Manage Co-Branding in Social Media Campaigns

Collaborative projects, or co-branding, can be the perfect opportunity to grow a social media campaign. Oftentimes, when we come together and share our ideas, this yields the best possible outcome. This is why co-branding in social media campaigns has the potential to grow two companies for the better. Do you want to collaborate with another brand through a social media campaign? If that is the case, then you are in the right place. In this article, we will discuss how to manage co-branding in social media campaigns, a task that can be quite difficult.

Social Media Campaigns

Before we get into collaboration with social media campaigns, it is important to first have an understanding of what a social media campaign is. By definition, a social media campaign is a coordinated marketing endeavor to achieve a business goal through multiple social media platforms. In other words, it is a way to support a business goal through advertising and marketing on social media. This is an increasingly popular way to advertise for businesses due to the increased traffic that social media pulls in. Campaigns on these platforms can be vastly different depending on who the target market may be.

Benefits to Social Media Campaigns

In order to be the most successful, it is crucial for social media campaigns to focus on one main business goal. This is something that has the potential to look very different for each brand. For example, one brand might struggle with their advertising and another might struggle with their direct sales. The single most important goal that you decide on should tackle the biggest weak spot in your campaign. Goals for social media campaigns are essentially shaped by the company, the message they are trying to get across, and the target audience. Here are a few examples of common goals for social media campaigns:

• Receiving user feedback
• Growing website traffic
• Increasing brand engagement
• Raising product sales
• Building email lists for marketing

Measuring Success

As a general rule, it helps when the business goals set can be measured. This makes it easier to track progress and see where your company stands in comparison to how it did at the beginning of the process. For example, if your goal is to increase traffic to a company’s website, it might be beneficial to track the number of people that click on the link to a website through a social media post. After setting a measurable goal for yourself, it’s time to get started!

How Does Co-Branding Work?

Just as one might think, the process of co-branding is all about collaborating to see the best results for both parties. In order to get started with your partnership, it is important to ensure that you and the person you are co-branding with want to target the same audience. Keeping this in mind, think about the specific kind of person you want to market to and what kinds of social media platforms they might use the most. Remember, the goal of both brands is to choose a partner that they feel represents their values.

Finding the Perfect Partner

There are a few things one should consider before agreeing to a social media campaign partnership. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before agreeing to work with someone else:

• Does this brand have a similar audience to mine? This is a huge aspect to consider when thinking about a partnership. It’s important to partner with a brand that has the same or similar goals in a social media campaign. This includes similarity in audience or consumer. If the main goal is to market to both parties through one campaign, this is an integral question for both parties to ask themselves.
• Is my brand going to receive positive attention through this partnership? Research the company or person that you would like to partner with to ensure that they will bring the kind of attention that you seek. For instance, you might not want to partner with a brand that has a bad reputation because this could give others a negative perception of your brand. Think of them as an extension of your own brand. Are you comfortable with their presence? And would you be comfortable with audiences associating your brand with theirs? This is something that only you can decide.
• Do they have something that we don’t have? When looking for a new partnership, it is beneficial to seek out qualities that can enhance the perception of your brand or company. Try looking for a company that has something unique to offer your target market. In these kinds of partnerships, it is always more beneficial to combine two companies that have different strengths. This is the perfect opportunity to learn from one another and make positive changes to your own brand.
• How many leads can I gain through this partnership? In the process of researching your potential partner, consider the number of followers they have. You’ll most likely want to partner with someone who has a decent number of followers. There’s not a magic number of followers that will ensure success, so this is something that you will have to decide for yourself!

Once You’ve Found A Partner

After you have done the grunt work in finding a partner to co-brand in a social media campaign with, it’s time to actually get started. The next big step in this process is coming up with an idea to pitch. In this step, both parties need to be very honest about the goals they want to achieve and the vision they have for the partnership. This stage is huge because it will be the foundation of your shared campaign. Right now, it is important to do your research, tailor your ideas in a shared space, and show the value that your brand has to offer. Your goal is to make the other brand feel like they would be missing out by not partnering with you.

Decide on the Content to Share and Promote

It can be difficult to agree on one idea, so it is necessary to be open to other ideas. Even if an idea might not seem golden right off the bat, do not discount it immediately. Some of the best concepts are born through teamwork. This is the first true decision-making part of the process. At this point, you and your partner will decide on the content you will share and promote with your audiences. Remember to decide on a topic that will be mutually beneficial to both brands and audiences.

Time Management

After agreeing on the content and platforms, it is time to lay out a timeline for your campaign. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page throughout the duration of the campaign. This also a great way to hold others accountable for completing their work on time. Consider giving yourselves a little more time than you need to account for unexpected hiccups.

Content Creation

At this part of the process, you and your partner can start to make your ideas come alive through graphics and future posts. This is one of the most fun parts of the process because you are making your shared ideas come alive! The odds are, both of you have completely different strengths to offer. This is the time to collaborate and cater to both of your strengths. Keep in mind, consistency is key. Remember to check in on one another frequently and make sure that you continue to stay on the same page.

Promotion

As mentioned earlier, it is essential to agree upon a launch date with your partner in the time management step of the process. On this date, both teams should start to promote the collaboration on the agreed-upon social media platforms. Typically, promotions will start about two to three weeks prior to a launch date in order for consumers to have time to find out about the collaboration. Promotions can include blog posts, social media posts, and emails.

Launch and Measure

Now, it is time for the most integral part of the campaign, the launch! It’s time to post all of your pre-planned content to the agreed-upon social media platforms. At this point, you’ve done all of the work you can do. During and after the launch, you can start to measure the success of your partnership. This is also a time of reflection on your partnership. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to determine if your partnership was ultimately successful and beneficial for your brand:

• Did your partnership yield the kind of content that you wanted?
• Did you achieve the measurable goal that was agreed upon?
• What worked well while working with this partner and what didn’t?
• Was the partnership an overall success?

FAQs

• What social media platforms should I post on for a social media campaign?
• How do I find the perfect partner to co-brand with?
• What is the best way to approach a co-branded social media campaign?
• How does co-branding work?
• What makes a successful partnership in a social media campaign?