Building Your Social Media Strategy: Part 2 - Setting S.M.A.R.T. Objectives [Free Printable]
Is your New Year's resolution still fresh in your mind? How’s it going so far?
Many of us aim too high with our goals and objectives, which can ultimately lead to quitting:
“I want to lose 100 pounds before the end of this year.”
“I’m going to make my first million dollars in six months.”
“I’ll quit my job and start my own business next month.”
All of these are unattainable because there is no plan attached to any of them. If you want to achieve your goals, you’ve gotta break them down into actionable steps that are S.M.A.R.T.
Social media objectives
Before we can break down our goals, we need to figure out what we want to achieve. Your social media strategy needs to aim for something, whether it be more followers, sales, or leads. When we have these in place, we can tailor our content to align with these goals.
We can’t just have “gain 1 million followers” as an objective either. It’s way too unattainable! So, using the S.M.A.R.T. method, we’ll end up with smaller strategies and steps to eventually reach the overarching goal.
What does S.M.A.R.T. mean?
S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym that will guide you towards successful goal setting:
Specific: Your goal should be clear on its significance to your overarching plan for social media success.
For example, if you want to gain 1,000 followers on Instagram, your goal should look something like, “I want to learn about Instagram marketing and engagement strategies so that I can foster my online audience and grow my following.”
Measurable: Tracking your progress and seeing your wins week after week, month after month will allow you to stay motivated.
For example, if you want to make $5,000 in online sales, your goal should look something like, “I want to sell 10 online training spots by hosting 3 free, online masterclasses.”
Achievable: Stretching yourself too thin is no way to achieve success. By creating achievable and attainable goals that align with your current knowledge and skills, you’re quicker to find success.
For example, if you want to start your own YouTube channel, your goal should look something like, “I will write a script and film two videos before launching.”
Relevant: Does it matter? Does it relate to your overall growth and success? A relevant goal will answer “yes” to these questions and more, such as: “Do I have the skills to achieve this?”, “Does this align with my current business/professional situation?”, “Does this seem like a worthwhile use of my time?”
For example, if you want to grow your business using Pinterest, your goal should look something like, “I will design and post two pins per week to promote my blog posts.”
Time sensitive: Adding a date or deadline provides you with a timeline to complete your goal. It’s a good idea to break your goals down into weekly tasks so you can stay on track. Over time, you’ll notice growing closer and closer to achieving the overarching goal.
For example, if you want to grow your email list from zero to 1,000, your WEEKLY goals should look something like, “I will create an editorial calendar”, “I will organize a photo shoot for this email series”, and/or “I will create this freebie as an offer for my following.”
This is a super effective system for goal setting, and will keep you motivated! Print out and track your own objectives and goals using the S.M.A.R.T. systems with the freebie below:
Stick around for next week for PART THREE when we’re reviewing setting up and sticking to a schedule when publishing our posts!
