campaign-planning

CAMPAIGN PLANNING WORKFLOW

Phase 1: Brief Input Collection

Before planning, collect:

1. Campaign goal: [awareness / lead gen / pipeline acceleration / retention / launch]
2. Target audience: [persona, firmographic, technographic -- be specific]
3. Offer / product: [what is being promoted, if anything]
4. Budget: [total available]
5. Timeline: [start date, end date, key milestones]
6. Success metrics: [primary KPI and secondary KPIs]
7. Constraints: [channels you cannot use, creative resource limits, compliance requirements, geographic restrictions]
8. What has worked before: [highest-performing historical campaigns]
9. What has not worked: [channels or approaches to avoid]

Phase 2: Strategy Selection

Select the primary strategy based on goal and audience:

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP-LED (best for: complex B2B sales, long cycles, trust-based buying): Publish intelligence the target audience already wants. Content earns attention; sales converts it. Lead magnet: gated research report, framework, benchmark data.

DIRECT RESPONSE (best for: short cycles, clear pain, budget available): Paid channels driving to a specific offer with clear CTA. Lead magnet: free trial, demo, assessment, consultation.

ACCOUNT-BASED MARKETING / ABM (best for: enterprise deals, named accounts): Hyper-targeted campaigns at specific companies. Multi-channel, multi-contact, multi-touch. Content is account-specific; outreach is orchestrated.

PRODUCT-LED (best for: PLG motion, freemium, developer-focused): Free tier or trial as the primary acquisition mechanism. Marketing amplifies product virality.

Phase 3: Channel Mix Design

Select channels based on where target personas actually spend professional time.

B2B PRIMARY CHANNELS: LinkedIn Sponsored Content: Brand + ICP-targeted awareness LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads: Personal brand amplification (3x CTR vs. company) LinkedIn InMail: High-intent, low-volume direct outreach Email nurture: Owned audience; highest ROI channel Content / SEO: Long-term inbound; compound returns Trade press (sponsored): Sector-specific reach; credibility Webinar / virtual event: Mid-funnel acceleration; intent signal Paid search (Google): Capture in-market intent Retargeting: Re-engage warm audience

CHANNEL PERFORMANCE RULES OF THUMB (B2B): LinkedIn CTR benchmark: 0.40% (Sponsored Content) LinkedIn Thought Leader CTR: 1.0-1.5% (3x company page) Email open rate benchmark: 28-35% (B2B list, good deliverability) Email click rate benchmark: 3.5-5% Webinar conversion to opp: 15-25% of attendees Content download to MQL: 10-20% of downloaders

Phase 4: Campaign Brief Output Format

[CAMPAIGN NAME] CAMPAIGN BRIEF Goal: [Specific, measurable] | Budget: [X] | [Start]-[End]

STRATEGY: [Name and 2-sentence rationale]

AUDIENCE DEFINITION Primary: [Persona, firmographic, technographic] Secondary: [Secondary persona] Size: [Estimated addressable audience] Reach: [Target impressions / reach across channels]

CHANNEL MIX WITH BUDGET ALLOCATION

Purpose: [what this channel does in the campaign architecture] Format: [specific ad type, content type, or activity] Target: [specific metric for this channel] Rationale: [why this channel earns this allocation -- connect to what has worked / what has not worked from the brief inputs. Channels with historical evidence of ROI earn more budget. Channels that failed previously are excluded or minimized with explicit reference to why.]

LEAD MAGNET [What the target audience gets in exchange for their contact details] [Why they would want it -- specific value proposition] [Format and estimated production effort]

SALES-MARKETING INTEGRATION [How leads flow from marketing -> sales: enrichment timeline, scoring threshold for routing, sequence to be deployed, rep SLA for HOT leads]

CONTENT CALENDAR SUMMARY [High-level: what content is needed, when, and in what format] [See /calendar for week-by-week detail]

SUCCESS METRICS Primary KPI: [Metric] | Target: [X] Secondary KPIs: [Metric] | Target: [X] Cost targets: CPL: [X] | Cost per HOT lead: [X] | CAC: [X]

RISK AND CONTINGENCY Primary risk: [Most likely failure mode] Contingency: [What to do if primary risk materialises] Decision gate: If [metric] < [threshold] by Week [N] -> [action]

BUDGET SUMMARY [Channel]: [X] Total: [X]

NEVER DO THESE

• NEVER plan a campaign without a specific, measurable primary KPI
• NEVER allocate budget to a channel without confirming your audience is actually reachable there (channel fit before budget allocation)
• NEVER plan content you do not have the resources to produce -- a campaign with a content gap is a campaign that will underperform
• NEVER launch a campaign without the sales handoff process configured: enrichment, scoring, routing, and sequence must be ready before the first lead arrives
• NEVER set vanity metrics (impressions, followers) as primary KPIs -- measure outcomes, not activities