In order to achieve anything in life, you need to have a clear picture in your mind of what you want to achieve. This is the case in every aspect of your life – and with social media. Beyond picturing the end result in your mind, you need to write your goal down, so it is more tangible. In social media, goals are very important as well. Once you decide what you want to achieve with your social media marketing efforts, you can start thinking about a strategy. But how do you make sure your goals can really be achieved?
I am sure you all heard already about SMART goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable,relevant and timely. As so many other goals in your life, your social media marketing goals need to be SMART.
Here is a little checklist how you can make sure that your goals are on the right track:
Is your goal specific?
In order for your goal to be specific, it has to answer the 4 W questions:
What exactly do I want to accomplish with social media marketing? Do you want to gain more Facebook Fans, more Twitter followers, more LinkedIn connections, have more traffic on your website, sell more products or have more people sign up for your list?
Why do you want to accomplish that specific goal? It is great to have more followers, fans and connections, but what benefit will that give me? Is it that I can use the number as social proof?
Who is involved? Usually it will be you and your target audience.
Which requirements and constraints need to be watched? For example, Facebook only allows 5000 friends on your personal profile.
> As an example, a specific goal would be “I want new subscribers for my list” or “I want more Twitter followers.”
Is your goal measurable?
In order for your goal to be measurable, you need to have a specific amount in it. You need to answer the question: how much of it?
> For our 2 examples, they would have to be changed into “I want 200 new subscribers for my list” or “I want 200 more Twitter followers.”
Is your goal attainable?
Did ever anybody achieve a goal like that before? Is it do-able?
> As for our examples: yes, both are doable and a lot of people have achieved those goals already.
Is your goal relevant?
How important is it to achieve that goal? Will it be worth to spend time and/or money in it?
> Both goals in our example are worth your while. Having 200 more subscribers in your list means you have a bigger pool of potential clients that hear on a consistent basis from you. Having 200 more Facebook fans can signal to your potential client that you are worth checking out.
Is your goal timely?
When will you check if you achieved your goal? In 60 days? In 90 days? You need to have a specific due date so you can check if you reached your goal or if you need to make adjustments.
> For our examples: “I want 200 new subscribers for my list in the next 60 days” or “I want 200 more Twitter followers in the next 60 days.”
Think about your social media marketing goals. Brainstorm freely. Just make sure your goals are SMART.
When I saw the statistics about the responsiveness of brands on Facebook, I was shocked. No wonder that small businesses have so much more success in Facebook that they can even compete with big brand names.
(source: http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-wall-posts-brands-2011-10)
Social media is all about being social, being there, talking to people and answering questions. So, here is a tip for small businesses and entrepreneurs: don’t do it like the brand names, take the time and answer the questions and respond to the comments on your Facebook page wall. It will make all the difference in the world. It will make people want to come back and read more. Just try it out.
Social media is everywhere and you know by now that you should be riding the wave as well. Maybe you even tried it out already. Did you reach the results that you wanted?
One of the key factors for social media success is to know your business goals. You need to answer the question: “why do I want to use social media?” Without knowing your ultimate goal, you will be a ship without a rudder. You need to know where you want to head to in order to choose the right way how to get there.
The second key factor for social media success is that you need to know your target audience. If you do not know what your target audience needs, you are shooting with a shotgun instead of a rifle. You might get them and you might not. Especially important are the needs and wants of your target audience, so you can choose the right channels and the right approach to reach them.
The final key factor for social media success is that you need to have a strategy in place and use it. You know what you want to achieve, you know what your target audience needs, now you need to plan the best strategy how to get there. Do not forget to add specific measurements into your strategy, so you can measure where you are in your plan.
All three together will lead you to be successful in social media.
