Starting a new business or setting your marketing goals for 2023? I was honored to host a Serpstat chat in late December on how to set and achieve marketing goals when starting a new business. Join the conversation, and start setting goals to succeed!
Where Should I Start?
Determine your ‘why’ or reason for being in business. It will help guide you when setting goals and making decisions for your business, including marketing-related ones. Write down your ‘why’ and keep a reminder of it where you work!
With that being said, it’s important to keep a few other factors in mind too. Your marketing goals should align with your company’s overall goals and address the problems you want to solve. Your budget, industry/market, competitors and available resources (including time and staff) will serve as guidelines. We’ll get to those shortly.
Next, Should I Focus on the Short-Term or Long-Term?
Set long-term goals first, so you know where you want your business to go. These goals should inspire you but not be delusional. In an ideal world, where would you like your business to be in a year? How about 3-5 years? Focusing on the long-term first will help you navigate the immediate future.
What Can I Do Right Now to Help Achieve My Long-Term Goals?
Create short-term objectives, which contain concrete steps to help you achieve your long-term goals. They should be SMART—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Your long-term goals should help guide your short-term objectives and immediate decisions.
I’ve Created My Long-Term and Short-Term Goals. Should I Start Creating Content Now?
First, determine your ideal customer so you know who you’re creating content for. Then, find where your target audience lives to begin connecting, engaging and building relationships with them one conversation at a time. Creating a community is essential!
I Figured Out My Ideal Customer. Wait, What Do I Do Now?
Develop your marketing strategy, so you have a road map to get where you want to go. Incorporate your long- and short-term goals, target audience, budget, your competition, content process, positioning and KPIs (key performance indicators).
Looking for help? Hubspot walks you through creating a marketing strategy for 2023 and offers a free template in 7 Steps to Create a Complete Marketing Strategy in 2023!
I’ve Got My Road Map (i.e. Strategy) in Hand. What Tools and Tactics Should I Use To Get To My Destination?
Choose your tools and tactics with your resources in mind. Go for quality over quantity! Focus on fewer platforms, create less content that delivers more value (educate & entertain) and spend more time connecting, engaging and creating community.
Every marketing action should support your goals. Keep them in mind as you find tools and tactics that work for you. On a budget? Look for free or low cost tools that can help you succeed. Utilize free trials to test a tool before you buy it.
Get social online and off! Social media is a powerful tool, but getting involved in your community and connecting with your audience offline at meetups or events can boost your marketing efforts significantly.
Quality content takes time and resources to create, so maximize its value. Plan on updating your current content in the future, repurposing your content to get more mileage out of it and distributing your content effectively to succeed.
Any Final Words of Advice?
Adapt and evolve. While marketing is a long-term endeavor, regularly review your efforts so you can make any necessary changes. Check key metrics to evaluate your content’s performance, and be open to new ideas and opportunities.
Review the How to Set and Achieve Marketing Goals When Starting a Business chat, and join future Serpstat chats on Thursdays at 2 PM ET by following the #serpstat_chat hashtag on Twitter.
Tweet Us (Or Comment Your Feedback Below)
What is your ‘why’ or reason for being in business?
How do you set marketing goals for your business?
How do you stay on track and ultimately achieve them?
What advice would you give to startups?
Best of luck in your entrepreneurial journey,
Jaime
Let’s connect:
clearly conveyed communications 
Getting social is the only way social media works Jaime. Sensational tips here. For example, you Liked a recent sunset photo of mine from Turkey, through Twitter. I check all @replies and bond with folks who Like or RT my tweets or chat me up. Talking, listening and bonding on social is the only strategy for growing traffic and business. Plus, chatting makes social fun, too.
Ryan
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s so true, Ryan. Thanks for sharing an example of how getting social and engaging with others pays off. Plus, as you mentioned, it’s fun to meet people and get to know them. Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLike