A social media campaign is a marketing operation that aims to achieve a business goal or outcome through the use of social media platforms.
Why should you start a social media campaign?
As of 2022, if your business does not have a social media presence, it may risk being obsolete.
With our skyscrapers and futuristic architecture, Singapore is constantly referred to as the city of the future – hyper-connected and smartphone-obsessed.
We possess the highest smartphone penetration in the Asia-Pacific region at 86%, coupled with an 82% internet penetration which ranks much higher than the global average.
With a combined 4.4 million active social media users (77% of our total population), Singapore has a serious social media game. Here we examine some social media campaigns and see what works and what does not.
Before investing your time and money into any social media campaign, it is essential to ask yourself questions and do some research.
How to Create a Successful Social Media Campaign?
1. Define Your Goals
Before you define a successful campaign, you have to determine what success is to your campaign. Social media campaigns can be costly. Hence, it is essential to identify a tangible goal that can justify your return on investment.
Some social media campaign goals include:
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Driving traffic to your website
To track how successful is your social media campaign, simply log onto Google Analytics and click on Acquisitions > All Traffic > Channel.
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Lead generation
A lead is anyone, be it an individual or an organisation that has shown some interest in what you have to offer. That interest is usually demonstrated by leaving their contact and personal details on your online form.
The definition of a “proper lead” depends on your organisation and marketing goals. Some measure the success by the number of gated content downloads, while some measure by the number of conversions from a social media post.
Here is a guide to set up your conversion goals on Google Analytics.
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Revenue
Revenue is, without a doubt, the easiest way to track the success of any social media campaign. However, it is easier to track if your product or service does not involve a long conversion process. For example, typical products of eCommerce sites such as household or edible items.
The sum up, the clearer you are with your goals, the easier it is for you to plan towards achieving them.
2. Research Your Competitors
Researching your competitors can provide massive information on what works and what doesn’t. Since both of you have similar offerings and target audiences, it is a no-brainer to learn how to craft your content strategy from the competition.
From them, you can find out what type of posts generate the most interactions and what falls flat. You can also identify which timing garners the most amount of response.
Remember, there are no legal complications for copying the Social Media strategies of others.
3. Research Your Audience
There is a wide range of audiences on social media. Each demographic may skew towards a particular social media platform.
To help you decipher which platform is best for your business, we have a complete guide to the various social media platforms and their demographics.
Knowing where to run your campaign will help to generate the best possible ROI.
Profiling your audience doesn’t stop there. You also have to be aware of the jargon, images, as well as current affairs that resonate with them. This brings us to the next point.
4. Find Out What is Relevant to Your Audience
Social media marketing in Singapore seemingly encompasses Youtube video ads, Instagram and Facebook ad placements, as well as joint social media and experiential marketing.
Speaking of ads, you can also study successful ads and campaigns that are targeted to the same demographic to understand the preferences of your audience.
The Youtube Ads leaderboard for the second half of 2019 exemplifies the structure of video ads that resonated the most with Singaporeans. Most of the successful ads in Singapore have either strong Asian undertones, intriguing storylines, trends or social issues that resonate with locals.
Leading the board is Resorts World Sentosa’s HHN9 – Will you be his next victim? While it does not offer lots of local elements, the ad taps on the likes of horror series that are highly popular among youths in Singapore, such as Stranger Things.
Clinching the next spot is Project Red – Common Ground, which explores a highly sensitive topic in this day and age – Singaporeans vs Foreigners.
Ranking at #4 is Mark Lee’s Real Life Story, which explores an unknown side to the famous local comedian’s life. The issue explored in the ad is highly relevant to locals, with a strong message urging people to quit gambling.
Your message must be customised per the needs, wants, concerns and hopes of your audience. Otherwise, your brand may come across as out-of-touch with people.
5. Curate Quality Content
There are many ways to generate quality social media content, such as blog posts, infographics, videos and more. It’s also possible to have a combination of these contents in your campaign.
