“I know my business, but I don’t know marketing.”
You might have thought this very thing 5 minutes ago. I’m guessing you thought this at least once in the last week, only because this seems to be the general sentiment of most business owners I talk to. You’re a determined, entrepreneurial person who’s leveraged an impressive set of skills into a profitable business. But a marketing campaign? That’s become the thorn in your side. You can figure it out, but you have zero interest in wasting time to do so.
And you shouldn’t have to waste time with trial and error. Your clients need you more.
What you’ll find below is a tool that helps me – the owner of a marketing agency – create marketing campaigns that work. And, it’s just the beginning. This is Part I of a two-part series that will give you the complete guide to creating a marketing campaign that attracts and converts quality leads.
What Is a Marketing Campaign?
Sometimes it’s the word campaign that gets business owners tripped up. It conjures up large-scale TV commercials or images of Mad Men presenting story boards, and that just gets overwhelming. So, let’s start with the basics, and then peel back the layers.
In short, this is the definition of a marketing campaign:
A comprehensive and strategic sequence of activities and efforts, which positions a product as a solution to the problem of a specific audience, in order to achieve a business goal.
Zero in on these key elements:
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- Business Goal
- Target Audience
- Problem
- Solution
- Strategic Sequence of Activities
A marketing campaign becomes a campaign because the business identified a goal it wanted to achieve, strategized a concept to promote their service, and then designed a sequence of activities (e.g., social media, emails, digital and print ads) to do so.
When you market a single, strategic concept across multiple forms of media, you’ve got yourself a marketing campaign!
Why Do I Need a Marketing Campaign?
“Wait a minute,” you might say. “I have a website and I post on Instagram. Isn’t that enough? Why do I need to create a whole marketing campaign?”
Because your marketing campaign is going to help your website and your Instagram account do the work they’re supposed to do. Unfortunately, launching a website and creating an Instagram account won’t take you far if you’re not actively working on marketing activities to keep them strong.
Imagine this Mistake
Picture a brick and mortar business. Let’s make it a spa. When the spa opens, the spa owner hangs her shingle outside the door. The shingle (or sign) is beautiful. It perfectly reflects the serene brand identity that the spa owner wants to convey.
In the months that follow, the spa owner runs sales, offers specials for seasonal treatments, and even creates service packages just for bridal parties.
But she never puts a poster in the window. She never leaves flyers at check-out. She doesn’t display a sandwich board on the sidewalk every Saturday. And she doesn’t run an ad in the newspaper.
Plus, the outside elements make her original shingle a little dirty and weathered over time. Passers-by see it in the beginning, but after awhile, they don’t really notice it anymore. It sort of fades into the landscape.
What Went Wrong
Do you see what went wrong with our spa owner?
Because she didn’t hang promotional posters or leave out flyers, her current customers and the people who passed by never knew about her special offers. Without the sandwich board on Saturdays, the owner wasn’t able to capture new customers from the busier foot traffic on the weekend. And the bride-to-be across town who is looking for a great wedding-day prep space, never saw her ad in the newspaper.
The poster, flyer, sandwich board, and newspaper ad are tangible examples of a marketing campaign. Without them, it’s very hard to attract customers and boost sales.
What that Means for You
The importance of your digital marketing campaign is no different.
If you want to promote a special discount when new clients retain your services, for example, potential clients are much more likely to find you and hire you if you actively promote your new client discount through:
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- Social media posts
- A landing page
- PPC advertising
- …and more!
Of course, adding offline marketing activities to the mix (like the posters or newspaper ad) can be a great part of your overall marketing campaign – as long as it makes sense for your goal and your strategy. For our purposes, we’re going to focus on digital marketing from here on out.
Example of a Marketing Campaign that Works
To see how this works, let’s take a look at a digital marketing campaign that was effective – and that you could apply, too.
Airbnb: “Made Possible by Hosts”
Airbnb’s “Made Possible By Hosts” campaign launched in 2021, after the pandemic had brought travel and vacation rental bookings to a screeching halt. Following the re-opening of travel and gatherings, Airbnb sought to reassure travelers of their commitment to safety and cleanliness, and awaken their sleeping travel bugs.
This is the breakdown of the “Made Possible By Hosts” marketing campaign:
Goal
Airbnb sought to increase bookings.
Audience
Airbnb targeted travelers looking for something other than a hotel.
Problem
Travelers were chomping at the bit to get out and explore again, after COVID lockdowns restricted their movements. But they wanted to feel confident and safe in their accommodations.
Solution
Airbnb’s hosts provide safe, clean, and comfortable accommodations in diverse and unique locations, enabling travelers to experience the joy and magic of making memories again – together.
Strategic Sequence of Activities
Airbnb launched a series of marketing activities that were all devoted to the singular message described above. Key marketing activities within this campaign included:
1. Video Marketing: Publishing a series of slideshows featuring the photos of real Airbnb guests, set to inspirational music, stirred the audience’s emotions.
2. User Generated Content (UGC): Sharing photos from real guests is a great strategy that shows proof and deepens customer relationships.
3. Content Marketing: Airbnb expanded its reach and offered clarity by blogging about its campaign. Plus, it landed articles from third-party publishers, which extended the campaign’s reach.
4. PPC Ads: Airbnb promoted its video campaign through PPC ads, which ran on platforms like YouTube.
NOTE FOR NATALIE: For PPPC ads and appear in Youtube is thorugh Google Ads, they have to use Display type and probably targeting past visitors and app users… I imagine they also had a social media campaign on FB, IG, TikTok, targeted as well. *
The Results
This marketing campaign is frequently cited as one of the best in recent years. Its carefully crafted messaging and clever activities helped them achieve their goal. Take a look at its impressive results:
- Increased Bookings: 30% increase in bookings
- Boost in Host Engagement: 80% boost in participation in Enhanced Cleaning Protocol
- Improved Brand Trust: 25% increase in consumer trust
- User Engagement: Over 1 million mentions of the hashtag #MadePossibleByHosts
Get Your Marketing Campaign Cheat Sheet
Airbnb crafted an effective marketing campaign because, from the beginning, it was clear about its goal. Its marketing team knew that its target audience of travelers was going absolutely stir crazy after lockdowns, and they longed to reconnect with friends and family in meaningful ways. This was the perfect foundation to design a creative marketing campaign that revived bookings.
You don’t have to be a business giant like Airbnb to do the same thing. And, you don’t have to have an in-house marketing team with an enormous budget to get real results. You just need the step-by-step framework to design and implement your own great marketing campaign.
Stay tuned… in Part II of this series, we’re going to give you your own “cheat sheet” to marketing campaign success!
