What to do when your social media marketing campaign isn't performing

Published by Kristian Curcio on May 22, 2019 10:53:08 AM

It’s exciting to run a social media campaign. Social media offers an interactive platform that’s fast-paced, emotionally engaging, and visual. Seeing those first likes and shares has the potential to elicit a bit of an adrenaline rush.

The trouble is that your campaigns are just not lifting off. Since you understanding marketing, it pains you to admit that something just isn’t working. If things keep heading this way, their lacklustre performance will negatively impact your business. Unfortunately, your social media marketing campaigns are just not generating enough leads or resulting in increased sales for your clients. It’s time to ask- why not?

Before you bite the bullet and randomly shake things up, figure out exactly why they are underperforming. From there you can work out what to tweak and improve to create a social media marketing campaign that actually brings in those leads. So, what big questions should you ask yourself when reviewing your campaigns? Here are some more details about the tips covered in the video above.

1- Has your audience targeting been setup correctly?

This is a basic one. The first mistake often made is targeting an audience that is too broad or inappropriate for the business. Campaigns need to be focused on reaching consumers who can actually convert to leads. Otherwise, there is no chance for your social media marketing to be successful. Set up your social media targeting to ensure you’re reaching viewers who will find the campaign relevant.

2- Is the marketing budget realistic for the target demographic?

Throwing money at a campaign does not necessarily translate to increased performance. Make sure you research the target demographic available on a chosen platform so that you know where your money needs to go to reach them.

Since your target demographic can be found on multiple platforms, it is important to work out how much it will cost you to reach them on each social platform. If you’re investing money into reaching people on a platform with low usage, or limited engagement by your target audience, then you’re overspending.

It’s important to focus on the social media platforms your customers are actually using - rather than trying to be everywhere for everyone. This will help guide your campaigns and ensure that you set realistic budgets for your potential reach.

3- Does the campaign and its assets entertain, engage and inform?

Droll, dry and confusing campaigns simply won’t work. Viewers will simply scroll on past. There needs to be something in the content that hooks the audience and gives them a reason to keep watching. Viewers are typically engaged by content that entertains, informs, or even shocks them.

4- Does it convey a single-minded proposition (one message only)?

Is your message clear, on track and understandable? Trying to cram multiple points into a single social media piece will get confusing and muddy the message. It’s an easy way to lose the attention of your audience. Make sure each piece of content has one single message, a point that is clear and direct. This will help encourage people to take action and increase the potential of your campaign to generate leads.

5- Does your content include a strong call to action?

Your campaign content needs to finish up with a strong call to action. A strong call to action must address a pain point of your target demographic or more importantly, what you want them to do. Addressing customer pain points gives your audience a reason to respond to the content, rather than just being an irrelevant plea to convert. Be clear on your messaging and why they need to take action - whether to click a link, watch a video or download an ebook or whitepaper.

6- Is the content creative structured correctly?

Creative content is important. It needs to be structured in a way that hooks the viewer in and engages them enough to keep on watching. It also needs to be relevant, offering a message that shows how the business offers a solution to the target audience, and not just about being entertaining or cramming in information. Also, different platforms require content creative structures. What works on one platform compared to another, can be as different as what appeals to different demographics.

Given the nuances in getting the creative structured the right way, it is worth considering an experienced production agency. Just make sure it is the right one. That means working with a successful media agency, one who can prove that their content beats competition. One who understands that the creative content needs to generate leads, and has a proven method for getting results.

Social media campaign that generates results

By assessing where your campaign could be going wrong, you can make the changes necessary to turn it around. This includes ensuring targeting is set up correctly and having the right media spend for the available target demographic. It also means ensuring the content engages through entertainment or information, as well as conveying a clear single-minded proposition.

A strong call to action, one that addresses a pain point, is essential to convert your audience into leads. Finally, all of this needs to be wrapped up in content creative that is structured correctly.

Want proof?

This Grafico case study highlights just how much you can achieve with a truly successful video marketing campaign. See how Grafico generated a massive 900% lead increase by addressing both the creative structure and strategy of their content. Read the full case study to learn more.

500 Digital Media is a Melbourne-based production studio with a national focus. Fluent in every stage of production – from concept and creation to social media strategy – we provide a full-scale and integrated end-to-end service delivered by our team of in-house experts.

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