3 things I learned from a recent social campaign
Strategy doesn’t have to be introduced at the beginning.
One of my clients, a maternal health organization, recently brought me on at the last minute to lead communications for their awareness month, a critical time for the organization’s audience, brand, and revenue growth. I didn’t have really any time to plan, so I just jumped in, making content with what I had and obsessively looking at the metrics. After a few days, when I had a bit more breathing room, I took a step back and started to think more strategically: I used what I had already made to create templates for different kinds of content in Canva; I plotted a calendar that would provide a good mix of content; and I reached out to others in the space for social media collaborations that would extend our reach.
I can’t remember the last time I went into a campaign with this little amount of planning, but it was a rush to publish and learn on the fly. A few points stood out:
Goals are really important. Even if you don’t know exactly how you’ll get it done, knowing the direction you are headed is critical. “Running social” can mean 1,000 different things, so honing in on what successes would be most exciting was important.
While helpful, strategy doesn’t have to be introduced at the beginning. About a third of the way into the month, I realized that content was naturally organizing into a few categories (in-depth resource guides, ask-and-answer carousels, organizational updates, community writing, etc.) and I built templates so similar content had a similar visual appearance. The content calendar started to reflect these categories in a healthy mix so audiences could always find something that spoke to them.
There’s no harm in asking. I spent a few hours reaching out to influencers and organizations with similar missions to see if they wanted to collaborate on content. I expected everyone to already have their work for this awareness month planned out, and I didn’t have high hopes. We ended up partnering with nine individuals and groups, which really helped us reach new audiences.
The work paid off. On Instagram, we hit 320% of our reach goal, which was 294% higher than the reach during the awareness month in 2024. The reach almost eclipsed the organization’s reach for all of 2024, hitting 94% of that in a single month.
It was a nice reminder that I can work in a variety of environments, and there isn’t a singular path to success.
What I’m reading
Goodnight, Commenters: Journalism vs. mutual aid
The Other Wave: Journalism’s credibility crisis is real – here’s a way forward
Things You’ll Learn The Hard Way: The one thing money can't buy
Bright Horizons: New Research Reveals Summer is a Break for Everyone but Parents
See you next week,
Rachel
If you’re enjoying this newsletter, I’d love for you to recommend it to a friend. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, subscribe to receive future editions in your inbox every Tuesday.