Before you go full out on unleashing your campaign, you have to A/B test your social media posts. This is to find out if it needs further tweaking to attract more attention. Here’s a guide on how to perform A/B testing on social media.
6. Be Authentic
Social Media Marketing is the same as making friends in real life. Nobody likes a poser who pretends to know-it-all.
In the ad that has now been officially pulled from Youtube, Kendall Jenner, a member of the Kardashian clan is seen stepping away from a modelling shoot to join a crop of fervent protesters who are rallying for peace, unity and acceptance. The ad amalgamates in Jenner handing a can of Pepsi to a police officer. This feels very gratuitous to any audience member who would naturally feel, how would Pepsi solve all these issues? The ad was felt by many to be in bad taste, that Pepsi was “late to the party” and exploiting the escalating issues of unity and fairness in our time.
It seems authenticity is an essential element that should no doubt underlie your marketing efforts. The new generation of millennial consumers prize values that embrace boldness, though all in the name of good faith and harmony. It is probably wise to stay away from opportunistic ideas that take advantage of the moment. Your new-age consumers are, just as well, averse to charlatanism.
7. Give Before You Sell
We are not here denouncing any form of marketing efforts. Yet, have you wondered why many people seem to be annoyed with YouTube ads that pop up right before their videos? You may probably be one of those who are counting down to the “Skip Ad” button.
The logic is simple. Nowadays, people need to trust the company first before hearing what they have to sell. It is understandable why lots of people who have never heard of these personalities from such ads are unhappy. They did not provide sufficient value to win the audience’s trust before they started selling.
Nobody likes to be sold. People like the feeling of purchasing stuff. In this social media age, expectations are taken to a whole new level. People also want someone to empathise and understand their problems, yet not psychologically manipulate them into buying.
These days, before you propose your audience a deal, you may have to give away lots of free information to win their trust. Free e-books and how-to videos not only show that you are an expert in your area, but they also show that you care.
Top 5 Social Media Marketing Campaigns That Have Scored Points With Singaporeans
To gain respect and trust among the audience, sticking to your core brand values is paramount. Unsurprisingly the ads that abide by this rule have achieved success locally.
1. McDonald’s’ – Just For You, Singapore Campaign by Golin Singapore, DDB Singapore and OMD
A memorable ad campaign that is etched perhaps perpetually in the hearts and minds of Singaporeans is the localised Nasi Lemak campaign executed by McDonald’s‘.
The new localised product line was in keeping with the themes of NS50 and the Singapore Food Festival 2017.
The advertisement spot launching this product line features a national serviceman giving a treat of the new localised products to his family with his first paycheck following enlistment.
The original and heartwarming ideals of the product line and the advertisements won McDonald’s the fancy of locals and internationals alike.
The winning appeal lies in the unique spin on the age-old Nasi Lemak classic and the relevancy of Singaporean qualities exhibited in the video. They are novel ideas but remain genuine and authentic to the McDonald’s brand.
Its overall triumph can be seen in the repeated roaring demands of Singaporeans to bring back our burger.
Staying original and bold, but remaining real and relevant is a delicate balance to strike. If you succeed with the collaboration of the right partners, it would mean a rippling effect of consumer loyalty.
2. Uber’s “Chope King” Campaign by BBH Singapore, with the help of Social Media Bloggers.
A giant tissue pack with the Singlish term “Chope”, which means reserved, was found in several parking spaces across many parts of Singapore in 2017.
What was initially thought of as a prank turns out to be a message to encourage reducing private car ownership to solve traffic congestions and the lack of parking spaces in Singapore.
The campaign was a success as it highlights a serious problem among local motorists through a common Singaporean practice, such as using tissue packets to reserve spaces. The message doesn’t stop there. Uber has the solution to these problems by introducing carpooling services.
3. Tiger Beer’s Unofficial History of Singapore by BBDO Singapore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zwtyXGmdm4
BBDO Singapore and Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore have successfully capitalised on the country’s Golden Jubliee with 2 lighthearted mockumentaries that chronicle the history behind popular trends unique to Singapore. It helped locals to ponder about their identity and culture, which can help them instil a sense of pride as Singaporeans.
