To make sure your social media campaign is as successful as possible, follow our 7 steps to plan and structure your campaign strategy

If you have an upcoming marketing campaign for a new product feature, or a holiday promotion that you want to capitalize on, or maybe you’re releasing a brand-new product, you will want to plan a social media marketing campaign to help spread the word. But in order to make sure your social media campaign strategy is as successful as possible, you need to plan in advance and consider how it integrates with other strategies.

How to structure an integrated social media campaign plan

Ideally, the social elements of the campaign will be part of a broader marketing campaign plan - our companion post and members' marketing campaign plan template recommend you structure your campaign using these key campaign elements: Campaign goals and tracking. Campaign insight and targeting. Key campaign…

Our compilation of the latest social media statistics of consumer adoption and usage of social networking platforms

Social networks have transformed marketing and, as this post shows, their popularity is still growing in our latest global social media statistics research summary for 2024. Networks vary in popularity with different demographics and they're still evolving. Research by Global WebIndex that we reference in this article shows that globally, 62.3% of the world's population uses social media. The average daily usage is 2 hours and 23 minutes (April 2024). We'll keep this post updated during 2024 as the latest statistics are published drawing on our recommended top 10 digital marketing statistics sources. We'll be pointing to new data on the popularity of social media from Global Web Index (worldwide), Pew Internet Surveys (US) and OfCom (UK), and, most recently, the Datareportal January 2024 global overview, with the January review…

Paid vs organic social media strategy: Your planning essentials

Both organic and paid social media landscapes are constantly evolving. New networks rise to prominence (e.g. TikTok), new technology increases user participation and real-time content (e.g. Periscope) and existing networks enhance their platform and product (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram launching ‘buy’ buttons). In 2022, organic reach is also continuing to shrink as the leading networks ramp up their paid social media channels to monetize platform investment. Now more than ever, marketers need to research and optimize the right organic and paid media options to achieve their goals. [si_guide_block id="49146" title="Digital media options cheatsheet" description="Our Digital media cheatsheet is aimed at helping Smart Insights members to keep track of the free and paid media options so that they're not missing out on any of the latest developments."] If the first era of social was engagement, the new era is acquisition and conversion. Social commerce…

Use the honeycomb model to help inform your social media strategy

Back in 2011, a group of professors from Canada; Jan Kietzmann, Kristopher Hermkens and Ian McCarthy created the Honeycomb Model to review social media effectiveness, looking at reasons why users engage with social media. The idea behind the honeycomb model is that of the 7 key building blocks delineated by the model, companies can select the ones most relevant to their business, and focus their attention on the key functionalities. [si_blog_banner_cta] We created this simple table to help you evaluate each of the seven blocks, so you can decide which ones, and how many, your organization should focus on.

Social media building blocks:

Identity: Data privacy controls and tools for user self-promotion Presence: Creating and managing the reality, intimacy and immediacy of the context Relationships: Managing the structural and flow properties in a network…

Marketers face their own particular challenges when it comes to digital marketing for financial services

It’s not exactly considered the sexiest of industries but digital marketing for financial services is a necessity – your customers are living in a digital world, so that’s where you need to be as well. The question is, how do you compete as a finance firm against influencers, funny viral videos, memes? How do you engage your audience and keep them interested? It can sometimes be difficult to know where to start, so, in this blog post, I’m going to share my top tips for financial services digital marketing. Before you get started with digital marketing though, make sure that your firm is in compliance with any online promotion laws; whether there are special regulations for running a contest on social media or for data collection, it’s always best to check and protect yourself. And now, let’s get…

Discover our top 5 creators on Instagram Reels, and why we've chosen them. Stay up to date with the latest social media trend to inform your digital marketing strategy

One month ago, Instagram unveiled its latest platform update, Instagram Reels; an informal, content-centric, short video format for brands, influencers and fans to create and share alike. "Reels invites you to create fun videos to share with your friends or anyone on Instagram. Record and edit 15-second multi-clip videos with audio, effects, and new creative tools. You can share reels with your followers on Feed, and, if you have a public account, make them available to the wider Instagram community through a new space in Explore." If you're looking for inspiration, here are our favourite 5 Instagram creators, and why...

Netflix

We're kicking off with @Netflix, who in the first quarter of 2020 delivered …

Learn how social media app TikTok has launched 'Small Gestures'

A new brand collaboration and engaging gift-giving initiative by the social media platform - TikTok, has been launched to help spread positivity within its community and open new opportunities for its platform...

What is the latest social media innovation with the new 'Small Gestures' gift-giving initiative on TikTok?

We often find that many of us appreciate a simple gesture or small gift from a friend, colleague or family member. Especially during recent weeks, identifying ways that can help us stay positive, can go along way. Staying positive whilst social distancing and not being able to maintain our physical connections, like we normally do, increases the importance for social media platforms, to increase innovation, to engage their communities with. [si_guide_block id="5768" title="Download our Business Resource –Social media marketing strategy guide" description="Our social media strategy guide will help you create an integrated social media…

Social media is one of the best ways to reach your millennial audience, but what should your social media marketing strategy include in order to engage this demographic?

Brands have stopped considering social media to be just like any other medium of communication since millennials have started treating social platforms as one-stop-shops for all of their daily needs. In other words, with the exponential increase of social media users and shifting consumption patterns, brands have started redefining their social media strategies. Spurred by changes made by the social network platforms, social media has now become a dedicated marketing and sales channel. Millennials are a particularly important group since their age coincides with peak usage of many social media platforms by age and in particular two of the most popular social networks: Facebook and Instagram. Plus, they are predicted to be the largest target group for 'generational marketing' in future.

What is the age range…

How to use Snapchat marketing in 2020 as part of your social media strategy

Snapchat has seen some increase in users following a redesign that led to many users abandoning the app. Towards the end of 2019, Snapchat reported that its daily active users had increased to 210 million. [si_guide_block id="132178" title="Download our Individual Member Resource – Smarter Snapchat marketing guide" description="This guide has been written to give you a detailed introduction to Snapchat as a whole before breaking down how your business can develop a strategy for building your brand's profile. "/] Snapchat began in 2011 as a disappearing photo-sharing platform. The app saw significant growth when it first launched but is now struggling to compete with its rival, Instagram Stories. Snapchat made its mark for showing a more authentic and unpolished side of social media. According to SproutSocial, that original feeling is what keeps some of its…

There are many factors that can affect your strategy and new research is always churning up findings that you can make use of

We’ve written a lot on why you need a social media strategy and have given plenty of insights into how to create one, so you should be well versed on the benefits of a good social plan. However, there are many factors that can affect your strategy and new research is always churning up findings that you can make use of – as well as methods that you should stop using in order to see the best results. Just as with any marketing strategy, your plan for social media should be fluid, taking into account any new research, technology or platforms that come about. Sticking with a strategy that was put in place months ago and doesn’t reflect updated best practice can mean you don’t see the results or ROI…