We live in an era when most brands have social networks and are acknowledged to be excellent image-makers. It is important to consider which platforms will be beneficial to be active on to grow and get popularity. This demands an analysis of social networking audiences to identify which age group is more active in the social network, what it prefers, and how best to engage in the published content. The more information you have, the easier it will be to determine which social network is appropriate for your brand.
A social media goal is a description of what you intend to achieve with your marketing activities. The aim might apply to anything from a single ad purchase to social media campaign goals. And a social networking goal is not the same as a social media strategy, but both are necessary. Think of social media goals as the foundation of your social network approach.
Most Common Social Media Goals
Every year, the number of social network members grows, audiences expand, the popularity of social network platforms changes and compete with one another, and the possibilities for sharing data and communication improve. You must set up goals to upload content on your company's site. Simply consider what you want to accomplish through social networking. These targets will assist you in determining how to provide the desired material. The most common goals of social networks are:
1. Brand awareness
Brand recognition is the degree to which a customer can identify your brand based on visual clues such as a logo and colors. For example, if you see the red and white initials of Coca-Cola up ahead, you'll recognize it even before you read the words.
2. Social selling
Social selling is a strategy that connects and engages directly with your target sales prospects via social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. It's a popular method of developing lasting relationships with prospective clients, and it's taking the place of cold calling. However, it does not employ any hard selling or direct selling techniques. Social selling makes use of social media to reach out to the relevant prospects, raise brand awareness, and form relationships with potential buyers. This sales technique keeps you at the forefront of your potential consumers' minds, making you the first person or brand that comes to mind when they're ready to buy a product or service like yours.
3. Customer service
Some brands use social media as a customer service tool through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, etc. It allows businesses to meet customers and rapidly respond to their questions in the space they feel safe and comfortable. Over 60% of customers believe that the most crucial aspect of good service is resolving an issue immediately. Simply having another route for near-instant communication makes social media customer service way easier.
Here is an example by LOOKFANTASTIC on how to use Facebook as a customer service tool:
4. Understanding your audience
Understanding your audience and its average consumer is another goal businesses use social media for. Engagement through social media platforms is an excellent way to see if the content you're creating is resonating with your target audience. Without engagement, social media is just another form of media. People do not use social media to have a one-way conversation. They want to connect with people and with brands. Engaging with your audience not only provides you with opportunities of finding new potential customers but also lets you understand your audience and the traits of the average consumer that uses your product or service.
Here are some tips on how to approach your social media engagement strategy:
5. Increasing website traffic
Increasing website traffic is one of the goals your business can benefit from a lot and social media is a great way to do that. However, increasing website traffic through social media content can only be attained if you prioritize it. It’s common sense that every social media network is different and what works on Facebook might not do that good on, for example, Instagram. Yet, there are some general rules to follow, as they are universal and work on every channel possible.
Content is the number one indicator of how successful your social media marketing strategy is. Useful, interesting, educating, and entertaining content is the general rule to follow if you want to increase your website traffic through social media. Blogposts with catchy thumbnails, extraordinary and real case studies, top-notch infographics, and much more are what drive your brand additional traffic. Master the craft of content creation (not just textual but graphical as well, as it matters more when it comes to attracting attention) and you will definitely get some extra traffic to your website.
Importance of setting the right goals
The most common objectives are similar to the reasons why companies or business profiles use social media. There is no single right goal to choose from; however, it is important that the content you create would help you in achieving that goal. The post should be targeted to the audience you intend to share it with to gain popularity. To connect with the audience as much as possible, you should encourage discussion.
Setting specific social media goals is necessary if you want to get the most out of your social media approach. Specific objectives enable you to create highly focused content that improves your outcomes. However, it is crucial not to fall into the trap of attempting to accomplish everything at once. Instead, focus on breaking down one goal at a time until you've provided measurable results.
It's important to realize how to measure your goals once you have established them. Today's social media networks provide practically limitless opportunities for businesses and organizations to present themselves to existing and new clients. But how do we know we are not wasting time and that we are achieving most of the advantages we're offered?
How to measure the progress on your goals?
One of the best ways to measure the progress is performance or, in other words, the KPI (Key Performance Indicator), which is important not only in social media but in communication in general. This allows us to set out our actions and analyze whether they lead to a change in business results or whether they are simply for entertainment.
KPIs should be set following your planning and goals. If you use social media to promote your business or a new product, you likely want to reach as many people as possible. In this case, accessibility would be the most accurate way. It is common to make a mistake of collecting data using points of comparison, such as accessibility, involvement, and community growth without first understanding one's actual requirements. While these are still the most commonly used methods of analysis, they do not always reflect the efficiency of your communication or relate to the goals you have set and how you are fulfilling them. The number of measurement indicators is increasing as the variety of content forms increases. One social network content form (such as Instagram videos) integrates with other social networks. This can be a review of the video's content and a ratio of positive and negative feedback left by users. There is not yet a single universal number that can tell if ongoing communication is successful or not.
The #1 reason marketers use social media, according to the State of Social Media (2016) survey, is brand recognition. It's simple to see why: the average individual spends about two hours every day on social media, making it one of the best virtual spaces to capture customers' attention.
Closing thoughts...
Achievable goals are very important in social media marketing. Brands should go all-in when it comes to reaching out and standing out on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Entice your consumers with high-quality content and spark their curiosity with relevant, valuable information, and you'll get devoted customers, who will help your company stand out.
Making the five goals listed above a reality not only raises numerous marketing parameters, but also helps create more leads, boost website traffic, and improve as well as deepen the connection with your customers and audience in general.