Also, in response to a potential General Election following Singapore’s 50th birthday celebration, the campaign has extended to a vote casting.
This is for the public to choose what kind of party they wanted at the unofficial SG50 party, held on 5th August 2015 at the Capitol Theatre.
The votes can be cast at 2 mobile stations located in the Central Business District (CBD), a microsite, as well as the company’s Facebook page.
Aside from the local relevance, the entire campaign also capitalised on exclusivity. The tickets to the unofficial party cannot be purchased, and can only be won if they have cast their votes.
4. iFly So You Think You Can Fly by Cohn & Wolfe
To raise money for various charities, iFly actively engaged social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook to garner attention.
On top of that, they have also invited five celebrities to take part in a Reality-TV series that can be viewed on mobile devices.
These celebrities went through a rigorous training programme by iFly to prepare them for the ultimate showdown, which awards $35,000 cash prizes to their respective charities.
The introduction of celebrities in a fun competition isn’t enough. The campaign also offered an interactive Facebook application where fans can watch the series, vote for their favourite star and win prizes. There were also various PR activities such as blogger engagement and online community participation that made the entire campaign a roaring success.
5. Flashbang by Artbox
Some of the more buoyant campaigns that have been trailblazing in Singapore combine social media and experiential marketing in the right attitude.
Flashbang, a fantastic flea affair, was organised in central Orchard as a month-long Christmas market in December 2017. The event was brought to our shores by Artbox Asia, a creative market organiser that originates in Bangkok.
The multi-sensory event promised an array of covetable retail goods, impressive neon light art installations, interactive exhibitions, music and entertainment and more: a feast for hungry millennials re-captured on social media. And they sure delivered.
It was primed the biggest event of the year, powerfully attracting a vibrant crowd every night, whilst loudly communicating the ethos behind Artbox.
It combined the nostalgic inclinations of millennials (vintage arcade games and trinkets) with futuristic overhead lights that seem to resonate so well with our sentimental tech gen. It was a night (or nights) to remember, a momentous event that would pull in the same crowd and then some in time to come.
Its success? It played to and catered to the millennials‘ genuine affections.
Top 5 Social Media Publicity Boo-Boos in Singapore
Social Media Marketing can be a fun and exciting way to engage an audience. You can mix and match platforms, or even partner with another company to promote your offer.
However, there were a few campaigns where the wrong social media strategy was employed, leaving a bad taste among the locals.
1. Gushcloud Singtel Incident – Badmouthing Others
Around the time when Gushcloud bloggers began to gain traction, a slew of disguised advertisements began to crop up on these regularly frequented online spaces.
Because of the personal nature of blog content, audiences are inclined to take bloggers at their word.
However, not all bloggers are genuine and authentic when it comes to social media marketing. They promote items they don’t use, they even hazard to cross boundaries and help a paying advertiser slander a competing brand.
A leaked email brought to light by Xiaxue revealed that Singtel agreed to pay $4000 in cash and incentives to Gushcloud bloggers in 2015.
The condition? They have to publish slanderous comments on Starhub and M1’s services, driving sign-ups to Singtel instead.
2. Rebecca Lim’s “Retirement” Stunt – Turning Concerned Fans into Possible Haters
The validity of social media has been in doubt, particularly in the saga of recruiting actress Rebecca Lim to socially announce that she is retiring. It turns out that she wasn’t retiring. Instead, she was just promoting some insurance plans.
Hoards of Youtube and Facebook commenters were outraged, citing the lack of integrity and commenting that they felt “cheated”. Fans who were genuinely concerned and sad about her retirement ended up being the laughing stock.
It is one thing to make a mistake, and the other to not take responsibility for it.
Although Rebecca has apologised, she assumed that many have “misunderstood” and “misinterpreted” her message, putting the responsibility over to the readers instead. The CMO of the insurance company also did not apologise as he claimed that he did nothing wrong.
Although the campaign attracted attention, it did not portray the company or the actress as empathetic towards their concerns.
The trust of the people has also been shaken.
