10 specific steps on how to run a successful paid media campaign for Green House clients.
Step 1: Market Research
Good artists copy, great artists steal. - Steve Jobs
Why start here?
Having a great offer is the secret sauce to a well-performing paid advertising campaign. Everything you do is predicated on this one thing.
Market research helps determine what a great offer truly is. However, market research is never to reinvent the wheel for your client. Typically, there are other organizations out there competing in the same space, and they have already mastered an offer that converts. As a good marketer, your job is to find those offers and repurpose them for your clients in a way that makes sense for their business.
Copy and then use this template to assist with this process. Begin on Sheet 1 "Market Research."
1. Create a list of at least 5 competitor brands- This should be a mix of large and medium size businesses.
Big companies may be doing something at scale that your client can't do, but it is still helpful to see what their messaging is, creative strategy, etc.
2. Look up those competitors' paid advertising campaigns on:
- Facebook Ads Library
- TikTok Ads Library
- LinkedIn Ads Library
- SpyFu
- Google "[brand name X] on billboard"
Never underestimate the power of just searching for "[brand name X] billboard." Billboards are expensive, so most brands really focus on nailing their core offer / messaging on billboards!
3. List all the commonalities you see between each campaign:
- Tone (verbiage)
Great brands know their ICPs' (ideal customer profiles) "tribal language." Typically, this is the slang their customers use in regards to their product/service. Pay attention to the verbiage!
- Offer characteristics
List common characteristics of the offers (i.e.: BOGO, new customer offer, free shipping, etc.).
- Common creative strategies
List common creative strategies (i.e.: the colors used, models vs. product shots, video vs. photo, etc.).
- Common user experiences
List common user experiences. Do these brands send people to their website? Landing page with a form to fill out? To their app? Eventbrite/event page?
Step 2: Offer Creation
This step will use Sheet 2 "Offer Creation" of the template.
- List all offer strategies you were able to find from market research
At least three different offers is recommended.
- Process of elimination
Determine which offers won't work for your client. For example, Dunkin Donuts offers a free donut to everyone each year on National Donut Day. That might be too big of an ask for a local bakery. But what is a version they could do?
- Finalize the best two offers
Which offers are left over that would work for your client? List them out and pick your top two. Consider choosing one aggressive and one conservative offer for diversification. These will be presented to the client.
Step 3: Offer Logistics
Now that you've identified the two offer strategies to be presented to the client, it's time to put together the offer campaign deliverables and organize the details. It is critical to think through the logistics involved in both Offer A and Offer B before presenting to the client.
In an ideal world, this conversation is meant to help the clients decide on one of the ideas which allows our internal marketing team to building everything out prior to the Kickoff Call.
This step will use Sheet 3 "Offer Logistics" of the template.
1. Offer A logistics
- Physical supplies?
Will the client need to purchase any physical supplies for the offer (i.e.: balloons for a grand opening event, coupons for a giveaway, etc.)?
- Special adjustments?
Will the client need to do anything outside of normal operations (i.e.: special product, special pricing adjustments, etc.)?
- Custom landing page?
Will the client need to create a special landing page for lead sign-ups?
- Custom tech integrations?
Will the client need any custom tech integrations (i.e.: Mindbody, Zapier, email marketing, etc.)?
2. Offer B logistics
- Physical supplies?
Will the client need to purchase any physical supplies for the offer (i.e.: balloons for a grand opening event, coupons for a giveaway, etc.)?
- Special adjustments?
Will the client need to do anything outside of normal operations (i.e.: special product, special pricing adjustments, etc.)?
- Custom landing page?
Will the client need to create a special landing page for lead sign-ups?
- Custom tech integrations?
Will the client need any custom tech integrations (i.e.: Mindbody, Zapier, email marketing, etc.)?
3. Roadmap and timeline creation
- Navigate to Monday.com
- Create a roadmap
With all the logistics figured out, create a roadmap for both the client and internal marketing team. This process is highly recommended so that clients understand what is needed from them (and when) and what to expect from Green House. A detailed timeline will improve campaign efficiency and reduce unnecessary wait times.
Step 4: Campaign Mockup Pitch Deck
With the logistics and timelines organized, it's time to create a campaign mockup pitch deck. This is a great way to present to a client, gain their trust, and (hopefully) their buy in.
Remember: You don't need to have all the pieces of the puzzle figured out before this meeting. The goal is to have 90% of the campaign thought out with examples of what would look like, timelines, etc.
This step will use sheet 4 "Pitch Deck" of the template.
- Select core messaging to test (Offer A/Offer B)
- Select core creative direction
From your research, what did other brands do that you can repurpose for your client?
- Mockup 2-3 paid media ads that reflect this
- Mockup a landing page (just above the fold)
- Include timelines, deliverables, etc.
- Include budget estimates and recommendations
- Include performance benchmarks
In some cases you may not know exactly what these benchmarks are, but you will want a "north star" metric that the campaign will be judged against.
Step 5: Offer Approval and Timeline / Adjust Deliverables as Needed
Clients may not agree with your ideas (and that is okay!). The goal of the pitch meeting is to gain buy-in and make any adjustments needed. Based on what was discussed and agreed upon during that meeting, it is now time to make those adjustments. This includes timelines, deliverables, needs, etc.
Once the updated offer/timeline has been approved, make sure to schedule the kickoff call. This holds both parties accountable because "on this day and at this time," both parties are agreeing to have their portions of the project completed and ready to review before launch.
Step 6: Build
YAY! The client has approved the updated offer. Now it's time to go through the deliverables and timelines to put everything together.
Step 7: Campaign Kick Off Call
Once the campaign is ready to turn on, it's time to meet with the client one more time to go over everything.
There are two reasons for this meeting:
1) It helps the client feel more involved,
2) It helps avoid any miscommunications.
Section 8: Final Changes
This is optional since sometimes the campaign kickoff call goes smoothly and no changes are needed. However, sometimes there is a last-minute change to be made.
Section 9: GO LIVE!
It's time to turn everything on! Now, your job is to make sure the campaign's north star metrics are being hit. If the campaign is underperforming, it is your responsibility to analyze and make adjustments.
Section 10: Post-Campaign Review
With the campaign concluded, you need to do your due diligence in recording what happened. Put together a wrap-up report that highlights the campaign performance, results, and learnings. This includes data outside the paid advertising platform (i.e.: Meta, TikTok, Google, etc.).
As an example, if you promoted a grand opening for a store, what were their total sales the day of grand opening? How does that compare to their average daily sales?