Best Practices for Implementing a Strategic Social Media Campaign

I've been a content creator for over 12 years, and I still find myself 'just winging it' sometimes. When I'm not working two jobs, attending graduate school, and dealing with a pandemic, I'm far more organized at creating a strategic social media campaign. Here are some of the best practices to help along the way, and a great case study about Cors Light and how they adapted to secure a #SocialWin. 

I've always utilized different parts of the PESO model when I think about the content I've created in the past. As an influencer, I do a lot of paid media like sponsored content and partnerships. Because of this, my earned media sometimes warrants a "not sponsored" disclaimer, so people know, and the FTC doesn't come after me. Social media has gone through so many changes in the last ten years as well. The pay-to-play model has taken center stage for companies like Facebook. 

What is the PESO Model? 

• Paid media: Any type of marketing or advertising that is paid for, including influencer partnerships that include product or service exchanges. 
• Earned media: Word-of-mouth publicity and media relations that you do not have to pay for, like your press release receive an article in the local online or print newspaper. Another example would be someone sharing their love for a product or service on social media and tagging the brand. 
• Shared media: Communications, generally on social media, that create conversations and dialogue about the content. 
• Owned media: Content created by the company and shared on controlled platforms. 

When you are the sole content creator of a blog or running campaigns for a non-profit like I do, the pay-to-play method becomes a little more challenging. There aren't budgets for paid social media ads to help reach the target audience. 

Diversifying the types of content you create also helps to reach a broad audience. Sometimes there may be people that prefer video content specific to platforms like YouTube, while video on TikTok is also very different. Consider your audience and then create content based on the best way to reach them. 

• Written - Blog posts, emails.
• Audio - Podcasts, Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces.
• Visual - Images, videos.

Having a content calendar for your social media is essential, but sometimes life throws you a curveball, and your marketing strategy needs to adapt quickly. I think 2020 is the perfect example of how marketing teams not only had to learn to work remotely from home but change their messaging during a global pandemic. 

Case Study - Coors Light #CouldUseABeer

During the times of lockdown at the start of the pandemic, many brands were pushing out ads about how "we're here for you," but Coors Light offered up a chance to have a beer on them during these challenging times. 

As part of the "Made to Chill" campaign, which is focused on the younger generation who is "always being on and connected, which can be all-consuming and overwhelming," says Ryan Reis, vice president of the Coors family of brands at MillerCoors.

"We're trying to give them a moment to chill. It's not a moment of escape, it's more about pause, about taking a moment to step back and turn off," Reis says.

When a picture of 93-year-old Olive Veronesi holding a sign that read, "I need more beer!" while holding a Coors Light went viral, the brand jumped on the opportunity to send beer to those that needed the pick me up.  

"A lot of times, when you see someone working hard, doing something really good, you want to recognize them, and you take them out for a beer," says Chris Steele, marketing director for Coors Light. "That's not really possible right now, but we want to help people get that brief moment of pause and enjoyment that Coors Light provides."

Coors Light also introduced the Clone Machine, which lets users record a 30-second video loop of them looking interested during video conferences so that they can sneak away to grab a beer.

"As we saw when we delivered a stack of Coors Light to Olive, whose pleas for more beer went viral, an unexpected beer can light up someone's day," Steele says. "What inspired us most was how drinkers around the world saw Olive's photo and started posting online about how they, too, could really go for a beer. We just think America deserves a moment to pause and enjoy a cold one, and we're going to give it to them."

By the end of April 2020, Coors Light launched the giveaway for $1 million in beer rebates. The equivalent of 500,000 six-packs of Coors Light. While it wasn't required to receive the rebate, Coors Light asked fans on social media to "Tell us who could use a six-pack and why" with the hashtag #CouldUseABeer.  

The brand was able to boost brand awareness and garner positive sentiments during a time in lockdown for a global pandemic when everyone was struggling. Similar to Buzzfeed's "shared anticipation" theory about viral content, the world came together as a community during a shared experience (quarantine) and shared images and stories about why they could use a beer. You can't help but smile when a brand hand-delivers 15 packs of its beer to a 93-year-old woman. Plus, free beer!