A Facebook account is like the digital equivalent of a social security number—if you 
don’t have one, you practically don’t exist. According to social media standards, a person’s experiences is nearly unreal if not documented and shared on Facebook. Similarly, a business’s products and services are discredited and under-marketed if absent from the biggest social networking site in the world. Just as important as small business bookkeeping, building a website and establishing business goals, social media should be part of your bottom line. Launching a captivating social media campaign is all part of the job, whether you’re trying to garner more page likes or promote a new product.
Understand your audience
Peter F. Drucker said it best, “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” Who are you targeting? How will these people help you reach your marketing goals? What will your customers gain? Determine the root of your campaign, which should meet the needs and interests of your customer archetype. For example, couture rental company Rent the Runway created the “Our Runway” campaign to collect photos of customers wearing dresses along with outfit feedback, according to Mashable. Renters can browse the image archive to find styles of diverse women to inspire their own fashions.
Get emotional
Warm a heart or earn a tear, and you’ve got the social underpinnings for an engaging campaign. In the town of Milan, MI, two-year-old Mason Farmer, recently lost his battle with T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. In honor of Mason, Denise Campbell spearheads the “Go Green for Awareness and In Honor of Mason Farmer” campaign to support the Farmer family and raise cancer awareness. The campaign urges family, friends and the community to change their Facebook profile picture to a Mason-inscribed green ribbon for 24 hours. Draw upon human emotion, and you can effectively and meaningfully spread your message.
Offer incentives
People will lend time and energy to engage in your campaign and brand if they gain something in return. Create a contest or giveaway that promotes a product and offers a free prize as an attractive incentive. In 2013, Clairol increased their fans numbers by 944 percent in one day by giving away 100,000 sample bottles of their Nice ‘n Easy Color blend foam to Facebook fans, notes Digital Park. Subsequently, Clairol’s Facebook page landed 255,000 new fans. Identify valuable perks your business can offer fans that encourage them to socially endorse your brand, sign up for a newsletter or like your Facebook page.
Be relevant
Keep in mind relevancy. A Facebook campaign centered around a special event like the Super Bowl or Sochi Winter Olympics has more marketing power. In 2012, Nike featured the lesser known, average athletes from the London Summer Olympics and acquired 166,718 brand new Facebook fans. Also, integrate other relevant, popular social media platforms. Snapchat, Vine or Instagram can strengthen your marketing efforts and enhance your social presence.
This is a guest post by Raymond Garcia, courtesy of socialmonsters
Raymond is a social media strategist for several small businesses. He loves reading about new technology and taking road trips with friends.
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