5 tips on how to plan an effective media campaign May 23, 2019

5 tips on how to plan an effective media campaign

The EU elections are happening today (Thursday the 23^rd of May) in the United Kingdom, and there are a huge range of active election media and press campaigns targeting voters across various media channels.

With so much at stake for parties in the election, it is no wonder that media and press campaigns are arguably one of the most important aspects of election time. These election campaigns are what connect the political parties to the voters. It gives political parties the opportunity to present their messages to inform and educate voters in preparation for making their vote on election day.

If you are fascinated by the process and want to see behind the scenes of a media/press campaign or even if you currently involved in one yourself, here are 5 tips on how to plan an effective media campaign:

1. Plan and set measurable objectives for the campaign.

When planning the objectives, all key individuals of the campaign need to be involved so that objectives are clear and that all team members are on the same page. Objectives need to be SMART and need to highlight what the desired outcomes of the campaign are.

2. Research the target audience for the campaign.

After a target audience has been chosen, research the demographics of the target audience and find out what kind of media behaviours they have. Research to find out what kind of media the target audience consumes and engages with the most, in what way they are interacting with these media channels and during what times of the day.

3. Create a media strategy.

Once the characteristics of the target audience have been researched, a strategy needs to be formulated in order to reach the audience in the most effective way to be able to achieve the objectives of the campaign. Your strategy may involve the use of social media to target a younger audience, meet and greet events to improve credibility or even print media to reach a specific readership demographic. Your strategy has endless opportunities.

4. Set a budget and schedule that sets out a timeframe.

A schedule needs to be set in order to specify timeframes for the measurable objectives to be achieved in and to keep up with the operations of the campaign ensuring media deadlines are met. Budgets need to be set in order to track spending on advertising and media. Budgets are essential in allocating spending across different media channels to ensure full coverage across the appropriate channels.

5. Monitor the campaign

When dealing with press and media, audiences can be extremely reactive, so it is important to measure, in real time, the impact that the campaign has on audiences. Measuring the audience’s reactions, responses and changes in behaviour is extremely important in summarising and reporting how the campaign is measuring up and if it is on track to achieve objectives.

If you would like to know more about effective media planning, London Training for Excellence offer courses that are perfect for you. Please follow the link below to find out more or contact sales@londontfe.com.