Evergreen campaigns are one of marketers’ favourite types of campaigns because they don’t have an expiration date. Instead of being tied to a particular date, event or other time-sensitive subjects, evergreen campaigns can be used multiple times, updated and reworked, producing results each time without the need for a new campaign.
That’s if you do it right, of course. To help, we’ve collected our basic top tips for producing successful evergreen campaigns, enabling you to ‘work smarter’.
Try to find topics that won’t quickly go out of date
The key to an evergreen campaign is its topic. You’ll need an idea that is relevant to your client, that your audience cares about, and that will remain timeless. These can be few and far between but once you have a great concept that ticks all of these boxes, you’ll be onto a winner.
Check your data sources
If you’re using any data in your evergreen campaign, you’ll need to be able to re-use your source in future, so that you can update the campaign with new statistics or additional information. When you’re using an external source, try to find out when, and how often, new data is published.
A couple of examples include government data which is regularly updated and FOI requests. However, when using external data there’s always a chance that it’ll be discontinued or become unavailable. If you have access to internal data it’s always a good idea to use this, that way you have direct access to the source (your client!).
Don’t start fresh, update your content
With an evergreen campaign, it’s not always necessary to create fresh content such as a new campaign page every time you have something new to add or want to re-broadcast your campaign. Instead, it’s often simpler to just update the old page with any new information.
This saves your team time but also helps search engine optimisation. Any old links you’ve gained to this page from previous broadcasting efforts will still be relevant, sending readers to the updated content.
Compare stats year-on-year (or as often as makes sense)
Planning to update your campaign page? Don’t forget to compare any new findings to the old ones. Simply removing the out-of-date information is missing a trick. By comparing year-on-year, or as often as your data allows, you’ll instantly have a fresh angle within your research that journalists are likely to be interested in.
Keep track of these comparisons so you can spot any changes or trends in your story that could be relevant and newsworthy.
Support with additional information
When you come to refresh an old campaign page, remember to think about new ways you can work with your story and the information available. Don’t just rely on the same strategy as last time, but ask yourself if you can create a fresh spin on it. Has anything happened in your client’s industry since the last update that could now be relevant? Can you add any additional content to advise or inform readers?
Keep journalists informed
Once you’ve begun broadcasting your campaign and you’ve received some interest from the media, make sure to let the journalist know that your research is going to be updated. You could even add a note at the end of your initial email.
Ask if they’d like regular updates, and keep all relevant journalists on a list ready to send out when any new elements of the campaign are published. After a while, you may even find journalists coming to your source for information without you needing to reach out to them.
Check for timely ways to broadcast
Similarly, planning in broadcasting at the right times will help your evergreen campaign succeed. You could choose to simply update at regular intervals, such as yearly, or quarterly. Or, you could try to tie the campaign in with timely events in the year for your industry. Take a look at when your topic is often discussed in the media and try to locate any trends.
If you’re using external data and you know when they publish new findings, you’ll also want to make sure you’re the first to jump on the story and update your campaign in time with this. Don’t let your competitors beat you to it!
Look over old campaigns and search for evergreen ideas
It’s not only new ideas that can be turned into evergreen campaigns, you might have some ready right under your nose. Regularly review old campaigns to see if any of them fit the criteria and are just waiting to be given a new lease of life.
Get help with your campaigns
If you need expert assistance with your digital marketing efforts, get in touch today. Or, for more hints, tips, and top marketing strategies, read the It Works blog.