STCM140 — Multimedia Production  ·  Week 6

Campaign strategy, platform planning & content calendars

Date: Thursday, February 26, 2026
Instructor: Joe Amditis
Topic: From personas to production

Today's agenda

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We're bridging audience research and creative production — moving from personas to an actionable campaign plan before production starts.

  • What a campaign strategy document is (and isn't)
  • Setting a strong campaign goal — the four elements
  • Strategies vs. tactics — and the common mistake
  • Platform selection and platform-specific behavior
  • KPIs, CTAs, and content calendars

The production sequence

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Tuesday we established personas. Today we move to campaign strategy — turning audience insight into a concrete action plan.

Research Audience dossier
→
Personas 2–3 per student
→
Strategy Campaign document
→
Production Content creation
Why the order matters
Jumping to production without strategy means making arbitrary decisions about platform, format, and message on the fly. The strategy document forces those decisions up front — before you spend time creating content.

What a campaign strategy document is

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Format
  • 1–2 pages — tight and specific, not sprawling
  • Not a pitch deck or a vision statement
  • A working document you'll actually use during production
Framework
Goal
›
Strategies
›
Tactics
›
KPIs
›
CTAs
Purpose

Forces decisions before production starts.

  • Which platforms will you use?
  • Who exactly is the target audience?
  • What outcome are you driving toward?
  • How will you know if it worked?
Without a strategy doc, these decisions get made ad hoc during production — or not at all.

Setting a campaign goal

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A strong goal names four elements. If any one is missing, the goal is too vague to be useful.

Audience

Who you're trying to reach — defined specifically, not broadly

Outcome

The behavior or change you're driving: visits, signups, purchases

Number

A specific metric that defines success — 40 visits, 500 followers

Timeframe

A deadline that creates accountability — "by April 30"

What a strong goal looks like

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Weak goal

"Grow our Instagram following"

Missing: who? how many? toward what real-world outcome? by when?
Strong goal

"Increase awareness of Grounds for Change among MSU graduate students (ages 22–30) in Montclair, driving 40 new in-store visits from that segment by April 30"

Why it works
Names the audience, specifies the outcome type (visits — not followers), includes a number, and sets a deadline. All four elements are present.

Strategies vs. tactics

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Strategies — why & where

Broad directional approaches. 2–4 per campaign. They explain the reasoning behind your choices — not what you'll do, but why.

  • Build visibility on platforms where the target audience discovers new local places
  • Create content communicating work-friendliness and coffee quality
  • Partner with MSU-adjacent accounts to reach non-followers
Tactics — what & when

Specific, executable actions. Each tactic should link back to a strategy — it's the "how" that makes the strategy real.

  • Post 4×/week on Instagram: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturday community post, weekly BTS
  • Produce 2 TikToks/month — one educational, one showing the work environment
  • Run one 2-week paid Instagram promotion targeting Montclair + MSU zip codes, ages 22–30

The common mistake

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Watch out

"Post on Instagram three times a week" is a tactic, not a strategy.

The strategy answers the deeper question: why Instagram, what kind of content, and to whom?

Labeled as strategy (wrong)

"Post on Instagram three times weekly"

A frequency decision. It says nothing about who you're reaching, why that platform, or what you're trying to accomplish.

Actual strategy (correct)

"Build visibility on Instagram — where 22–30 year olds in Montclair discover new local places — using visual content that emphasizes the work-friendly environment"

Platform strategy — choosing where to show up

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Key principle

Be where your persona actually spends time — not everywhere.

Three selection questions
  • Where does the target audience discover new things?
  • What content format suits your organization's strengths?
  • Can you realistically maintain a presence there?
Platform behavior matters
Posting identical content across Instagram and TikTok simultaneously isn't strategy — it's copy-paste. Each platform has different norms, algorithms, and audience expectations. Adapt content for each.

Platform strengths (2026)

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Instagram

Visual brand identity

Carousels for education

Reels for reach

Stories for engagement

TikTok

Discovery & reach

Behind-the-scenes

Personality-forward

Trend participation

Twitter / X

Concise takes

News hooks

Real-time conversation

Topic commentary

LinkedIn

Professional positioning

Thought leadership

B2B audience reach

Long-form content

Email

Owned audience

Direct CTAs

Highest conversion rates

Algorithm-independent

KPIs — measuring success

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  • 3–5 KPIs maximum — tracking too many means tracking none
  • Establish a baseline before the campaign starts (you can't measure progress without a starting point)
  • Only track what's actually measurable — "brand awareness" isn't a KPI unless you define it as one
Metric Baseline Target
Instagram followers340500
Post engagement rate1.8%3.5%
New customer reviews2 in past 3 months8 in next 3 months
First-time visitors citing socialNo tracking15 per month

CTAs — what you're asking people to do

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Every piece of content needs a call to action. Define them upfront so your content stays consistent. CTAs must align with your campaign goal.

Primary
Main objective The core action tied to your campaign goal — visit, buy, sign up. If the goal is in-store visits, the primary CTA is "come in," not "follow us."
Secondary
Community & user content Builds your audience and generates social proof — tag us, share your experience, post a photo.
Engagement
Algorithm & conversation Drives reach and discussion — reply to this, vote in the poll, answer the question. These feed the algorithm and keep the account visible.

Content calendars

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Transforms strategy into a schedule. Each post maps to a strategy and includes a CTA. Mix formats; prioritize realistic frequency over abandonment.

Date Platform Format Topic CTA
Mon Feb 24 Instagram Photo Morning espresso bar setup "Come see us before 9"
Tue Feb 25 Instagram Reel How we dial in a new bean "Tag a coffee person who gets it"
Wed Feb 26 TikTok Video "What to order if you've never been" "See you soon"
Thu Feb 27 Instagram Stories Poll "Work from home or coffee shop?" Reply with your answer
Sat Mar 1 Instagram Photo Weekend crowd + natural light "We're open till 5"

Assignment requires a two-week sample showing posting rhythm and platform variety.

Assignment reminder

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Thursday, March 5
75 points — Campaign strategy document
  • Use the Goal → Strategies → Tactics → KPIs → CTAs framework
  • Include a two-week content calendar sample
  • Add to Google Drive folder (same location as your research dossier)
  • Reference the campaign strategy deliverable page for examples and common mistakes
Format reminder

1–2 pages
Tight and specific
Not a pitch deck
Not sprawling

Questions? Stop by office hours or email.

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