The SMART path to successful digital marketing

Decisions about where and how you advertise should be driven by your mission and business goals, not vice versa. Setting the right goals will help you create better campaigns and deliver successful digital marketing for your business.

Setting SMART goals is one way to achieve this. The SMART methodology is one of many, and it is part of every consultation session and learning event I deliver. I want to ensure that people get practical support to plan their marketing and communications projects successfully.

Effective goal-setting will ensure that your marketing is successful, sustainable, and it supports your business goals.

Here is a quote from a recent read that sums up what I am trying to say:

In an increasingly unpredictable world moving ever more quickly, a detailed map may lead you deep into the woods at a high cost. A good compass, though, will always take you where you need to go.

From the book Whiplash: How to Survive our Faster Future

In this article, I will break down the SMART methodology and show you how you can apply it to your next project and set goals that will deliver a more successful digital marketing campaign.

Use SMART to define your goal

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

How to use the SMART methodology to set goals for marketing success:

Specific

Questions you may ask yourself:

• What is the business goal that motivates me? (More page views on my website? Attract more returning customers? Get more people to visit my shop?)
• Who is involved?
• How much money and time can I afford to spend?

Measurable

Questions you may ask yourself:

• How will I know when the campaign has been successful?
• Where will I measure success? (analytics from website, social, emails?)
• Which metrics are important?

Achievable

Questions you may ask yourself:

• Does the team have the skills required to achieve this goal?
• What additional support might we need?
• Is this a good time to start this project?
• What responsibilities will each member of the team have?

Relevant

Questions you may ask yourself:

• What will be the impact of these goals?
• Are these goals exactly what my business needs?
• Is this objective important enough to make a priority?

Time-bound

Questions you may ask yourself:

• What is the deadline for this project?
• Where do we want to be three months from now, and then six months from now?
• What can do to get started today?

Use your SMART goal to drive your digital marketing

Take the most valuable SMART goal you have set for your business, and shape a digital marketing campaign around it.

The exact way to do this will depend on your SMART goals. Here is an example that shows how you can take a SMART goal and use it to develop a successful digital marketing campaign:

Example SMART goal:

I sell cakes, and I want to increase the followers of my business Facebook page by 50% by the end of March.

Example digital marketing plan:

Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to sell cakes! Create a short competition and invite people to like your page and share their favourite memory with their mum, for a chance to win a Mother’s Day cake from your store. You will boost your Facebook post targeting women of a specific age group that live in your local area.

This is just an example. Think about how online tools such as social media, email campaigns, or search engine marketing can help you achieve your SMART goal.

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I hope that you find this article on the SMART path to marketing success useful.

There are more than one ways to set the right goals for your business. I recommend looking online for the framework that will help you set the right goals to achieve marketing success that is valuable for your business.