Get S.M.A.R.T!
I played tennis all throughout middle school and was on varsity all four years of high school as well. Being the number two seed on my team, I had quite a lot of responsibility to carry. Now, many might see tennis as just the easy sport that snobby rich kids play, but it actually requires a bit more strategy than what meets the eye.
Like tennis, social media management also has more strategy than most people might think.
One of the first things we are taught in our public relations classes is the acronym RPIE and SMART.
RPIE stands for research, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Taking these steps into consideration, social media strategies will start to become easier to break down.
When diving into what SMART stands for is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. As a social media management major, this acronym is something that should always be remembered.
Specific
New goals should be focused and attainable. However, you also need to make sure that your goals are not vague. Creating specific goals guarantees that you will be able to identify what you need to achieve and will help begin the process of figuring out what resources you’ll need.
Goals should be personal to your business or brand. Some goals that can be considered are:
Increasing brand awareness
Growing follower base
Achieving more sales
Measurable
Above I mentioned that some goals brands focus on are increasing brand awareness, growing follower base, and achieving more sales. These goals can be defined as measurable because you can make a set objective such as: “To achieve gaining 50 new followers by November 15th.” To have criteria that measures your progress with help towards the accomplishment of a goal.
Attainable
Having an attainable goal set will help you figure out what steps need to be taken and how you can work towards it. When deciding of your objective is attainable, ask yourself:
Do I have the resources and capabilities to achieve the goal? If not, what am I missing?
Have others done it successfully before?
Relevant
Deciding that a goal is relevant can sometimes be difficult. Within a company or business, it is crucial to decide whether your goal is realistic in order to go hand in hand with being attainable. If a goal is something you can realistically accomplish, you have the time and resources to reach it, and you can commit to achieving it, then you are set!
Time-Bound
In order to have a SMART goal, it is important to make sure you carry out your goal from start to finish. It’s important to make sure you have a deadline and an idea of when you want to achieve your goal.
An example of a goal in a SMART format:
“On December 1st, I will win my next tennis competition. In order to do this, I will obtain private lessons with my coach and will put in the extra work 6 days a week. Every week, I will focus on improving one weakness. By December 1st, I will be in the position to win my tennis match.”
In order to have a SMART social media strategy, all it takes is a little bit of time to sit down and make a plan (even if you don’t even have a P L A) (I hope someone gets that reference)!
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