How to Create a Social Media Campaign: The Ultimate Checklist

So you're ready to take your Social Media Marketing to the next level. You've seen firsthand how social media has the power to transform businesses and improve their reach, and you want a piece of the pie for your company.

But where do you start?

The first step is creating solid social media campaign, one that covers all the bases and guarantees you've taken everything into account when getting started. Creating a campaign is an important element for successful social media marketing, as it outlines everything from your mission statements and tactics for each network to the tactics and tools you're planning on using to achieve them.

We've created a quick and easy checklist to help you make sure you've ticked all the right boxes before creating your first social media campaign.

The Ultimate Social Media Campaign Checklist

Getting Started

• Have you established an overarching business goal for your social media marketing?
• Have you defined your mission statements and goals for each social media channel? Do they align with your business's overall social media goal?
• Have you ensured that all your goals, from your defined business goal for social media to your individual social channels, are set within the SMART framework?
• Have you established who your target audience is? Do you have well-researched buyer personas you can reference?
• Have you conducted a thorough audit of your social media accounts? Have you determined which networks you will be focusing on for your campaign?
• Have you done competitor research? (Have your competitors' social pages been performing well? What are their engagement levels? Do they post a specific type of content?)

Defining Accountability

• Have you agreed upon a designated individual who can be accountable for managing your social media channels? Can they commit to regular, consistent posting and engagement?
• Have you determined who will be sourcing and creating your social media content?

Creating the Right Content Strategy

• Have you created a content plan?
• Have you decided on viable content formats to distribute across your social channels?
• Have you researched best practice publishing times for each social channel?
• Have you established a target audience for each content format you plan to distribute?
• Does your content adhere to the rule of thirds?
• Have you researched established thought leaders and voices in your industry whose content you can share?
• Does your created content reflect your brand's voice and values?
• Have you created an editorial calendar?
• Does your editorial calendar reflect your mission statements for each social channel?
• Does your editorial calendar include the times and dates for messaging scheduling across your chosen social channels?
• Have you planned your content scheduling in advance using your editorial calendar?
• Have you designated a specific person to monitor social streams to ensure you are spontaneously engaging with your followers if they reach out to you, or responding to customers requiring services?

Measuring Your Results

• Have you established metrics to measure your performance against?
• Have you considered both qualitative and quantitative results? Did you measure not only the volume of leads and traffic generated through social media, but the quality of these as well?
• Did your campaign meet your short and long-term goals and objectives?

Remember that each stage of creating a social media campaign is as vital as the next, so don't be tempted to skip out on proper results analysis. It's these results that will reflect the efficacy of your campaign, and will point out valuable areas you can improve upon going forward.