We told you we would be bringing some goods to the table in 2022, and we never back out on a promise. If you are trying to outperform your competition and grow your social media marketing strategy this year, your first step is to set some SMART goals.
Although we wish we would have been the ones to invent this amazing concept, it is simply a tried-and-true series of tactics all rolled up into a great acronym to ensure your goals will be more effective. SMART stands for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-based
What does this have to do with social media?
What many businesses do, when it comes to social media strategy, is start posting, hope for the best and change directions whenever they feel a nudge. Although this is a great option when you are sailing a boat, it doesn’t necessarily work in our modern-day ocean of consumers. To successfully make use of the myriad of social media platforms and all the exposure they offer, you need to set relevant and realistic marketing goals. These goals should fit seamlessly into your overarching business strategy so that your consumers are not confused about your message, no matter if they are checking their Instagram, looking directly at your website, or speaking to a customer service representative.
Let’s break it down so you can better understand how to make your SMART goals work for your business’s overall strategy.
Specific
Here is where you get honest with yourself about what you want to see happen in 2022. Do you want to increase your presence on social media by gaining a certain number of followers? Do you want to achieve more sales and would like to use social media to advertise and market your brand? Make sure you are specific so that at the end of the year you can see, without a doubt, whether you have achieved or missed these goals. Being specific will also take the guesswork out of your strategy when it comes to marketing your business.
Measurable
While you are creating your specific goals you should try to make them measurable by including numbers, figures and facts. Do you want to gain followers on Instagram? Give a ballpark figure so you can measure your company’s progress as the year evolves. Would you like a certain portion of your sales to come from your website versus in-store? Write down the numbers. Are you in need of more fundraising for your non-profit? Speak to your board about a specific dollar amount that you and your volunteers or employees can aim to produce in 2022. Once you have the numbers, you will feel even more empowered to get your marketing strategy up and running.
Attainable
When you are creating your goals, try to keep your feet on the ground. Setting unrealistic goals will only provide you with a dose of unnecessary failure and could possibly contribute to wasted resources. If you are hoping to grow followers for your social media accounts, for example, don’t set your sights on one million people if a more realistic number for your might be 100,000. Consider this letter of the SMART acronym to be a serious reality check.
Relevant
When it comes to social media, it can feel overwhelming to think of the sheer number of consumers out there ready and waiting to discover your brand. Not only that, but the number of platforms also continues to grow and trying to keep up with all of them can create confusion and dilute your message. Instead of trying to cast the largest net you can into the metaphoric ocean, try to focus on the target audiences, platforms and messages that will be relevant to your company. Your goals should reflect your overarching marketing strategy so they have staying power when it comes to the inevitable changes your business may endure this year.
Time-based
Work hard to achieve your strategical social media goals but give yourself an end date. Whether it is six months from now or the end of 2022, knowing that you have a finite amount of time can help you to work harder toward achieving the SMART goals you set for yourself. Social media is an ever-changing landscape, so it is incredibly important to take breaks between goal setting to get a handle on what is working and what is not.
SMART goals aren’t just a good template for devising social media marketing strategies, they also help you and your team to remain focused so that you are delivering a clear and concise message across all outlets. Consumers today are inundated with more information than ever. They also have more choices when it comes to spending their money or time. If you want to make an impact (and achieve those SMART goals!), you need to ensure that there is no confusion when it comes to your brand’s story, message, purpose, and overall strategy.
