Not just any goal will do. To make your goals count, make SMART goals.
SMART goals are objective, rather than vague ideas. So they’re more likely to get you where you’d like to go.
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
Are you crafting goals that cover all these categories?
With a general goal, like increasing new members, you won’t know when you reach it. It isn’t objective or measurable.
Often goals start with a general idea, but you can refine them to make them “smart”. If you make SMART goals, they will lead you to a plan to attract those new members.
Let’s set a sample SMART goal
If you’re interested in increasing new members, how might you do that?
Specific: You would like 10 new members in six months.
Measurable: You plan to offer a new service to increase interest in your community, explicitly advertising to those you seek to attract.
Attainable: You set aside two hours each week to ensure you have enough time to plan and advertise your new service.
Realistic: You find your schedule allows you to commit to two hours on Monday afternoons.
Timely: You commit to planning, then advertising, your new service for three months, before officially launching it. Then, you’ll re-evaluate. If all has gone well and you see results, you’ll listen to and seek advice from those who participated. Then, you’ll offer a similar, but improved service three months later.
You may not end up with 10 new members after six months. But intentionally seeking your target market and getting their advice for how to improve your service will certainly put you on the road towards 10 new members sooner than you imagine.
What’s behind the numbers matters
It’s important to note, that aiming for a goal like 500 social media followers in three months may be measurable. It may even be attainable, realistic, and timely. But it isn’t all that specific.
Who will those followers be? Will they be part of the market you seek to serve? Will they become your loyal supporters? Or will they just be a number that rarely engages with your content?
If you make SMART goals like the sample goal above, it’s the focus on people in your specific market, those seeking your specific service that will make all the difference. Designing and planning a service specifically for them. Advertising it to them. That’s what will bring people in the door.
Following up with them to seek their input and advice for how to make the service better, that’s how you’ll keep them.
To build a resilient community, your focus should be on attracting quality followers. The people you are most aiming for.
Your marketing strategy should determine who your market is, and who you are seeking to serve. Those are the people who will actively engage with and support your organisation.
If you’re consistent with achieving your goals and making sure they align with your marketing strategy, you may surpass 500 followers and 10 new members anyway.
Or, maybe you won’t even need that many. That’ll depend how many dedicated supporters your organisation needs.