According to an interview with Marketing Interactive, Edwin Yeo, General Manager of PR agency, SPRG, pointed out that the stunt should have conducted scenario planning before the announcement to anticipate the reactions.
3. National Geographics’s NS Man Publicity Stunt – A Mark of Disrespect to the Singapore Army
There is a definite tendency for social media marketing to veer to the extremes in Singapore.
For instance, Nat Geo’s NSman publicity stunts in efforts to promote their latest television programme, Every Singaporean Son 2: The Making Of An Officer.
Many onlookers were affronted by the display and felt it utterly disparaging to the legacy of National Service in Singapore.
This view was echoed by the Singapore Army Facebook page, which also claimed that the army was neither informed of this publicity stunt nor the use of its uniform.
4. Philip Electronics Bear Stunt – Instilling a False Sense of Fear Among Citizens
During the beginnings of social media, social media and marketing agencies, TSLA planted a bear-costumed person on a sidewalk foraging through rubbish bins.
The entire stunt was just to promote their latest shaver.
It prompted animal rights group, Wildlife Reserves Singapore and the media to send teams out in search of the missing bear.
The campaign ended in a catastrophe. Sensationalist tactics rarely bode well with the local crowd. Despite Singapore’s global outlook, the Asian values of conservatism and reverence are still strong here.
The disastrous stunt has also prompted the police to investigate the possibilities of a public nuisance act that breached Section 268 of the Penal Code, which could lead to a S$1,000 fine.
5. Scoot’s World’s Longest Virtual Flight Publicity Stunt – A Promise That Failed to Deliver
To commemorate its first anniversary, a local budget carrier, Scoot, created an app and organised a virtual competition in 2013.
This is an electronic spin to the “last hand on the car” game.
Participants are required to keep tapping a button on their smartphone screen every 60 seconds, with the last person left tapping the winning $20,000 cash and a year of free flights.
Sounds enticing, eh?
The excitement did not last as the server crashed due to technical difficulties.
Out of the 7,000 people who registered for the contest, only 2,000 managed to “board” the virtual flight before “take-off”.
Scoot’s Facebook page was flooded with lots of grievances from potential contestants. Many were disappointed as some of them have even taken leave from work just to participate in this contest.
It was a big promise, and big promises cannot fail.
When conducting a massive-scale campaign that involves the use of electronic platforms, it is crucial to check that everything is working in order.
Otherwise, a failed promise may disappoint your audience and affect your brand’s trustworthiness in the long run.
How to Increase Social Sales in 2022 and Beyond
According to a report by Forbes, 25% of people who use social media follow business pages, which has a significant impact on their final buying decision from that store. HubSpot also reports that there has been an increase in content consumption over the past two years by 57%.
This proves that social media is a valuable tool for all businesses, whether large or small. Brands can use social media to build their reputation, create loyal clients and also increase sales.
Although marketing and promoting your brand on social media provides quantitative impacts, you must do it in an organized and purposeful way.
Beginning a social media marketing campaign without any solid plan or measurable goals can be frustrating as you will not see any quantifiable results.
Nonetheless, by creating a good strategy, where you choose measurable goals and implement the right ones, your impact will be measurable.
Here are our top methods of increasing social sales:
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Use a social channel that your followers use
You can drive sales through social media by figuring out where the target audience and customers are spending their time online and using the social platforms they are using. Moreover, you can concentrate on using a few essential platforms instead of using most of your resources to create multiple accounts.
To start this process, you can do an analysis of the target demographic firsts. Go through your customers’ profiles and find all the common characteristics of any target audience you are yet to get in front of.
If your target is the B2B audience, you can start by joining LinkedIn and Facebook since both platforms have huge user bases. According to Sprout Social, people from ages 18-29 dominate the most popular social media sites such as LinkedIn.
After you understand which target audience uses your products and services, you can know the platforms where you will find them. Although you can decide to be active on every social platform, you should keep in mind that you will only waste a lot of time if you spread your resources wide and too thin. This can be harmful to your brand in different ways.
