How Can You Set Effective Goals for Social Media Marketing Projects?
Ever wondered how top social media marketers set their project goals for maximum impact? Insights from a CMO and a marketing manager shed light on this crucial process. This article reveals seven expert strategies, beginning with understanding your unique value proposition and concluding with setting SMART goals for campaigns. Discover actionable steps that can transform your social media marketing efforts.
- Understand Your Unique Value Proposition
- Write Out Stepping-Stones for Projects
- Clarify Messaging and Audience Understanding
- Use Automation and CRM Tools
- Take an Agile Approach
- Identify Key Metrics and Objectives
- Set SMART Goals for Campaigns
Understand Your Unique Value Proposition
Before you think about goals, think about your Unique Value Proposition. Does it clearly answer the question: “Why should anyone care about your product or service?” If it doesn’t, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and craft a UVP that stands out—just like you did when you started your business. Your marketing campaign needs to grab attention immediately.
With billions of websites and businesses out there competing for clients, you often have just seven seconds to catch someone’s interest. Right, that’s not much time! So, if you’re at a networking event and get a chance to chat, your Unique Value Proposition needs to make an impact right away!
If your value isn’t strong or lacks that magic sauce, you might as well just hand over your money instead of spending it on marketing—because you’ll likely see no results. It’s surprising how many businesses overlook this crucial step.
Your first goal should be to really understand your UVP. A great way to start is by using the Lean Business Model Canvas. Take your time with it; this process will help you answer your own questions. Once you’ve nailed down three objectives, it’s all about testing. Test, test, test! If one objective isn’t converting, ditch it and try something new. Keep experimenting until you find what really works.
There’s no magic bullet here—just focused effort. Marketing a weak UVP is like throwing your money away on someone you don’t know. Don’t waste your time or cash!
Kate Dzhevaga
CMO, Head of Growth, SYMVOLT
Write Out Stepping-Stones for Projects
When working on projects, no matter if they are big or small, I find that writing or typing everything out of what needs to be done is a great place to start.
For example, a Black Friday project, you want to first discuss the goals you are hoping to see from the campaign. Whether it’s a jump in followers, a certain amount of shares, or several sales from social media alone, it’s important to know the goals from the company before moving to the next step of planning.
I find that writing out stepping-stones of what needs to be done is beneficial. What content we are going to be posting, what content can be shared across multiple platforms, what content won’t be shared across platforms, writing out a script for videos, saving down ideas, and writing out what you’ll be doing in the videos. Pictures/graphics that need to be designed, what product, then scheduling out days to create a chunk of content so that you have dedicated time to complete filming and editing before sending it over for approval and then scheduling the final content.
By throwing everything out right away, it can help you properly sort all of what needs to be done and by when so that you can plan efficiently.
Lindsey Wolf
Marketing Manager, SportingSmiles
Clarify Messaging and Audience Understanding
In my experience as the founder of BusinessBldrs.com and now AgencyBuilders.com, setting effective social media marketing goals begins with clarity in your messaging and audience understanding. At AgencyBuilders.com, I focus on creating content that aligns with the values and mission of the businesses I work with. For example, by promoting leadership development and community networking through social platforms, I’ve helped agencies grow by connecting them with like-minded professionals.
Concrete data is vital. For instance, at BusinessBldrs.com, I used HubSpot analytics to track key performance indicators like engagement and lead quality. By implementing story-driven content around actionable business strategies, we saw a 25% boost in client onboarding inquiries within six months. Using data to adjust goals ensures content is not only reaching but resonating with your target audience.
Additionally, cultivating a supportive community has been instrumental. Through structured online communities and events like those offered by AgencyBuilders.com, agencies can sustain their marketing efforts by actively engaging and learning from each other. Creating these interconnected environments translates into authentic brand growth and goal achievement.
Jay Owen
CEO, Business Builders
Use Automation and CRM Tools
In my experience with digital marketing, setting effective social media goals begins with understanding your audience and their behaviors. At Hook’d IT Up, we’ve used our all-in-one software to analyze client engagement patterns, helping businesses like Northstar Exteriors achieve a 30% increase in local traffic. This was done by focusing on audience-specific content, helping them attract more relevant leads through custom social media strategies.
Next, consider utilizing automation and CRM tools. Our clients have successfully used our dashboard to streamline messaging and engagement. For instance, using automated reminders for review generation has helped Bliss Baking Co. improve their online reputation, gathering more positive customer feedback, which led to a notable boost in customer inquiries.
Finally, align your goals with broader business objectives. For Rapha Massage, we integrated conversion tracking through social platforms, which allowed us to adjust strategies in real time and improve their conversion rates by 25%. Ensuring your social media efforts contribute to tangible business outcomes is key to effective goal-setting.
Josh Hook
Agency Owner, Hook’d IT Up
Take an Agile Approach
Setting effective goals for projects, especially in social media marketing, begins with understanding your target audience and aligning your objectives with business outcomes. At Aprimo, we focus on data-driven strategies. For instance, when I was at NAVEX Global, we identified a specific audience segment interested in compliance solutions and customized our social media campaigns to provide educational content. This increased our lead-conversion rate by 15%.
Another key is utilizing an agile approach. Our team uses dynamic marketing calendars that allow us to adjust our strategies in real-time based on performance metrics. This practice was beneficial at Lob, where we managed to decrease campaign delays and promptly responded to market changes, enhancing our brand visibility significantly.
Always measure the impact beyond traffic. For instance, at Aprimo, we focus on Return on Effort (ROE) rather than just ROI, ensuring that every piece of content we create leads to conversions or nurtures leads effectively. This holistic approach often reveals deeper insights into what kinds of content and tactics truly engage our audience.
Julie Ginn
Vice President Global Revenue Marketing, Aprimo
Identify Key Metrics and Objectives
As a digital marketer, setting effective goals starts with identifying your clients’ key business objectives. With Horizon Family Medical Group, their goal was boosting new-patient acquisition, so we aimed to increase website traffic and engagement on social media. By researching their audience and tailoring content to address specific needs, we achieved a 30% increase in engagement, driving more leads.
For Dune Music Festival, ticket sales were the priority. We crafted an experience-based social campaign tapping into the community’s shared values around music and culture. The result was a surge in ticket purchases, meeting the broader business goal.
For TLC Speech, providing Spanish content expanded their reach to Latino families. Translating website and social media content led to 40% more user interaction and uncovered a new audience segment. Setting multicultural goals and leveraging language expertise can open up global opportunities.
The key is aligning goals to the bigger picture. Look beyond vanity metrics like likes or shares and focus on meaningful business outcomes. Then craft a strategy using research, personalization, and multimedia to achieve those goals. Start with one platform or campaign, test and learn, then scale up successes.
Joshua Fleming
Digital Marketing Strategist, Local Digital Buzz
Set SMART Goals for Campaigns
What you want to do is start by defining what you want to do, why it matters, and how you’re going to do it. This can be things like raising brand awareness, increasing conversions, or driving more traffic to your website. Even though they teach you about SMART goals in marketing class, and you think you will never use them—it’s this part of the process where they really do come into play. Setting SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) will make it much easier to paint a picture of what you want to do, giving you overall clarity and a direction to work towards and benchmark against.
After you have set these goals, and the marketing efforts have started, you can use them to benchmark against to determine your success. Of course, the process isn’t this linear, and your goals can change—but they do give a good starting point.
Breanna Hendry
Social Media Marketing Director, Minky Couture
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