Although social networking tools are widely used to incite action, the people who use them most effectively have one thing in common: a laser-like focus. A single focused goal provides direction, motivation, and operational guidance. As big, daunting, and impressive as some social media campaigns seem, each started small, with a few people and a goal.
There are five elements that comprise a focused goal:
Humanistic: Focus on who you want to help rather than jumping to solutions. Empathize with your audience to develop Points of View (POV): [USER] needs to [USER’S NEEDS] because [SURPRISING INSIGHT]. Questions to ask about your audience to cultivate a human-centered approach: What is she like? What keeps her up at night? What do you want her to do? How might she resist?
Actionable: Use tactical micro goals to achieve long-term macro goals. At the beginning, don’t focus on that long-term goal. Research shows that imagining the process of reaching a goal is more effective than envisioning the outcome.
Testable: Identify metrics that will inform your actions and help evaluate success. Run low-cost trials to test your assumptions. Set performance metrics to measure progress, and plan how to solicit feedback from your audience before you launch. Surveys are a great tool. As Avinash Kaushik, author of Web Analytics 2.0
Clarity: Keep your goals clealy focused to increase your odds of success and generate momentum. Research shows that the reason why many don’t achieve their goals is not that they don’t try hard enough or think strategically enough, but simply because the embarked on too many goals or set conflicting goals. Start with the simplest behavior you can change at a low cost.
Happiness: Ensure that your goal is personally meaningful such that the thought of achieving the goal would bring happiness to you and your audience–in some way.
Social media, when used effectively, is incredibly powerful. But your social media efforts will only accomplish what you set out to accomplish with them. So before you post your next Facebook status ask yourself: what is my goal?