With technology and the internet we have an abundance of choices. The great thing about this is that businesses can now do the things they wanted to do ten years ago. The bad thing is that sometimes we get too excited. Sometimes we have great ideas and learn about new things that get us so excited we try to run before we can crawl. It’s important that with these advances in technologies and communication channels that we create a plan that is specific, attainable and measurable. We need to have a focus on objectives and goals.
Take time to start with a plan
If you don’t know where you want to go you could walk in circles for months. Take the time to identify what your objectives are and then create a plan around them.
As you move forward you will find it’s easier to be measure your actions once you know where you want to go and why you are doing it. By having specific outlined objectives and goals it will allow you to listen more effectively and engage with others more purposefully.
Without your objectives and goals clearly defined, you may confuse those you are connecting with and mistakenly send them less-than-accurate messages. You want to be crystal clear and as transparent as possible. Don’t leave it to chance. People will interpret things differently than you may have intended.
Objectives and goals make everyone more comfortable
If you are an employee or a consultant working with a business who is wary about social media, having objectives and goals become more like checkpoints. It is both a way to mark your progress for yourself, but also for your customers/clients. Take note of what is happening and track this information, as you’ll want to reference it often and present to others.
If you find yourself tasked with outlining your objectives and goals, do some research. Try to find other businesses that are utilizing social media. What are some of their goals? What are they trying to do with social media to benefit and add value to their business?
For example, if you are thinking about using Twitter, try to find another business already doing it well. Look at some of your competitors. Take some time to read about the information they post. How are they interacting with their customers/clients? Does that fit with your business’ culture and/or philosophy? This is also a great time to remind you that social media is about the relationships, not the technologies used to form them. Is your target market using Twitter, or are they using something else?
Start with small, actionable steps
I hope that after reading about setting objectives and goals you are not feeling anxious. You don’t have to take on the biggest and most difficult goals right away. Start small and take actionable steps. Continue to build off those small actionable steps into doing more of them more often. Once you feel comfortable and confident, you can begin to raise the bar. Make some short term goals and make notes on how you will accomplish them. Give yourself a deadline so you don’t slack off. Once you have made some short term goals, move on to larger long term goals. As always, make notes about how you plan to achieve them and document your progress along the way.
When you take the time to develop a great plan of attack with objectives and goals that make sense for your business, social media will be much easier to handle. Finally, remember that things don’t happen overnight. It takes time, just like building a business.
What problems have you encountered while trying to set actionable goals in your plan? How can we help you get past those hurdles?