Step 2: Make SMART Goals

Now that you have completed step one and understand what marketing channels perform best, it’s time to move on to step two… Set SMART Goals.  

The acronym SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.  Defining your goals by these criteria will ensure that you stay on target in meeting your objectives. 

Specific:

For a goal to be successful, you need to have a clear understanding of what the goal is. To make a specific goal, it is helpful to focus on the What, Why, and Who.  Ask the following questions:

• What: What exactly do we want to accomplish
• Why: What are the reasons for the goal or outcome we are expecting?
• Who:  Who is needed to accomplish the goal?

Example of a Specific Goal:  

Grow the number of click-throughs to ABCs website from our social platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn by creating targeted ad campaigns with calls to action. 

Measurable:

Quantifying your goals allows you to track progress and know when the goal has been reached.  

Example of a Specific and Measurable Goal:

Increase the number of click-throughs by 10% to ABC’s website from our social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn by creating targeted ad campaigns with calls to action.

Achievable:

Goals need to be realistic.  Ask yourself, is your objective something your team can reasonably accomplish? Taking the example from above, you might see that with the size of your team, creating ad campaigns for four social networks is not attainable. Therefore, now is the time to adjust the goal.

Example of a Specific, Measurable, and Achievable Goal:

Increase the number of click-throughs by 10% to ABC’s website from our social media platforms: Facebook and Instagram, by creating targeted ad campaigns with calls to action.

Relevant:

This is where the research you did in step one comes into play.  Why are you setting the goal and choosing the channels that you are using? 

Example of a Specific, Measurable, Achievable, and Relevant Goal:

Increase the number of click-throughs by 10% to ABC’s website from our social media platforms: Facebook and Instagram, by creating targeted ad campaigns with calls to action. Customers are coming to our website most often through Facebook and Instagram, so shifting dollars to focus on growing these channels will increase brand awareness and profitability.

Time Bound:

To measure success, there needs to be a beginning and end to your goal.  This also keeps everyone on target. 

Example of a Specific, Measurable, Achievable, and Relevant Goal:

Increase the number of click-throughs by 10% to ABC’s website from our social media platforms: Facebook and Instagram, by creating targeted ad campaigns with calls to action that will begin on Nov. 15, 2022, and end on Jan. 30, 2023.  Customers are coming to our website most often through Facebook and Instagram, so shifting dollars to focus on growing these channels will increase brand awareness and profitability.

Setting SMART goals is a good practice whenever you are establishing objectives for your marketing strategy. Still, it is vital to take a proactive instead of reactive approach in a slowing economy. We hope this blog on SMART goals has been informative and has provided you with tips to help your marketing strategy!