1. How much time do you currently spend on marketing and communication tasks?
By calculating how much time you’re currently spending you’ll be able to allocate time for your social media activities. I find this exercise really useful as we often aren’t aware how much or how little time we’re spending on our marketing and business development.
2. How much time do you think you can allocate specifically to social media?
Social Media can not only be addictive but it’s also very easy to get side-tracked and before you know it you’ve spent hours on Facebook without actually achieving anything. The more specific and disciplined you can be with your time the better your results.
3. What social media networks and activities do have experience with?
Are you a pro on Facebook but have never used Twitter? Have you got a blog and are an active blogger? Have you got a LinkedIn profile… but it’s still not completed? Have you got lots of videos but still need to list them on YouTube. Are you a fan of forums?
4. Do you have the relevant skill set?
Social media is primarily content based. Are you good at writing content in your niche subject? Can you create awesome videos? Are you knowledgeable in your niche? Think about the skill set you need to have a successful social media campaign. Highlight where you think you may need to outsource, i.e. if you wanted to outsource article writing. Just because you don’t have the skill set for something doesn’t mean you still can’t do it – simply outsource it so you can focus on what you do best!
5. What are your social media goals?
There are many goals you can achieve via social media, for example you could use social media for any or all of the following:
- Build excitement prior to an event
- Build your email list
- Create a buzz about a launch product
- Create joint ventures
- Drive traffic to your website(s)
- Generate PR (press coverage)
- Generate Speaking Opportunities
- Get suppliers
- Get your fans to talk about you
- Getting feedback from your services/products/events
- Increase Brand or issue awareness
- Introducing colleagues
- Lead generation
- Network with like-minded individuals
- Search for opportunities
- Promote an event
- Recruit staff or outsourcers
- Reach companies/people you may not have been able to get in front of in the offline world
- Research and learning
- Sell products online
- Sell your services
- Share the latest industry news with your fans/followers
- Show your expertise
- Support charities
- Understanding what others are saying about you
- Reputation management
6. Pick 3 of your top goals and make sure they are S.M.A.R.T. -Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-based.
7. Who is your target audience? Who do you want to reach? Which is the best method to reach and get your message across to them?
8. What motivates you to interact with other brands via social media? What can you offer? Be creative
Think about what has stood out for you from other brands. The more creative and different you can be the better. I love Toy Story’s Facebook Fan Page, not only do they have the welcome page but they have also have a fun page where you can turn yourself into a toy. Obviously this won’t be applicable for every business but by thinking outside the box and coming up with creative ways to build interaction with your readers and potential clients the better your results.
9. What will you share? What will you shout about? What will your content be about?
This sounds really obvious but it can be hard coming up with fresh content all the time. Whilst it’s important to write about your knowledge within your niche area you can also write about other things as long as there is some kind of connection. Don’t be afraid to ask your readers what they would like to see as well.
10. How will you measure your results? How will you know what you’re doing is working?
Identify the following and put into a spreadsheet so you can measure your results on a week by week basis. Work out the financial return on investment (factoring in how much time you have spent on your social media)
- Number of fans, followers, readers (or number of high-quality/targeted fans)
- Number of video or other content views
- Volume of user comments posted to your blog, profile or posted content
- Retweet or peer-sharing statistics for related content and posts
- Comment or retweet resonation (number of user comments multiplied by how many followers or friends each user has)
- Engagement (duration of video views, time spent on your blog site, time spent playing your branded game application, etc.)
- Media coverage
- Media impressions (mentions on blogs or other media multiplied by the size of the audience)
- Advertising click-through rates
- Company website traffic statistics
- Quantity of new qualified leads or sales
- Volume of customer service issues handled.
Lilach
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30 Responses to What Are Your Social Media Goals?
Great guidelines and realistic approach..
Thanks Curtis, appreciate your comments. I’m a big fan of keeping things simple:)
Lilach
Twitter: lilachbullock
Love this post, i always do the S.M.A.R.T approach, this will help people make sure they are spending there time wisely
Twitter: lewys_sfm
Hi Lewys
Thanks for your comments. Yes I also love the S.M.A.R.T approach, it really helps when you’re putting together a marketing plan.
Twitter: lilachbullock
excellent thank you so much
Thanks Timothy, my pleasure, pleased you found the article useful:)
Twitter: lilachbullock
Great article Lilach – common sense, clear and focussed ideas for everyone to consider when they setup their Social media paltforms for success.
Carol
better known as the How2 Girl
Thanks Carol appreciate your comments. You’re spot on – marketing and social media marketing is all about having common sense and clear and focused ideas.
It’s like a recipe for success:)
Twitter: lilachbullock
I use social media to build my reputation. People won’t buy my company’s products and servcies if they’ve never heard of me, or if they don’t remember me.
When I meet people for the first time, possibly at networking events, I want them to say one or more of the following:
“I follow you on Twitter.”
“I’m a fan of your Facebook page.”
“I’m a member of your LinkedIn group.”
All three would be great!
Yes social media is a fabulous way to build your reputation whilst being able to monitor what’s being said about you.
I love your networking approach – that works really well for me too. It’s great to finally meet people that you’ve been building a relationship online with too.
Twitter: lilachbullock
I love this piece – particularly the concept of having allocating a certain amount of time for social media. I have to do just that or I get sucked in and forget to do my real job! Thanks for an excellent reminder (I’ve been “sucked in” this afternoon and should probably finish some work before I go home!)
Thanks Lillian, my pleasure. Yes I have to time myself religiously with social media, it’s scary how before you know it an hour has passed by.
There is a great app http://app.chrometa.com/ which tracks exactly what you do on your computer. If you stop working to check your email or get on Facebook (however many times a day!) the app will let you know.
Twitter: lilachbullock
Nice piece. #2 is the biggie for so many small businesses owners. There is a whole other camp who don’t realize the amount of time you have to dedicate to keep your presence consistent. Once they are educated about what a successful engagement plan looks like they often respond “I don’t have time to do all that”. My response is always to walk before you run and take a tool at a time.
Lisa that is so true. So many business owners have no idea how long it takes (not to mention the amount of effort etc.) It’s funny how many SME’s I meet with who say they want to achieve my results by spending 30 minutes a day on social media…
I agree, it’s better to have a really good consistent profile on one platform rather than spread about everywhere and hardly any activity showing.
Twitter: lilachbullock
Well written and informative article. Thanks for this interest content and insight Lilach! http://www.facebook.com/AllThatsSocial
Thanks, appreciate your great comment:)
Twitter: lilachbullock
Comprehensive article and useful reminders about keeping things SMART (& Simple!) when planning & implementing SM strategies! Thanks Lilach!
Claire recently posted..5 Twitter Tips to Get You Noticed
Thanks Claire, my pleasure:)
Twitter: lilachbullock
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Some more great advice, thanks Lilach. As someone who is completely new to social media I find the advice on using your time effectively to be very relevant. I’m quite time poor with a 3 year old and a 3 month old child so actually getting on the internet is a struggle in itself. Once i’m on I have limited time and lots of learning to do so I have to remind myself that although having the best score on Bejeweled Blitz amongst my Facebook friends is great, by no stretch of the imagination does it mean I can cross ‘learn more about social media and implement some strategies’ off my daily to do list! Showing up is one thing but using your time effectively while you are there is another thing.
Thanks Scott:) I completely relate to the time poor situation – I also have a young daughter, she’s 7 now so it’s a lot easier as she’s at school but still I have to be incredibly disciplined with my time otherwise I just won’t get everything done.
Twitter: lilachbullock
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Thanks for this. I’ll use these bulletpoints to update and complete our business plan.
Twitter: chromilo
Lilach – I love this post! Been following your work on Twitter and really have been enjoying what you put out.
I always feel like the “bearer of bad news” when I speak to people about why planning is so important, but it is! Once I was talking to a client about that how “if you don’t have a plan with goals, you plan to fail” and an image of my mother scolding me as a child flashed before my eyes.
But in the end, having a strategy with clear cut goals saves money, time and lots of frustration.
Twitter: chrisgomedia
Hi Lilach,
Another gold nugget! You certainly know where the mine is. Thanks for this article. This is going to be a very important issue for small business people entering into social media for the first time and it is not their core business. It would be the basis for a good ebook for small business or do you already have one?
Regards
John Cosstick
John Cosstick recently posted..Have You Had Your eBook Published On Kindle?
Twitter: frelanceWkGuide
Great read. I often find myself completely sidetracked by perusing social networks instead of actually using them for work! This is a great guide to establish a basic social media strategy.
Twitter: Socialnooby
Wonderful article, Lilach. Very informative. It’s too easy to spend time sharing and posting, all the while, not even having my goals in mind.
I Love the S.M.A.R.T. approach.
Thanks.
Twitter: brandtips
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Thanks for another very useful article Lilach. It will assist me in starting 2013 with much more focus.
Twitter: JimRN