Setting social media goals
Start with the end in mind
When it comes to setting social media goals, you may have heard lots of marketers say
start with the end in mind.
There's a reason we do this.
We need to know what you want to achieve with your social media, because that will influence the:
- type of social media you plan
- content you include in your
- when and where you post
- way you look at your insights
- and more...
So starting with the end in mind is all about knowing what you want to achieve.
"S M R T. I am so smrt...Doh!"
Yep, your goals need to be SMART!
Yes. You've probably heard it all before. Your goals need to be SMART.
And sometimes, setting SMART goals can be challenging. Hence the Homer quote above. (If you're a Simpson's fan you may have recognised the heading.)
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Time-sensitive
It's important to set smart goals because smart goals hold you accountable.
And when you're accountable, you're more likely to achieve your goals.
Get it on "paper"
You're also more likely to achieve your goals if you document them.
In fact, according to Coschedule, you're 376% more likely to be successful if you document your marketing goals.
Also, by setting and documenting your goals, you're able to also able to know if your social media is successful or not, because you're able to measure your smart goals.
Let's get down and dirty!
Let's get down and dirty and look at SMART goals in a bit more depth.
Being Specific
Being specific means
What is your goal specifically stating
And that means your goals need to be detailed and not too big!.
If you've got a really, really big, BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), you actually need to break that down into smaller, SMART goals.
The smart goals help you work out how to achieve your BHAG.
Getting the ruler out to take measurements
Your goals need to be measureable. Otherwise, how will you know if you've actually achieved your goal? Or whether you're making progress towards it.
That means your goals need to be quantifiable.
The fun thing about goals being measurable is that when you achieve them, you get to celebrate. Woot Woot! Party time.
Are you a high achiever?
When it comes to setting achievable goals, think about whether there is anything that it would actually stop you from achieving your goal?
Some questions to ask yourself:
- who else needs to be involved
- what influence they will have?
- what tools you need?
- what are the external factors?
- is there anything that is going to stop you achieving your goal?
And if your goals are not achievable, they're not smart goals. So you will need to adjust them.
Living in the real world
The Realistic aspect of goals can get confused with the Achievable aspect, so ask yourself this
Is it realistic that you're going to achieve the goals in the time frame that you set for them?
As an example, if your goal is to become the number one Instagram Influencer by October 2020. And you haven't even set up an Instagram account yet, and you have no idea what is involved in being an Influencer… well that's a slightly unrealistic goal 
.
So bring that back to a more realistic goal. Perhaps your goal would be
Develop a marketing plan to establish myself as a health-based Instagram Influencer by December 2021, where I am approached at least once per day to be paid to promote a health product.
As you can see this example is much more realistic.
My how time flies
There's a reason goals need to be time based. And it's closely linked to measurement.
By setting a time frame you have a clear date that will tell you if you've achieved your goal.
There's also another aspect to having your goals time-based. If you're like me and you don't have a time frame to do something, it just never happens.
Having a time-frame keeps you accountable to achieving your goals.
Becoming awesome at social media
Goal setting is just one aspect of being awesome on social media.
If you're overwhelmed by social media, check out our Savvy Social Media Planning Program. It's a DIY online program where you learn the above AND MORE!!!
Enrol today and get rid of the social media overwhelm so you can take your social media from meh to marvellous.
It’s only $197 for lifetime access. So, you can revisit the program as often as you like – no limitations.
Find out more about the Savvy Social Media Planning program here.
Or enrol here.
