funnel. Do you want them to download a free eBook or subscribe to your services on a monthly rate?
Align marketing and campaign goals
You already have your goals. Now you need to actively think about how your marketing strategy will enable those goals. This is where you need to know how your content will have to perform to achieve what you want. For example, how many leads would be considered a successful campaign? And by previous analytics, what volume of content or how many PPC ads need to be produced, and what platforms do you need to build a presence to achieve your goal?
Put goals on the calendar
An editorial calendar should be part of every content campaign. You have your content ideas, now you need to make sure you push the right stuff at the right time. It’s not an exact science, but it’s something that needs to be considered. Check on your social media platforms when your highest engagement times are and aim to post accordingly.
Control your strategies
The real difference between documenting your content strategy and not doing so comes down to control. Nothing is guaranteed when you’re trying to capture people’s attention, let alone encouraging them to buy goods or services, but with the right amount of planning and attention to detail you can at least give your organisation the best possible chance of making an impact.
A little about us
Fifty Five and Five is a full-service digital marketing agency with a focus on technology and IT companies. As specialists in the field, we deliver services that seamlessly blend our expert knowledge with our unbeatable marketing experience. We execute campaigns ranging from blogs, social and paid media to web build, web design and video production. Our goal is to help technology companies generate more leads through quality marketing campaigns.