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Developing a Social Marketing Campaign: Step by Step 23

begins with the determination of key messages, continues with the selection of
messengers and communication formats and channels, moves on to the creation
of communication elements, and ends up with the implementation of those
communications.
The determination of key messages needs to be aligned with marketing objec-
tives, because they determine what a social marketing campaign wants its target
audience to know, to believe, and to do. Information on barriers, benefits, com-
petitors, and influencers will help shape message choices. Messengers are those who
deliver the messages. Credibility, expertise, and likability are some key considera-
tions for selecting messengers.
Messages are delivered through various communication channels (including
media channels), such as advertising (including PSA), public relations, events,
sponsorships, and personal selling and word of mouth. As far as media channels
are concerned, they can be online or offline, or both. Online media range from
e-mail, Web sites, and “smart” mobile phones to blogs, podcasts, and tweets, but by
no means are limited to these options. Offline media include newspapers, maga-
zines, radio, and television, as well as direct mail, billboards, transit (e.g., buses,
taxes, and subways), and kiosks.
As we all know, thanks to the ongoing technology revolution, the line between
online and offline media has become increasingly blurred. For example, radio and
television can be both online and offline, while more and more newspapers and
magazines are going online. The fast-changing media landscape is both a blessing
and a “curse” for marketers; social marketers are no exception. As a blessing, social
marketers have more and more media choices to target their audiences more pre-
cisely and effectively. As a “curse,” the increasingly perplexing media landscape re-
quires social marketers to think “out of the box”—not only considering those
traditional media or the media they are familiar with, but also thinking about
those nontraditional and emerging media that their target audiences often tend to
use or be exposed to. At the same time, in the media selection and planning, social
marketers need to make sure the selected media will complement each other;
communications via various media must be consistent over time. Social mar-
keters should also consider making their communications with their target audi-
ences more interactive.
Because different communication channels have different characteristics, it
could be more effective and efficient to have a good idea of the media budget and
media options that a social marketing campaign could have before communication
elements are created. Creative elements translate the content of intended, desired
messages into specific communication elements, which include copy, graphic im-
ages, and typeface for traditional print media, and interactive features and audio
and/or video streams for online media.