The importance of a strategic approach in marketing campaigns
From Strategic Level to Campaign Success
One of the biggest challenges of any campaign execution is reaching a relevant target audience. Moreover, one needs to motivate people to take the desired action and eventually convert them.
Relying on a strategically conceived approach and tactics, we can overcome socio-economic obstacles in the campaign environment, such as a shortage of qualified workforce. Results of the RISE Management Trainee campaign from Coca-Cola HBC Serbia are proof that it is possible to reach set goals and success despite hurdles.
Rise Management Trainee KV
As a reputable digital marketing agency with a proven track record— numerous well-executed campaigns for world-renowned clients, we depended upon a wealth of previous experience, as well as data from research on a digital target group. Equally important was our continuous communication with the client in order to create tailored solutions that capture both its needs and requirements of a campaign.
It’s Crucial to Have a Clearly-Defined Goal and Well-Researched Target Group
Coca-Cola HBC Rise Management Trainee program is designed to prompt young and talented graduates to jumpstart their careers and transform themselves into the next generation of leaders.
The initiative aims at young individuals with unique skill sets, who are ready to keep up the dynamic and strenuous rhythm of the professional environment. They should also be eager to take on tasks and projects that bear high responsibility and call for strong work ethics, all while learning from their mentors—company lead management.
RISE Management Trainees
Thus, our target group involves qualified young people: graduates or those who have graduated in the last two years. These individuals need to possess the skills necessary to work in modern companies. As for digital campaign goals for the Rise Management Trainee Program, they are:
- Gathering data on the number of applications
- Spreading awareness of the top-notch program
- Getting the following message across. All applicants and interested young people need to know that RISE program means full-time commitment and intensive education that spans 2 years
What It Really Takes to Accomplish These Goals?
The First Step on the Way to Success is Called Strategy
As a digital marketing agency, we stand by our estimations and objectives. The approach we advocate rests on strategic foundations. It entails preplanned and systemic communication and professional content publishing across several channels relevant to the analyzed target audience. In this specific case, the channels of communication were a website, social media (with emphasis on Instagram and Facebook), as well as Google Ads.
The Second Step is Goal-Oriented Web Development and Design
For the purposes of promotion and bidding for RISE Management Training program, we created a suitable website. We developed pages according to the “personal approach” and sales funnel principles. We presented clear and comprehensive information flow on one webpage: governing ideas and program outline, testimonials of previous applicants, and details of the selection process. The last stop on the user journey was the “Apply Now” button, which designated the desired interaction.
Instagram Story Ad
The essence of simply laid out and easy-to-grasp information flow is fast and accurate consumption of information, with the minimum investment of time. It reduces the stress associated with the selection process and gives a clear idea of what the expected steps are.
The flow also helps candidates make an informed decision when it comes to taking the next step. Furthermore, strategic organizing of a website based on a sales funnel model increases the chances of conversions. We applied this fundamental sales principle on communication channels where sales took place— Facebook, Instagram, and Google.
Performance Marketing and Performance-Based Advertising as Additional Tactics
Being a digital marketing agency with the status of Facebook and Google partner, we were in a position to attend lectures and other educational events held by representatives of two companies. Over the course of these professional encounters, we gained direct insights into the latest and most prominent trends in advertising on major networks. Through consultations and dedicated Facebook support, we were provided with actionable advice which we used to set up and optimize Management Trainee advertising campaigns.
Hence, RISE campaigns on Facebook and Google were strategically aligned with the sales funnel and performance marketing principles. That is to say that they represented a winning combo of online marketing and advertizing activities geared toward conversions. In our case, the conversion took the form of job application (“apply for this job” action). The key trait of such performance-based marketing is a continual influence on a target group throughout the campaign lifecycle. The conversion hinges on the ability to spread awareness, spark interest, supply vital information, and solicit a decision (conversion).
For each stage of this process, we created events, custom events, and custom conversions. The purpose was to engage with Facebook’s artificial intelligence (so-called machine learning). Namely, by monitoring the previous user interaction and gathering input and data from accounts of people who converted, Facebook segmented and graded the target audience for us. Consequently, we were able to reach users with the highest likelihood of undergoing conversions.
So, let us sum up. The top level of our sales funnel for the RISE Management Trainee program was awareness. In other words, we let people know about the program, its significance, and benefits for users. The next step was engagement, which involved crafting content for the audience across different formats that showcase information in a compelling way. What is more, engagement is something that draws people to interact with the content. After that, we initiated the crucial step, conversion. It is the moment when the target group converts toward the end goal– applying for a job/RISE Management Training Program.
The Sales Funnel
We should never forget that the key to successful conversion lies in smartly developed strategy and the structure of the sales funnel. If we let conversions occur by some haphazardness of change, we are on a quick path to wasting a considerable amount of money on advertising and falling shy of our goals. Therefore, the total budget for campaign promotion was optimized based on the end goal (conversion). We carried out ongoing monitoring of budgetary spending. We managed spending in the following manner. We focused on ads with the lowest cost per conversion that also yielded the best results and were highly rated by Facebook users.
We combined all touch points of deployment, conducting performance analysis through A/B testing. This analytical approach enabled us to discover what kind of deployment brings the greatest results— converts at the lowest possible cost that is. This also allowed us to figure out what type of creative collateral that resonates with the audience the most.
Instagram Story Ads
As it turned out, the best-performing ads were Instagram Stories we promoted. On the other hand, the type of narrative and visual content that forwarded our communication with the audience the most was visually-pure, simple, and clear messaging. We are talking about the messages highlighting benefits and call to action (submitting the RISE program application). The basis for the success of online marketing and advertising always echo the principles of performance-driven marketing and sales funnel. They call for continuous monitoring and analysis of campaign outcomes. Indeed, the supervision of results from day one allowed us to fine-tune ads based on fresh insights and steer them toward better results. In the process, we also lowered the price of ads.
The Results
The 2019 RISE campaign, which employed sales funnel and performance-based marketing strategies, was brought to a conclusion with the application rate that was 114, 09% of what we envisioned. The number of visitors during the campaign was 44,568 and the overall number of visits was 52,009. The conversion rate was quite high— 11, 25%, which translated in 5,849 total conversions.
Google Analytics Results
Ads that targeted social media substantially contributed to the campaign, with special emphasis on Instagram Stories. They produced the highest reach and engagement for the targeted group. A decision to adjust (localize) the visuals to the audience gave the campaign an important boost. More specifically, we crafted content in the native language of the target audience, despite the initial brief of a client, which favored communication in English.
Main Reasons Behind Campaign Success
The expertise exhibited in strategic planning was the driving force behind the success that met and exceeded key performance indicators (KPIs) of the campaign. Our prolific work over the years has generated rich experience, which suggests that the first step on the way to a successful campaign implementation is market and target group research. Also, we do our best to smartly deploy the campaign strategy and the sales funnel. So, it is of paramount importance to develop a strategy that addresses the needs and demands of the targeted group. This is the only way to reliably expect positive outcomes. However, we should not fool ourselves thinking that the effort does not end here. On the contrary, the real work only begins at this point.
Through daily monitoring, analysis, and validation of every campaign step, we must perpetually optimize the process to achieve the best results at the lowest costs. At the same time, one should not overlook the role of being in tune with clients’ needs and closely communicating with them. As it is evident from the exceptional results of RISE Management Trainee program, these are tried and rested steps in digital campaign management and integral to smooth campaign execution. They supercharge your efforts to reach set goals. Not only that but they also allow you to spend a reasonable amount of money. Few would dare dispute this is a major factor in any campaign‘s success.
