Why do you think you need social media?
If something like “Uhh…” or “Everyone else is on it,” is the first thing that comes to mind, we should talk. If your answer is “To get sales!“? Then we should DEFINITELY talk.
Your social media efforts should have SMART goals in place beyond simply getting sales or you will just be “doing” social media to be doing it…. and sales will be hit or miss. We’ve all been there, wondering, “What the heck am I doing on social media again?”
SMART Goals
We have good news! Businesses that craft SMART goals will find value in the time, energy and money spent on their social media investments.
What are smart goals and how do they apply to social media marketing? Let’s start here:
- Specific: “We’ve specifically identified the social media channel (Facebook) and a metric (response rate).”
- Measurable: “The response rate can be measured from the Facebook Insights page.”
- Achievable: “We didn’t identify an unachievable goal of say, a 100% increase in 5 days.”
- Relevant: “Our goal will have an impact on our overall Facebook presence, making it very relevant to our current marketing strategy.”
- Time-bound: “The goal has to be met within three months.”
An example of an excellent SMART goal for Facebook would be something like “We’ll increase the engagement rate on our Facebook posts by 25% by the end of the next quarter. We’ll do this by posting more frequently and posting the kind of content that our viewers react to according to Facebook insights.”
Social Media and SMART Goals
The idea is that if you have these kinds of of specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals, you’ll be more likely to organize your efforts and stay focused. By default, it’s also highly likely that you’ll “get sales” while you’re at it. Assigning your social media efforts a definitive purpose helps you avoid the trap of posting aimlessly.
As Social Media Consultant Marie Ennis-O’Connor says, “Without goals, it’s hard to know exactly how well your social media strategy is performing. Clear goals will not only propel your strategy forward, but they will also serve as defined metrics when it comes to measuring your progress.”
Here are some sample goals that you can apply SMARTly to your social media efforts:
- Drive traffic to your website (set a reasonable number, measure with Google Analytics)
- Advertise a sale or run a promotion (define metrics, set your deadline)
- Increase number of followers (track the followers, structure a specific plan to make it happen)
- Get more direct messages from social media (create content that encourages action, set an achievable number to reach)
- Get more comments on social media posts (determine method for measuring, set a deadline)
- Connect with social media influencers (define relevancy, how to measure)
What’s Next
Now that you’ve broken down social media marketing into smaller bites, it will hopefully be a little more manageable and easier to tackle. As always, we’re here to help even if you just need us to point you in the right direction!
~Jenny Green, jenny@fishergreencreative.com, Co-Owner @ Fisher Green Creative
