Every campaign should be built on this five-part framework:
1. Objective
Define what success looks like before planning anything else.
Awareness
increase brand or product visibility (measured by reach, impressions, share of voice)
Consideration
drive engagement and education (measured by content engagement, email signups, webinar attendance)
Conversion
generate leads or sales (measured by signups, demos, purchases, pipeline)
Retention
re-engage existing customers (measured by churn reduction, upsell, NPS)
Advocacy
turn customers into promoters (measured by referrals, reviews, UGC)
Good objectives are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.
Example: "Generate 200 marketing qualified leads from mid-market SaaS companies in North America within 6 weeks of campaign launch."
2. Audience
Define who you are trying to reach with enough specificity to guide messaging and channel decisions.
Demographics
role/title, seniority, company size, industry
Psychographics
motivations, pain points, goals, objections
Behavioral
where they consume content, how they buy, what they have engaged with before
Buying stage
are they unaware of the problem, researching solutions, or ready to buy?
Create a brief audience profile (not a full persona) for campaign planning:
"[Role] at [company type] who is struggling with [pain point] and looking for [desired outcome]. They typically discover solutions through [channels] and care most about [priorities]."
3. Message
Craft the core message and supporting points that will resonate with the audience.
Core message
one sentence that captures what you want the audience to think, feel, or do
Supporting messages
3-4 points that provide evidence, address objections, or elaborate on benefits
Proof points
data, case studies, testimonials, or third-party validation for each supporting message
Differentiation
what makes your offering different from alternatives (including doing nothing)
Message hierarchy:
Why should I care? (addresses the pain point or opportunity)
What is the solution? (positions your offering)
Why you? (differentiates from alternatives)
What should I do? (call to action)
4. Channel
Select channels based on where your audience is, not where you are most comfortable.
See the Channel Selection Guide below for detailed guidance.
5. Measure
Define how you will know the campaign worked. See Success Metrics by Campaign Type below.
Channel Selection Guide
Owned Channels
Channel
Best For
Typical Metrics
Effort
Blog/Website
SEO, thought leadership, education
Traffic, time on page, conversions
Medium
Email
Nurture, retention, announcements
Open rate, CTR, conversions
Low-Medium
Social (organic)
Awareness, community, brand building
Engagement, reach, follower growth
Medium
Webinars
Education, lead gen, product demos
Registrations, attendance, pipeline
High
Podcast
Thought leadership, brand awareness
Downloads, subscriber growth
High
Earned Channels
Channel
Best For
Typical Metrics
Effort
PR/Media
Awareness, credibility, launches
Coverage, share of voice, referral traffic
High
Guest content
Audience expansion, SEO, credibility
Referral traffic, backlinks
Medium
Influencer/Partner
Audience expansion, trust
Reach, engagement, referral conversions
Medium-High
Community
Awareness, trust, feedback
Mentions, engagement, referral traffic
Medium
Reviews/Ratings
Credibility, SEO, consideration
Review volume, rating, conversion lift
Low-Medium
Paid Channels
Channel
Best For
Typical Metrics
Effort
Search ads (SEM)
High-intent lead capture
CPC, CTR, conversion rate, CPA
Medium
Social ads
Awareness, retargeting, lead gen
CPM, CPC, CTR, CPA, ROAS
Medium
Display/Programmatic
Awareness, retargeting
Impressions, CPM, view-through conversions
Low-Medium
Sponsored content
Thought leadership, lead gen
Engagement, leads, cost per lead
Medium
Events/Sponsorships
Relationship building, brand
Leads, meetings, pipeline influenced
High
Channel Selection Criteria
When choosing channels, consider:
Where does your target audience spend time?
What is the buying stage you are targeting? (awareness channels vs. conversion channels)
What is your budget? (paid channels require spend; owned/earned require time)
What content assets do you already have or can you produce?
What has worked in the past? (reference historical data if available)
Content Calendar Creation
Calendar Structure
A content calendar should answer: what, where, when, who, and why for every piece of content.
what needs to be live and when? What is the production lead time?
Map content to funnel stages
ensure coverage across awareness, consideration, and conversion
Batch by theme
group related content pieces into weekly or bi-weekly themes
Balance channels
do not over-index on one channel; ensure the audience sees the campaign across touchpoints
Build in flexibility
leave 20% of calendar slots open for reactive or opportunistic content
Content Cadence Guidelines
Blog
1-4 posts per week depending on team size and goals
Email newsletter
weekly or bi-weekly for most audiences
Social media
3-7 posts per week per platform (varies by platform)
Paid campaigns
continuous during campaign window with creative refreshes every 2-4 weeks
Webinars
monthly or quarterly depending on resources
Production Timeline Benchmarks
Blog post: 3-5 business days (research, draft, review, publish)
Email campaign: 2-3 business days (copy, design, test, send)
Social media posts: 1-2 business days (draft, design, schedule)
Landing page: 5-7 business days (copy, design, development, QA)
Video content: 2-4 weeks (script, production, editing)
Ebook/whitepaper: 2-4 weeks (outline, draft, design, review)
Budget Allocation Approaches
Percentage of Revenue Method
Industry benchmark: 5-15% of revenue for marketing, with B2B typically at 5-10% and B2C at 10-15%
Startups and growth-stage companies often invest 15-25% of revenue in marketing
Within the marketing budget, allocate across brand (long-term) and performance (short-term)
Channel Allocation Framework
A common starting framework (adjust based on goals and historical data):
Category
Percentage of Budget
Examples
Paid acquisition
30-40%
Search ads, social ads, display
Content production
20-30%
Blog, video, design, ebooks
Events and sponsorships
10-20%
Conferences, webinars, meetups
Tools and technology
10-15%
Analytics, automation, CRM
Testing and experimentation
5-10%
New channels, A/B tests, pilots
Budget Optimization Principles
Start with your highest-confidence channel and allocate 60-70% of paid budget there
Reserve 15-20% for testing new channels or tactics
Shift budget monthly based on performance data (do not set and forget)
Account for production costs, not just media spend
Include a 10-15% contingency for unexpected opportunities or overruns
Success Metrics by Campaign Type
Awareness Campaign
Metric
What It Measures
Reach/Impressions
How many people saw the campaign
Brand mention volume
Increase in brand conversations
Share of voice
Your mentions vs. competitors
Direct traffic
People coming to your site unprompted
Social follower growth
Audience building
Lead Generation Campaign
Metric
What It Measures
Total leads
Volume of new contacts
Marketing qualified leads (MQLs)
Leads meeting quality threshold
Cost per lead (CPL)
Efficiency of spend
Lead-to-MQL conversion rate
Quality of leads generated
Pipeline influenced
Revenue opportunity created
Product Launch Campaign
Metric
What It Measures
Signups or trials
Adoption of new product
Activation rate
Users who complete key first action
Media coverage
Earned media hits
Social buzz
Mentions, shares, engagement spike
Feature adoption
Usage of specific launched features
Retention/Engagement Campaign
Metric
What It Measures
Churn rate change
Customer retention improvement
Engagement rate
Interactions with campaign content
NPS or CSAT change
Satisfaction improvement
Upsell/cross-sell revenue
Expansion revenue
Feature adoption
Usage of promoted features
Event/Webinar Campaign
Metric
What It Measures
Registrations
Interest generated
Attendance rate
Conversion from registration
Engagement during event
Questions, polls, chat activity
Post-event conversions
Leads or pipeline from attendees
Content repurposing reach
Downstream audience from recordings