It would be best if you target reaching your audience in their native environment as they are usually in a buying mindset, and in turn, you will increase your chances of driving sales. Therefore, being active on social networks where the target audience is, presents a great opportunity for your business to attain its goals.
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Liaising with social media influencers
Social media influencer marketing is a popular marketing tool that most brands use to increase sales. According to Twitter and Annalect, nearly 40% of people who use Twitter feel compelled to buy after viewing a tweet by a popular influencer.
The study also discusses how people trust influencers the same way they trust their friends.
Promoting your business and products on social media platforms through influencers will increase sales and ultimately deliver ROI to about 600% sometimes.
If a brand wants to make more social sales, it’s important to use the social media influencers’ power. You can ask them to feature your products strategically in their photos and videos or ask them to write an engaging story related to your business.
Another way you can work with influencers is by asking them to give honest reviews about your products and service and provide how-to videos about the products.
Moreover, you can also drive sales by having the influencers promote your discount codes to reach more people.
Some brands also use indirect advertising and marketing promotions to increase sales. Such social media strategies do not point the audience to exact products, but they give them other reasons to look at your products and services.
For instance, you can run promotional posts on important days like Mother’s Day to give your audience ideas for gifting their mothers. Your brand will not advertise the products and services directly but will point your followers towards your company, ultimately leading to sales.
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Using paid ads to attract more customers
Paid ads are a good way of leveraging social media as it enables you to reach a larger audience and makes your business appear more on social media users’ feeds.
There has been a drop in organic reach recently because of the new social media algorithms. If you pay to increase the likelihood of a larger audience seeing your content, you will get more sales and brand awareness.
Although all social media networks have the paid ads feature, you can utilize Facebook more due to its highly extensive tools.
Using Facebook paid ads is also easy, therefore, suitable for beginners. With Facebook ads, you will increase reach, engagement, impression, or click-throughs.
Facebook also allows you to customize the location you want to reach, how much you are willing to spend, your target demographic, and your audience’s interests. Paid ads are quite effective in increasing sales and are a good investment for all businesses.
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Focusing on the customers
There is a lot to see on social media news feeds that most users have become tired of the one-way marketing campaigns that brands use as they focus on selling. That is why it’s important to use personalized marketing that will centre on the browsing habits of the social media platform users and their lifestyle choices.
With personalized content, you can stop the target audience mid scroll on the feeds as your content is more relevant to them. Personalized content also allows you to establish a rapport with the target audience, particularly when you post your content in a friendly and informal language. You can personalize content by creating polls to discover which of your products are more popular among the users.
This way, you will understand the products you need to market and those you should keep on the back burner. Using this strategy will give your customers what they want and increase engagement on your post through the polls.
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Learning from past campaigns
In business, it’s essential to note down any past mistakes and make the necessary changes to make your brand campaigns more successful. You can start by looking at social media analytics and insight which will help you understand what is working and what is not.
Going through past social media campaigns will help you understand the platform, audience, messages, and ad units to save you more money and lead to sales.
Businesses should also not be afraid of trying new things, even with the possibility of failing. You may fail a few times, but you will keep the lessons in mind of what failed and work on a new strategy. When you figure out what works for you in terms of budgeting, goals, creatives, and more, you will be in a better position to do what is right for your business.
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Using social platforms as an opportunity for customer service
Social media has the potential to boost a brand’s profit in numerous ways.
Brands that are accessible making it easier for customers to reach them without difficulty in case of concerns. If your brand handles this well, you will prevent losing your valuable account and show your followers that you can handle their complaints and requests well.
Your main goal as a brand is to avoid losing a customer or prospects as it can chip away at your revenue.
Social media platforms serve brands well when used as part of a digital marketing strategy where they incorporate all the marketing efforts and tailor them to match the chosen audience.
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Creating great, non-salesy content
Many digital marketers do not understand the importance of quality over quantity. Since social media users have become very savvy, creating mediocre content will not get you the engagement you want.
Instead of dispatching numerous poorly written content, you should spend time creating small amounts of high-quality content.
