7 Cs of Epic Campaign-based Content

Small Business and Marketing Leaders – Are you faced with a limited budget and stretched resources?

Take a targeted campaign-based approach to maximize response and revenue.

When confronted with limited funds, small or over-extended marketing teams, and a tall order regarding marketing contribution to revenue generation, a targeted campaign-based approach works.

Let’s start with a definition:

I like to define a campaign as a series of activities and tactics aimed to produce the desired outcomes. Complex or simple, broad or narrow, a targeted campaign-based approach begins with establishing the value commitment marketing is signing up to deliver to sales for a defined scope and an agreed upon timeline. As an example, a campaign can include a focus on a target set of accounts within a vertical industry, geography, or customer group. The timeline depends on how many touches, or interactions with the target audiences, what kind of interaction do we plan in the campaign design, and how long it is likely to take to deliver the revenue commitment.

Once we agree with Sales, Account, and other key team members on the scope and target, the next step is to define further in detail the target audiences and contacts. Here's where we can use a simple alliteration to serve as a framework for the Campaign Plan. Not so coincidently, all the words begin with a "c." 

Customers - Campaign - Content - Cadence - Channels - Commitments - Conversions

Customers

Which target audiences will your campaign aim to engage and what messages, responses, and calls-to-action should you integrate? What do you know about your customers and can you personalize messages and calls-to-action for segments or individuals?

Campaign

What are the campaign goals and objectives? Can you structure your timelines, phases, and define resources, and budget?

Content

What is your multi-touch content plan? Is your content likely to resonate and generate the desired responses from your audiences? Can you include customers in your content strategy? What influencers can you involve, and what insights and information can you curate that helps reinforce your messages?

Cadence

What is the timing of each touch and activity planned in the campaign? Do you have a content creation process and publishing calendar? Have you defined and established key milestones?

Channels

How will you reach and engage with your target audiences? Do you have a mix of traditional and digital marketing channels included? Have you defined the role in the engagement process of the direct and indirect sales teams, account and delivery teams, leadership, and other stakeholders?

Commitments

What are the marketing commitments? Can you describe the responsibilities and commitment of each organization team player involved in the campaign process?

Conversions

Have you set conversion targets through the campaign funnel? Can you measure through data and analytics, direct audience feedback, and other means with accuracy and speed? Can you make course corrections and changes to enhance the campaign process and outcomes?

Examples of campaigns abound on the internet, and you can easily find great ideas for education, social, political, consumer, and business to business programs which have delivered outstanding results. Just apply the framework above, and you’ll be able to plan, deploy and measure your campaign with clarity.

Mad Men image supplied by buzinga.com.