The past 2 years have been turbulent, to say the least, and it’s normal that during periods of stress or reconfiguration, plans and goals can change or be lost in the movement. Did you lose track of your social media goals last year? Did your business have to pivot and start again?
That’s okay – social media is a marathon, not a sprint, it’s time to make 2022 your year! Pandemic aside we want you to succeed, so we have created your blueprint to setting and achieving your social media goals this year. Just follow these 7 steps!
Get your ducks in a row
If you’re using LinkedIn, check your profile has all the settings filled out and you have taken the opportunity to use all the new capabilities this platform has to offer.
If you are using planners or scheduling apps like Later or Plannerly make sure they are attached to your accounts and working properly.
This is a great time to check for updates across your social platforms and 3rd party apps to see if there are any settings or services you might be interested in using for the year.
It is also a good chance to pair it back by choosing 1-2 social platforms to prioritise and focus your goals on these platforms in particular. Social media is not a 1 size fits all situation, and not all platforms will service a business the same. Take this opportunity to figure out what ones work the best for you.
Do your research
Before setting your goals it’s good to get a look at what is happening out on the world wide web first and have a look at what your peers in the industry are up to. As with any business, market research is super important. It allows you to see where else your potential clients/customers are and what is interesting them. It can also help you spark ideas, spot new business opportunities and perhaps potential business partners.
Furthermore, it can help you determine where you might aspire to be by the end of the year, or what you would like to do differently.
Check in with your target audience
As part of your overall business strategy, you want to outline who your ideal target market is. These people are the reason you are doing what you’re doing and who will help you achieve your overall goals.
“One of the most effective things you can do to market your product smartly and efficiently is narrow your gaze – in other words, prioritize.” Chuck Cohn.
You want to learn who they are, where they are, what they do, what are they looking for, and whether their needs changed. Learning and developing these insights into your audience lets you successfully target and in turn deliver your services or product to them. When you find the right target audience you build a community and the growth to your social profiles and business comes naturally.
Develop your strategy
We recommend revising your social media (or business) strategy every couple of years to ensure it is still aligned with your business and goals – especially if you have done a pivot in business in the past year.
When you’ve got your accounts ready, and you have checked in with your peers and your audience, it’s time to get strategizing. Before you can start setting goals you need to know exactly what you’re looking to achieve, who you want to speak to, what metrics are important to you and your goals and lastly what timeline you want to work with.
Social media metrics are what we use to demonstrate the results or insights to the work done on social media and the impact of the changes you have implemented. It’s specifically interesting to track when you have a goal in mind and want to check in to see how your accounts are measuring. What metrics you choose to track depend on your goal. You can check out the value of each metric and when to track them here.
Set SMART goals
At this stage, you can see the bigger picture. You know your who, how, why, and where. Now it’s time to get SMART! Setting yourself S.M.A.R.T goals allows you to have a clear path with measurable outcomes. Follow the outline below to set realistic goals.
- Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
- Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
- Achievable (agreed, attainable).
- Relevant (reasonable, realistic, resourced, results-based).
- Time-bound (time-based, time-limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive
See more tips for using the S.M.A.R.T framework here.
We believe in setting yourself up for success, rather than failure. Of course, reach for the sky, but think realistically. Setting goals that are within reach can help you keep a positive mindset and be more accommodating for setbacks that may arise.
Analyse and report frequently
To know whether you are succeeding or need to realign your tactics you need to follow the data.
Set yourself a schedule for reporting, so you can analyse what is working and what isn’t regularly and change your strategy accordingly. As we said earlier, social media is a marathon, and you need to plan for the long game.
Checking in on your chosen metrics and writing down the data can help you build a timeline of growth so you can see the picture more clearly. It’s amazing what you can see when you look at the data!
Reporting can assist help you to develop informed content creation, implement smarter scheduling, and overall help you refine your strategy. As well as measuring your S.M.A.R.T goals!
Continue to check in with your competitors
You need to keep in touch with the world around you, it can be easy to get tunnel-vision when you have created a strategy and set your goals. For example: working away at your own page and not taking in what’s happening on pages around you.
We don’t expect you to copy pages with more followers or replicate every trend around, but it pays to know what is trending so you can align your business where it is suited and join communities that can support you and join the journey with you.
We hope you can set and kick your goals this year and we can’t wait to see it!
As always, our doors are open and our strategy minds are at the ready, so if you are feeling a bit bewildered give us a shout! Otherwise, check out our other blogs on building social media marketing strategies for more tips.
