S.M.A.R.T. Social Media Goals

When you are creating content for social media, just as with any other important endeavor it is helpful to have clearly defined goals in mind. That’s where SMART goals come in handy.

If you’re unfamiliar with SMART goals, here is a quick explanation:

S – Specific. Clearly state the objective. What is it you want to accomplish?

M – Measurable. Define how the goal will be measured so that progress can be tracked. This helps you understand if you’re on track and how you might make improvements.

A – Attainable. Ask yourself if your goal is actually achievable. Are there factors that could hinder progress? Do you have the capabilities or resources and time to commit to the goal?

R – Relevant. Is this goal relevant to your long-term strategy (or other goals you may be creating?)

T – Time-bound. Set a clear start date and completion date so there is no confusion about when the goal needs to be met. This will help you stay on track.

Since often the first goal for any brand on social media is awareness, let’s use that as our example. After all, people won’t sign up for what you’re offering if they aren’t even aware of you!

A SMART goal might look like this:

Increase brand awareness by having 3 posts reach an audience of 500 by October 1.

You can see this goal is specific (increase brand awareness to 500), measurable (3 posts reaching 500 views), achievable (your current audience is less than 500 and you want to grow to 500 in a few weeks), relevant (you can’t offer services if they don’t know you), and time-bound (starting today and completing by October 1.)

Now that you have a SMART goal for your social media, the next time you sit down to work on marketing you’ll know exactly what you are aiming for. Even if you don’t reach your goal in the allotted time, you will have learned a lot and can create new goals based on what you’ve learned.