Get SMART on Social Media

Get S.M.A.R.T on Social Media

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” – Peter Drucker

So you’ve set up your firm’s social media profiles and you’re all fired up to get posting. However, you now realize that it’s not just about posting that ‘Instagram-worthy’ image, you need to consider why you are putting out content in the first place. Well, stick around and let us share with you a thing or two about setting brilliant goals for your social media strategy.

Goals are vital in helping you track your progress and keeping your digital marketing efforts focused. Putting down a detailed plan on how you intend to live a healthier lifestyle will aid you in keeping score on your workout sessions and figure out whether the daily nyama choma indulgence is holding you back from eating cleaner. In the same way, optimizing your social media presence requires a well thought-out blueprint to increase the chances of achieving your ultimate objective as a brand.

The S.M.A.R.T Goal Framework

Several self-help and entrepreneurial reading material have recommended using the S.M.A.R.T framework to set goals that are – specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.

• Specific

Growing your social media audience is a great goal but pretty vague. How many followers are you looking to gain? Which social media platforms are you targeting? Clarity makes it easier for you to determine what exactly you are forging towards.

• Measurable

The ability or inability to measure a goal determines how specific it is and whether it is making a contribution towards attaining the firm’s objectives. Perhaps you want to use social to monitor brand awareness, how will you know how many people are familiar with your brand? The number of impressions per posts? How many profile views you get monthly? The value of numbers cannot be overstated as you are able to figure out how far or close you are to achieving your aim.

• Attainable

You definitely want to steer clear of being overambitious. Looking to jump from an engagement rate of 1% to 8% within a few months is quite a stretch and will have you and your team scrambling to hit a poorly chosen target. While a “go big or go home” perspective can get you motivated, a realistic approach to goal-setting may be gradual but fruitful in the long run.

• Relevant

Just like investing in a credit card terminal may not be suitable for your “2 bob per page” photocopy services, putting lots of effort into content that will be irrelevant to your objective is a waste of time and resources. Looking to drive traffic to a website’s landing page? Then adding a link to your captions will be more effective compared to just uploading a glossy image for your posts.

• Timely

Procrastination…the feeling that you have an entire lifetime to get things done. Putting down due dates on various tasks gives you and your team that extra push to make sure you stay on top of things.

You can now warm your cup of coffee, take out your notebook and begin goal-setting! Hello #SocialMediaGoals.