In the last two articles, we’ve discussed how social media used by brands differs from the way it’s used by individuals. One of the key things that set it apart, is that when you use social media as part of a marketing strategy, you need to set goals and targets that determine and drive the way it’s used.

How do you go about choosing the right social media goals? 

The first question to ask yourself is why are you on social media in the first place? Are you there to create brand awareness, build a community, drive sales? 

Once you have an idea of what you want, make sure you don’t get carried away and set yourself S.M.A.R.T. goals: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-sensitive.

Some examples of social media goals to choose from: 

1. Increase Brand Awareness

Perhaps the most important but also the broadest goal, creating brand awareness, can be measured and tracked across time by gaining an insight into the impression you are creating with your target audience. 

Here are some key performance indicators that can help you track it: followers, impressions, traffic, reach.

2. Increasing community engagement

Creating and encouraging community engagement is crucial to the success of your social media campaign. In addition to that, community engagement can help you streamline your brand voice and make meaningful connections with your audience.

Some KPIs to choose from include clicks, likes, shares, comments, and mentions.

3. Growing your brand’s audience

Finally, it’s important to keep growing your brand’s community on social media. You can do so by figuring out what kind of content performs well, what people are looking for, and ways to attract new followers by using contests, influencer campaigns, and other ideas.

Relevant KPIs here include mentions, engagement rate, and followers

4. Generate Leads and Sales 

For a lot of brands, generating sales is the most important goal and you can do so by running ads. However, to make the success of your campaign measurable and easy-to-adapt, you would have to track the following :

• How you funnel your social traffic to relevant landing pages
• What kind of creatives and calls-to-action are working well 
• Who is your target audience for your ads and sales messages

So, are you ready to fine-tune your social media strategy with these S.M.A.R.T social media goals?