Question

1. Explain SMART as it relates to social media marketing.
2. Identify a company that uses social media to promote its activities and membership opportunities. Briefly review the social media zones in use by the organization and define three SMART objectives for the organization’s use of social media.
3. Finally, discuss the SMART as you will apply it to the business you are developing a marketing plan for.

Answer 1

SMART could be expanded as:

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Realistic

T – Time bound

SMART goals and objectives could be applied anywhere in an organizational as well as individual context when one wants to achieve something. Usage of SMART with respect to social media could be explained as the following:

Specific – Setting a specific marketing objective is by pinpointing the existing problem and planning according to sufficiently utilizing the opportunity.

Measurable – By using the social media platform, with the realization of marketing objectives, there should be some kind of quantitative of qualitative attribute that is measurable in some way or other.

Attainable – Any objective that is set or planning to achieve should be attainable. If the objective lacks its ability to achieve the goal, then there is little point in formulating such an objective.

Realistic – Setting a realistic objective doesn’t mean that it should be very easy to make it happen. Things that are to be taken care of while setting such an objective are that it should be well defined and without any uncertainty it could be achieved. Also consider the current trends in social media and work out the objective according to that.

Time bound – There should be a specific period of time within which the objectives should be attained. Without a period of expiration, there is no meaning in setting objectives.

While considering an organization which uses social media platform for its marketing techniques, the perfect example could be Nike. Being the world’s leading footwear, apparel, accessories and service providers, with their famous “JUST DO IT” campaign through social media, they created a breakthrough. Nike uses simplicity as their main strategy. They send out encouraging quotes and sentences along with photos of athletes who strived and achieved their dreams.

• They try to instigate a feeling inside people that if you want to achieve your athletic dream, before to hit the track, all you need is the perfect gear for that, which only Nike could provide.
• Usage of influencers like David Beckham, Serena Williams etc are found to be most effective in their ad campaigns. Nike also pay the athletes to promote Nike products through their social media account.
• Various hashtags that Nike use like “#JustDoIt, #MakeItCount, #AlwaysBelieve works wonders.
• Their marketing objectives through social media for the previous year (2018) are :

The main marketing objectives for which Nike used social media for the previous year (2018) was that Nike planned to focus in 12 new cities, i.e New York, London, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Milan, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Mexico. This was announced using social media and thus Nike could make awareness among the customers in those regions regarding the entry of Nike into their market.