How to set social media marketing objectives

Social media marketing objectives are the foundation of any good social media marketing strategy. They help guide you in the right direction and give you a clear vision of what you need to achieve. They also help show what’s working by giving you something concrete to measure your progress against.

What are the differences between goals and objectives?

It has been said that goals that do no have objectives can never be achieved. On the other hand, objectives that do not have goals will never get you to where you want to be. Indeed, the two concepts are related and are however separate. Making use of both can enable you (or the organisation) to be as well as do what you want to do.

Some management academics would state that the difference between goals and objectives is:

• A goal is a narrative of a destination, and
• An objective is a gauge of the progress that is required to get to the destination.

In this context, goals are the long-term outcomes you (or the organisation) want or need to achieve. More often than not, these social media marketing goals can be divided into chunks or objectives.

• Goals are often open as well as unstructured in nature. In addition, goals can be fluid and are directional in nature.
• Objectives tend to be single, achievable outcomes. They are concrete in statement as well as purpose. There is no ambiguity about if they have been achieved or not.

Remember the following goals:

• They should align with the needs of the brand or business
• The potential gains should outweigh the costs

Remember the following objectives:

• These should align with the chosen goal
• These should be small, easily achievable steps
• The completion of these should mark the path to completion

Why setting objectives is important for any social media marketing team

• Gives your team a sense of direction and a common goal to work towards
• Provides real metrics you can track to see how you’re progressing every week
• Shows you where to allocate your time and resources for the best results, making your team more efficient with the resources they have
• Removes the guesswork from how you can reach your goals
• Helps you motivate and reward your team when they meet their objectives
• Most importantly, helps grow your revenue or profit in a measurable way

Produce S.M.A.R.T social media marketing goals

A common goal-setting technique is to be SMART. This can be an excellent guideline for creating goals that work for your company.

S.M.A.R.T stands for:

• Specific: Your goals should be clear, simple as well as defined.
• Measurable: This is where analytics come in. You need a goal which has one or more metrics.
• Achievable: Is it achievable or not among your resources?
• Realistic: With your current resources of time in addition to money, is it possible to attain your goals?
• Time-sensitive: Every goal needs a time frame, whether it’s one year or several months.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

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