Digital Marketing the S.M.A.R.T. Way

What Is A SMART Digital Marketing Goal? 

When creating a marketing goal for your business, you want one that will move your plan ahead. A SMART goal is a great way to help guide your goal planning, so you know where to focus your efforts and resources. SMART goals can also assist in determining if and how effectively various marketing platforms are moving toward the end goal. 

While SMART has many different variations, for us SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. This simple acronym can help you remain on track while brainstorming ideas and outlining goals for a digital marketing campaign or a business. 

Using SMART goals will let you link your business goals to your digital marketing goals and measure the true impact of your digital marketing efforts. Now, let’s walk you through how to make a SMART marketing goal for your business.

Create A Specific Digital Marketing Goal

Creating a goal with a specific number and a timeframe sets us up for success. For example,  adding “by 50%” as the amount you’d like to grow your business makes it more specific, allowing you to hold yourself or your team accountable and measure your progress. It does not have to be a percentage; you may even use a precise amount. While there are various methods to make goals more explicit, simply adding a number is a simple way to do so.

Measure Your Digital Marketing Success

You need to have a way to measure the progress of your SMART goal. Otherwise, you will not be able to determine whether you are on the right track. Adding a number to a goal can make a goal more specific, it is equally crucial to ensure that it can be measured. Choosing a metric that is essential for your business, such as profit, margin, sales, or the number of clients, transforms a relatively vague goal into something that can be easily measured. In the example, business growth is commonly measured by sales or revenue, giving us one example of a measurable, SMART goal.

Be SMART by Setting an Attainable Marketing Goal

Make sure your goal is both reasonable and achievable. Setting an attainable goal is an excellent strategy for building momentum and keeping a positive mindset. The goal should make you feel challenged, but still that you can actually achieve it. Perhaps a 50% increase in sales is a bit too high, so we reduce it to 25% to begin our momentum avalanche.

Make Your SMART Goal Relevant

A relevant goal is one that is meaningful. When something isn’t relevant to you, you tend to pay less attention to it or take it less seriously, so make your goal relevant and important to your business! Assume you run the Business Development team and want to promote development through inbound sales for the next target progression. Set a goal that is relevant to your needs and will help achieve greater development and inbound sales success. This will set your business up for greater marketing success!

Use your SMART Goal Time Wisely

Finally, the last step in implementing an effective SMART goal is to be timely. Set a realistic end date for your goal. This will help you prioritize what is important and allow you to accomplish what’s necessary to achieve your goal. Without a time-constrained, there is no sense of urgency, leading you to be less motivated to achieve the goal. A timely SMART goal also allows you to reflect on how far you’ve come and see if there are any lessons or changes you need to make before you establish your next goal.

A SMART Digital Marketing Goal Will Lead You To Success

Often, businesses will set themselves up for failure by setting broad and unrealistic goals such as “I want to be the best at XYZ.” Setting a goal like this is vague, with no sense of direction. A SMART goal sets you up for success by making goals specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. A SMART goal encourages you to go further, provides your goal with a purpose, and better helps you organize and achieve your goals.

One thing to keep in mind is whether you achieved your SMART goal or not, you’ve only failed if you’ve failed to pick up any valuable lessons along the way. Now that you have this knowledge, you can use it to set better, more realistic goals and maintain the momentum moving forward. If you need help coordinating your company’s business goals with your marketing and advertising goals, contact us today and we will be happy to guide you through the process of creating your own SMART goal.