Planning isn’t all that glamorous, but what it lacks in excitement, it makes up for in prolific results. When you take the time to plan for your marketing campaigns, you are better prepared to handle the good, the bad, and the social masses. Whether you are launching an entirely new, company-wide brand image or simply putting together a Google ad campaign, there are a few planning items you should check off the list first.

Campaign Planning Checklist:

1. Determine your marketing objective
   • What are you hoping will happen when someone receives your direct mail campaign or sees your Google ad? Do you want the recipient to call you? Like you on Facebook? Visit your website? Purchase a specific product? If you don’t clearly define what you want the audience to do, they aren’t going to take action on their own.
2. Decide who you are talking to
   • Most likely your target market will be the same audience you’ve been talking to since you opened your doors. However, there are times when you want to break out of your well-worn niche and start talking to new people. No matter who you are talking to, it’s extremely important that you know who they are. If you are feeling crafty, create a Pinterest board of your target market. Visuals are always helpful.
3. Pick a platform
   • Before you start a campaign, it’s important to figure out how you are going to reach your target market. Are you going to use traditional print such as a direct mail campaign or are you going digital with Facebook ads? Knowing your objectives and your audience will help determine the best means of communicating.
4. Narrow down your messaging
   • Even if you don’t want to commit to writing your own copy, it’s a good idea to think about messaging. All the factors we talked about above; objectives, audience, and platform can help you identify what you want to say.
5. Mark your calendar
   • In fact, write it in pen. Doing all the legwork and creating awesome designs only exceed objectives if you follow through. So if you want to build a social media campaign, write down the days of the week you’ll post a message.
6. Get excited
   • A new campaign is a big deal, one that you should be excited to share with customers, prospects, employees and even complete strangers. When you are ready to launch, let people know – send an email, post on social media, mention it in your newsletter, and/or add a callout to your website. Whatever you choose to do, make sure that you show your excitement so that others become excited too.

Don’t wait until the last minute – make planning a priority and reap the benefits. Once you’ve started planning, it will become easier and your campaign will become more focused and powerful. Instead of guessing what will work, you can clearly see who your audience is, what they like, and how to engage them. Here’s to planning a successful campaign!