This way, you can also share your content with your audience at a pace that you both can handle.
While creating content, avoid making it sound pushy and salesy.
Social media platforms are not solely meant for purchasing and selling but for virtual socialization. Therefore, it’s important to be careful with the type of content you feed your audience as it will reflect on your sales.
If you give your audience engaging and valuable content, they will want to become your clients.
You can engage them by creating images inspired by real-life events. You can also give them tips on using your products or share images of your prospects trying out your products.
By doing this, you will draw the potential audience’s attention and eventually lead to sales.
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Strategic hashtags
Some prospective customers usually have specific points of evaluation.
Therefore, if you actively post on social media, over time, you will probably address these points using relevant content and interaction.
One way to keep track of this is through hashtags. Hashtags serve to collect relevant information over time and reflect how your brand shares that priority when there is awareness of a person being engaged in an evaluation that prioritizes a certain topic.
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Using rich and buyable pins to simplify the buying process
Many brands market their products on Pinterest as the site is visually oriented.
Shopify suggests that when they use Pinterest ads and postings to derive sales, they get an average order value of over $50 than when they use other popular social networking sites.
Pinterest is also the second most popular social network source for leading traffic to the Shopify stores. If you plan to market your brand products on Pinterest, you should start by simplifying the buying process using Rich pins and Buyable pins.
You can use rich pins to display essential information regarding your products and services, making it easy for potential clients to make purchasing decisions.
Buyable pins, on the other hand, allow customers to complete the buying process properly on the platform by making shopping on Pinterest easier.
Buyers do not need to visit the product page when completing a sale. If a brand promotes its rich pins and buyable pins, it enhances its visibility and improves its chances of driving more conversions.
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Keep your customers engaged with consistent posts
Everyone is constantly looking for new information time and again. You can get the most out of your social media marketing by posting regularly to keep your pages active.
This is now more relevant with the recent algorithm change in social media platforms that makes the engaging posts from active pages more visible.
People also do not like seeing the same advertisements and pieces of content every time. Therefore, you should keep changing it up often. Keep your customers engaged with unique and creative content. Moreover, aim at keeping it attractive to draw more people to your page.
If you post the right content consistently, your audience will have more confidence in your business, thus leading to an increase in sales.
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Keeping up with the latest trends
Although exciting content and promotions during seasonal events are a good way to keep your content relevant, you still need to do more.
Numerous random trends are popping up daily and becoming popular each time. Therefore, you should create engaging posts related to the trends to draw more people to your brand.
Do not wait until the trend is over to start making a post about it.
You should do it as soon as it arises or even before it becomes a trend if you can forecast it. Trends don’t stay for long, and hence you should use it as an opportunity to give your audience relevant content before the trend disappears and it gets too late for you.
Conclusion – Social Media Marketing Campaigns are No Different from Traditional Marketing Campaigns
Marketing on social media is no different from traditional marketing. It involves inciting a response from a fellow human, and hence, you have to win the trust of your audience.
In a nutshell, to win with people in the game of marketing, you have to:
- Be authentic, not pretentious.
- Understand and empathise with their concerns.
- Be creative with your campaign, such as collaborating with fellow brands or influencers to reach your audience.
- Give your audience a sense of positive feeling. This can either be a sense of hope (in the case of securing a better retirement), a sense of identity (in the case of feeling part of a group) or a sense of excitement (in the case of winning prizes).
- Offer them lots of value before selling to them.
- Get your audience to participate in your social media page. This can be done through interactive polls, contests and free webinars.
To avoid sabotaging your campaign, which also puts your brand on thin ice, you have to avoid:
- Overpromising but underdelivering.
- The spread of negativity.
- Creating false alarms just to sell something to your audience.
- Creating offensive caricatures to reflect a specific group of people, such as getting actors to don army uniforms in public.
- Not taking responsibility when your campaign faces a backlash.
Got a social media campaign you want to run? MediaOne handles campaigns of all sizes! Call us at (65) 6789 9852 or email us at enquiry@mm.com.sg today.
