By Wendy Tuxworth
Hello, 2021!
It’s a new year for you and for your small business. And that means it’s time to think about what your 2021 marketing goals are. If this is the year that you’ve decided to step up your business’ social media game, then we’ve got some great tips about how to set realistic goals, and how to actually stick to them.
Setting realistic goals
Firstly, it is essential that your 2021 marketing goals are actually achievable. Posting once a day on Instagram is a great goal, but if you’ve barely been able to post once a month because you’re so busy, it’s a little bit unrealistic. Set yourself up for success, and be honest with yourself.
Take stock of your social media
This is an absolute essential when it comes to setting yourself goals. By taking stock of your social media, you’ll have a better understanding of what you need to work on. For example, you might get a lot of likes on each post, but have a low conversion rate. Working on improving your conversion rate will therefore be a lot more important than getting more likes or followers. Sure, you might increase your following whilst working towards a better conversion rate, but that’s an added bonus.
SMART goals
Once you know what your general marketing goal is, it’s time to think more specifically. We always recommend using the SMART method. These are goals that are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
With SMART, you need to be more specific than saying that you want to post more on social media. Instead, you could set yourself the goal of increasing sales on social media by 10% by the end of 2021. This may involve posting more on social media, but that’s not the end goal. It’s a more specific, relevant goal (increasing sales) that is measurable (10%, or whatever achievable number you have chosen) and time-bound (December 2021).
If you want to know more, you can read about SMART goals here!
How to stick to them
So you’ve got your 2021 marketing goals. But how are you going to stick to them?
Get an accountability buddy
One of the best ways to actually achieve your goals is to have someone to hold you accountable. We’d recommend linking up with another small business owner and agreeing to keep each other on-track with your goals. This doesn’t have to be time-consuming – a check-up text once a week will suffice! But you are more likely to actually take the time to work towards your goals if you’ve got someone holding you to your word.
Also, it’s very rewarding to have someone else recognise when you’re working towards and achieving your goals!
Track your results
Tracking your efforts and results is also crucial. Not only will this give you an insight into how well your goals are being achieved (or what is not working), the act of writing down your results is likely to encourage you to keep going. Again, you could share this information with your accountability buddy, who will encourage you to keep at it.
Ask for help
Finally, it’s important to know when to ask for help. If you need some assistance with social media, copywriting, or SEO, you can contact us here.
What did you think of these tips? If you found any of them helpful, let us know on Instagram or Facebook!
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