Overview:
Overall I am pleased with how this project has turned out and been executed. I didn’t run into any major problems and the process was simple and an enjoyable experience. I struggled with the process of creating the website originally but that was simply down to not really understanding how to use the software, however it was an easy fix and it got easier the more I used it. I thoroughly enjoyed the content creating aspect of this project as it allowed me to combine my social media marketing knowledge and my graphic designing skills in order to best promote myself, and I am happy with the outcome of the content i created.
Applying research into practice:
Following on from the existing campaign research I completed, I learnt how important engagement and communication with your audience is, building hype to a new project and consistency. These are the three most important aspects to any successful campaign.
This worked perfectly for the platforms I chose to use as both Instagram and Facebook have features that fit this type of campaign.
I chose instagram as it is the most popular social media site with an average of 67 million worldwide users and is perfect for content creation marketing and promoting yourself to businesses. I also chose to use Facebook because they are owned by the same company, therefore linking the pages was super easy and made sharing to each simultaneously effortless. It also allows me to reach a wider range of audience and showcase my skills to businesses that use and value facebook over other social networking sites.
I knew from research I wanted my campaign to be professional but also colourful looking so it would stand out against competitors. This is why I chose the colour scheme of black, white, grey and light pink/nude that is present across my socials and the website i created too. This keeps the consistency of the brand whilst allows for more freedom in terms of content creation. Keeping my logo a simple black and white added the sleek professionalism that embodies the brand and message I wanted to connote.
Marketing campaigns like Spotify Wrapped and Zalando reach out to actively get their audiences involved and hyped by making an event that people look forward to and spread word about to their friends and family. Whether it's by using personalised data to create wrap ups of the year or helping people feel connected during a dark time both those campaigns succeeded due to the consistent engagement and consistency with their brand and audience.
Portfolio
In addition to using my social media accounts ‘@stp.marketing’, I thought it would be important to include a portfolio section on my professional website, as it allows me to not only showcase my work to potential clients but also to potential employers. It shows off my skills in content creation and old projects I have worked on and therefore adds some credibility into what I am promoting on social media. Adding this onto my website was important to me, as it backs up what my ‘brand’ is promoting on both Facebook, Instagram and the website too.
Ebook
I chose to release a free downloadable Ebook full of tips surrounding social media and marketing. I decided to do this as many people don’t understand the business side to social media and how people build successful brands and campaigns through it. My aim was to build hype and suspense around the release of this pdf document full of media texts I have created explaining the basics of social media and engagement. This included a section about how to understand Analytics and social media metrics, what exactly SMM (Social media marketing) is and the best graphic design software in order to get the best out of platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
In doing this, I teased an announcement around 4 days before the release date and posted it on Instagram stories the night before as well. This helped build excitement around ‘something being released’ and left the audience guessing about what it could be.
What I would do differently:
On reflection, I would love to create a weekly event that would help engage with my audience directly - whether it was a weekly live stream giving out marketing and social media tips or offering a question and answer segment about anything social media related. Going forward with this campaign, I believe this would be my next step, having just released the Ebook full of tips. I would then go on to promote the ebook with a series of live streams and polls run on the social media pages.
I also would work harder in reaching more people and networking to build the account and take it further. Whilst I did use relevant hashtags on most of the posts, in the hopes it would reach more people, I would like to have taken this to the next level by reaching out to people to help promote and influence the account.
Given the time frame and the limitations of money (not having a paid for domain) I believe this project has succeeded and met the brief that was outlined. Whilst there are a few things I'd have changed and ways I could have developed it further, I am happy with how this project has turned out.
Comments