A social media campaign is a strategic communication plan that uses social media to achieve objectives. Social media campaigns can run across one or multiple social media platforms. Track and measure your campaigns over an identified timeframe. Remember that each platform serves different user demographics, needs and habits. Additionally, social platforms now have multiple inter-platform mechanics that users can use to adapt content for campaigns across all platforms (omni-platform campaigns) and campaigns involving content specific to an individual platform (inter-platform campaigns).
However, it is crucial to understand that you should not design social media campaigns around the platform's guidance. You should design your campaign around the public's wants and needs and work to achieve measurable knowledge, attitude or behavior change.
Running a campaign on social media - including planning before, during and after - demands significant time and resources. When deciding what platform to display your content, you must understand the publics characteristics, requirements and preferences on each platform you have visibility. Do not just copy and paste from platform to platform. Each social media platform has different demographics and limitations that can affect the overall reach of your messaging. For example:
- X is the ideal platform for posting news and emergency management content.
- Facebook is great for informing followers and cultivating a community.
- Instagram is best for visual storytelling, inspiring followers and reaching the younger public.
The ultimate goal of a successful campaign is to change the public's knowledge, attitude and behavior. During the planning stage, consider the five elements of creating a contagious campaign: they should be showable, inviting, simple, measurable and exclusive.
The DoD regularly uses social media as part of its campaign strategies. For example, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marines use different platforms strategically to communicate messages and brands (Be All You Can Be and The Few. The Proud. The Marines.) to achieve their campaign objectives for recruiting new service members.
Let's explore a sample cross-platform recruitment campaign below and how to transform a message across Facebook, Instagram and X.
CAMPAIGN CONTENT
Use labels along the top to progress through scenarios. Click the learn more button for more in-depth information.
CAMPAIGN CONTENT
- Resonate with your followers.
- Promote your message.
- Build community.
Facebook
Facebook is a social network that connects people through entertainment, inspiration and information. With over 2.45 billion people using Facebook and over 400 million people belonging to a Facebook group, this is a great platform to reach a large, diverse group of people.
Facebook allows you to convert your followers into a community, but it requires frequent interaction with them to create and foster engagement. It also provides publishing links to promote your message and make it easy for followers to get more information, sign up for events, access resources, become a volunteer, etc.
When posting on Facebook, design the content to create a knowledge, attitude or behavior change from the public and drive toward the commander's desired state. Perform proper social media research to deliver the content in the best format based on algorithm and public preference to ensure it gets seen and effectively communicated.
Sample Recruitment Campaign
In this example of a recruitment campaign for Facebook, the post reaches out to followers by asking a question that will resonate with them and pairs text with an emotive visual. It follows immediately with an invitation to join a free event that will give more information. The post goes up early enough for awareness and attendee planning purposes. It also provides a direct path for followers to sign up for the event and obtain all the details with a link to RSVP.
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Posting Tips!
- Keep posts under 200 characters.
- Post between one to two times daily; early morning is optimal.
- The use of hashtags is less common and does not significantly impact audience reach.
- Include a link to help drive traffic and promote events.
Visual Tips!
- Include an image or video for higher engagement.
- Adhere to image size requirements of 1200 x 630 pixels with a minimum size of 600 x 315 pixels.
- If using video, keep it to one minute or shorter.
FACEBOOK
CAMPAIGN CONTENT
- Tell a story.
- Be authentic.
- Captivate your public.
Instagram
Instagram is a media-sharing network used to entertain people by sharing photos, videos and other media. Instagram is an excellent platform for a social media campaign if you are trying to reach a younger demographic as 75% of Instagram's users are between the ages of 18-24. Additionally, if looking for engagement, use Instagram over Facebook as it has twenty-three times more engagement than Facebook.
Remember, when posting content on Instagram tailor the content to the public's wants and needs. Your objective should be to change the public's knowledge, attitude or behavior keeping the commander's desired state in mind.
Sample Recruitment Campaign
In this fictitious recruitment post, there is an out-of-the-ordinary, gorgeous photo that makes the user want to dig deeper to discover what's happening. The caption tells the story here: a unit is using the post to recruit, help recent grads find new opportunities and put poor souls stuck in mundane careers on an exciting new path. This post checks the boxes of captivating the public and telling a story by showing its younger demographic a photo that's inspiring and full of life. The post gives only the necessary information while keeping post length short and telling followers to go to the link in the bio for more details. Additionally, post ahead of the event for attendee planning purposes.
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Posting Tips!
- Image captions allow the use of 2,200 characters.
- Post between three and five times per week; early morning is optimal.
- Include three to five hashtags per post.
Visual Tips!
- Adhere to image size requirements of 1080 x 566 pixels for landscape and 1080 x 1350 for portrait.
- Photos receive more engagement than videos but make sure to strategically diversify your post's photos using reels and stories to get more visibility.
- Add effects and stickers to increase engagement.
- Behind-the-scenes photos, not only of ceremonial assets but also of the support staff, are very popular.
INSTAGRAM
CAMPAIGN CONTENT
- Timely.
- Informative.
- Concise.
X (formerly Twitter) is a social network used to connect with people for immediate news and updates on a particular subject. With over 500 million posts sent daily, X can be the ideal platform for your social media campaign, as it can reach a lot of people quickly for trending topics or current situations.
Remember, when posting content to X, one of your primary objectives should be to change the public's knowledge, attitude or behavior.
Sample Recruitment Campaign
Transform the example recruitment post for X by using concise, timely content that's informative and relevant. Use language to convey a sense of urgency and entice followers to learn more about the newsworthy topics mentioned. The image appeals to those interested in trending topics, such as cyberwarfare and a career in the services. Avoid long messages on X. Keep the content short and to the point, providing a hook along with key details. In addition, include a link to RSVP and appropriate, trending hashtags.
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Posting Tips!
- Use 280 characters max.
- Post between two and three times per day; early morning is optimal.
- Include three to five hashtags per post.
- Make your profile searchable based on what you display by using a hashtag in your name.
Visual Tips!
- Adhere to image size requirements of 1600 x 900 pixels with a minimum size of 600 x 335 pixels.
- Use dynamic visuals for more engagement.
- Sound on videos should be optional.
- Supported formats are GIF, JPG and PNG.
X