Every day, we find more brands that are aware of the importance of investing in social media strategies. Over the past several years, we have seen how marketers use social media as a primary method of communication in B2B and B2C strategies.
Social media is not an isolated channel anymore, and as a result, this tool has been integrated into many businesses’ marketing efforts to get them the best results.
We have to take into consideration that social media allows us to:
- Achieve brand awareness
- Expand your community
- Target the right audiences
- Strengthen engagement, which leads to increased brand loyalty
- Increase customer satisfaction and positive brand perception
- Convert social followers into qualified leads and new business
You can achieve all of those things mentioned above, but how are you going to do it? We have the answer: if you want to succeed on social media, you just have to think SMART. Notice that the term is entirely capitalized. What does that signify?
As many social media users already know, your goals are not just something you want to achieve, or a mere implementation of the latest trend you saw online. They also need to include certain metrics that allow you to measure your level of success.
Considering the five things associated with this acronym will give you a better idea of what you want to achieve with your overall social media strategy.
Specificity (What?)- the more specific you are when you define your goal, the easier it will be to see what you are trying to achieve. It ultimately leads to a clear vision of the work you are to set out on going forward.
Example: I would like to increase my Twitter followers.
Measurability (How much?)- Once you set a specific goal, you want to make sure each step along the way has a metric that you can use to examine your progress.
Example: I would like to increase my Twitter followers by 10%.
Attainability (How?) - You can set as many goals with as many prerequisites as you feel is necessary, but they will mean nothing if you have no realistic way of obtaining them.
Example: I will increase 10% of my Twitter followers by creating organic content.
Relevance (Why?)- Any relevant goal is closely aligned to your professional objectives. Does this goal support your business’s objectives, vision, and values?
Example: By creating organic content to generate more outreach and win brand awareness, I will increase my Twitter followers by 10%.
Timeframe (When?)- Always give your goal a reasonable deadline. Set some secondary goals to achieve quickly, and set some primary goals for the future. You will see along the way how these two enrich each other and what you need to revise your strategy, should it be necessary to do so.
Example: By creating organic content to generate more reach and win brand awareness, I expect to increase my Twitter followers by 10% no later than October 3rd, 2019.
Having a defined objective will allow you to have a clear picture of what you want to do and the best way to achieve it. That is why thinking SMART is so important when it comes to social media marketing strategies.Acting SMART in your social media will allow you to set goals that will take you and your business to the next level.
