Goal Setting! How to set clear social media goals.
We’ve officially reached the end of August and the end of Q3. Which means you have one final quarter to achieve those big 2020 goals you set back in January. Or, to set new goals to achieve in the months ahead.
For some, setting goals is a scary proposition, and something to be avoided.
For others, setting goals is a set of lofty ideals you hope to achieve, but with nothing solid in place to make it happen.
And for some, setting goals is a lesson in disappointment and therefore a disheartening endeavor.
But I like to think of goals as a really practical way to get stuff done! They are a way to propel you, and your work, forward in practical, specific ways.
You’ve probably heard the old adage that goals should be S.M.A.R.T. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. That’s all well and good but what does that mean in the practical?
So let’s say one of your goals is: to increase my Instagram engagement rate.
Just having that as your goal isn’t SMART, basically because it isn’t actionable. How will you know you have reached your goal? How can you set yourself up to achieve it if you don’t know what you are trying to accomplish? How can you set smaller goals to see this one?
A better way to set that goal would be: To increase my Instagram engagement from 4% to 6% by December 31.
This goal is SMART. It gives you a set deadline, a specific number goal that can be met, a way to measure success as well as a way to set goals along the way to achieving this bigger one.
Knowing this bigger goal, you can then look at the month of September and decide you are going to work at increasing your engagement from 4% to 4.5%, through a series of actions that help to strengthen engagement and by culling your current follower count to eliminate dead/spam accounts.
That monthly goal will allow you to drill down to set weekly goals. For instance… Week one: work on creating better CTAs on all your posts, and stories. Week two: cull followers to eliminate those that are weighing your account down. Weeks three and four: interact with current followers to encourage similar behavior.
So, consider your goals for Q4. Are they SMART? Do they give you a clear goal to reach for and stepping stones along the way?
