Everybody uses social media, there’s no avoiding it. It’s our number one place to stay connected to friends, family, colleagues, news, and, most importantly to marketers, companies and brands.
There are now more than 2.3 billion active social media users, which makes social media an unavoidable part of your marketing strategy. Unlike the past where marketers blindly advertised and hoped for the best, social media provides your company the opportunity to engage with customers in real time. Customer complaint? You can solve it. Positive customer review? You can thank the user and offer a gift or promotion.
Simply being there isn’t enough. Your company needs to engage and interact to grow a loyal following.
Setting S.M.A.R.T. Social Media Goals
The most important aspect of any social media marketing strategy is to set S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) goals. Posting blindly and expecting to achieve massive amounts of new sales would be like cooking without the right ingredients and expecting perfection. By setting goals before you begin, it’s easier to measure success or failure. These goals aren’t always focused on money or return on investment, and they shouldn’t be. Social media marketing is more about engagement and providing solutions to problems rather than selling.
5 Goals of Social Media Marketing:
1. Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is all about your brand becoming relevant to potential buyers. This means posting content regularly that answers the questions your customers are asking. That content includes links to blog posts, infographics, statistics, and relevant articles. But don’t forget to show the world who your brand is by posting photos of employees, the office, and company events. You can also post humorous, relevant memes that support your brand. This will help build a connection with customers.
Analytics to Track:
Example of S.M.A.R.T. Goal:
Gain 1,000 Twitter followers by the end of the month.
2. Enhance Public Relations
By following your company’s mentions, you can find out what customers are saying about your brand, and respond to complaints in a timely manner. In fact, according to Social Media Today, when companies engage and respond to customer service requests over social media, those customers end up spending 20% – 40% more with the company. Responding quickly and solving problems allows you to stay ahead of large-scale complaints and create brand loyalty. This type of engagement is easier by using tools such as a Unified Social Inbox.
Analytics to Track:
Example of S.M.A.R.T. Goal:
Gain 10 5-Star Reviews on Google in three months.
3. Build Community of Advocates
Brand loyalty has always been one of the most important factors in long term growth. In the past, companies relied on word of mouth. Now, social media provides an entirely new platform where brand loyalty can be shared with thousands of people in real time.
For instance, as the amount of photos of food increases on social media, restaurants are offering promotions and discounts for those that post pictures of their food on social media. That provides the restaurant with exposure and the customer feels connected.
Analytics to Track:
Example of S.M.A.R.T. Goal:
Achieve 10 mentions a week on Twitter within three months.
4. Research and Development
By constantly engaging with customers, your company can stay up to date on the problems they’re facing and develop solutions. Just as importantly, follow your competitors on social media to see how they engage their customers, if they’re facing any complaints, and if they’re rolling out any promotions or new products. A great way to track competitors is using eClincher’s Custom Search Feeds, where you can create and save feeds based on specific keywords.
Analytics to Track:
Example of S.M.A.R.T. Goal:
Engage 10 customers a month on various social media channels about problems for three months.
5. Driving Sales and Leads
If you’re not leveraging social media to acquire leads and generate sales, you’re not using social media properly. This is what most companies strive for first, but fail to realize that without time spent on the first four goals, it’s unlikely that sales will grow.
Social media provides the perfect opportunity to interact with potential customers, both on a personal level and an organizational level, to gauge their pain points, and to understand their basic corporate culture. This knowledge allows for a warm call when you first engage, as opposed to a cold call.
Aspects to Track:
Example of S.M.A.R.T. Goal:
Average 5% Click Through Rate on Tweets by end of year.
Leveraging Social Media Marketing to Grow Your Business
Social media marketing is a multi-faceted approach that, when used properly, can help grow your business by creating brand awareness, engaging with customers, and finding new customers. It is, however, impossible to be everywhere, which is why you need to find the social media channels that are right for your company and your brand. For instance, . But even if that’s your target market, it still doesn’t mean Instagram is the right channel for your brand.
Your organization needs to set S.M.A.R.T. goals so successes and failures can be measured properly. More often than not, especially in the beginning, it is better to focus on engagement and building a presence. If you jump right into selling, you may lose traction before getting started. Use your knowledge and expertise to provide solutions to problems, and you will present your company as a trusted advisor that people want to buy from.
For more advice, continue reading about the 4 Tips for Better Engagement on Social Media. Also, learn how you can track your goals and KPIs using eClincher’s Analytics Dashboard.
