At the start of the year, we talked about setting social media goals.  We walked through how to set goals, what to keep in mind, and what questions to ask yourself as you’re goal setting.  Most of us (ourselves included) took that list, put it in a “safe place”, and promptly forgot it existed.  But what good are goals if you only revisit them when it’s time to make new ones?  Re-evaluating your creator goals is essential to continue growing

So find that goal list, brush off the (metaphorical or literal) dust, and get comfy.  We’ll be diving deep into how you can examine your goals, including what to keep in mind and what to do if you decide you just don’t care about something.

What Do I Need?

In order to re-evaluate your goals, you’ll need some tools.  For the most part, all of them can be found on your phone!

• Your social media channels.  You may want to break this into individual sessions if you have goals for more than one platform.
• Your list of 2023 goals.  This is quite literally the most important piece of the puzzle.
• A calculator.  You’ll only need this if you have goals with numbers.  If your goals are more markers or milestones, this isn’t as necessary.
• Somewhere to take notes.  Bust out a notebook or open a new note on your phone: just have a place to reflect.
• Concentration and a good mood.  Try to avoid doing this if you can’t be calm and relaxed.

Your Objectives.

There are a variety of reasons why you’d choose to re-evaluate your goals.  Mainly because the year is halfway over and you need to reexamine your priorities.  You picked these goals at the start of the year because you thought they’d make you happy or improve your social media game.  If they aren’t working or just aren’t worth your time anymore, you should toss them aside or rework them.  Another big reason is to celebrate what you’ve accomplished.  You’ve done a lot this year whether or not you notice it – and you deserve to celebrate it!

There’s also, likely, some things you still haven’t done that you want to.  This evaluation is the best way to remind yourself of what needs to be done.  Recognizing what all you’ve accomplished so far will also serve as an incredible boost to get those last few items checked off.

And, finally, looking at what is or isn’t working will help you find ways to continue improving.  You may have discovered a routine or trick to accomplish another goal that you can use on the rest of your list.  You won’t know until you sit down, look at your goals, and figure out what made you so successful at meeting them.  Or, conversely, if you made a lot of goals centered around a specific topic and suddenly don’t care about it anymore, getting them off your plate will help you make room for new, more exciting things.

Now that you have a better idea of what you should accomplish, let’s dive into some steps to follow.

1. Take a Quick Glance

Take a look at your goals and check off or adjust what you can at just a first glance.  Maybe you already met your 1,000 follower goal and can call that one done.  You may come across a goal that you adjusted or decided to simply not do.  Go ahead and mark that off – and make a little note about why you made this choice.  Don’t get discouraged if you don’t start checking stuff off right away.  This step is just to clear the easy stuff out of the way!

2. Look for Time Sensitive Goals

Do you have any goals with a due date that’s already passed?  Something you wanted to achieve by March or May?  If so, start your 2nd step here.  Start with the oldest goal and see if you accomplished it.  If you made an adjustment to the date, make a note of that and why.  If you need to make an adjustment, go ahead and do it!

3. Start in Small Pieces

If you have sections for your goals, pick one and start there.  If not, pick one of the smaller goals.  Gather what you need to examine it and get to reviewing!  If you wanted your view count to reach a certain average, either look at how many views your videos have in your analytics or add them up manually.  You may have met your goal without knowing, or you may want to adjust once you see the outcome.

You’ll need a “status check” on your goals to continue – or to at least be done.  This step will show you how much further you have to go until meet your goals; if you just want to see what needs to be done, this is the perfect place to finish.

4. Examine Each Goal

Now go through your list and revisit each goal you have.  If you’ve already met it, think about why.  Did you try a new posting schedule or do more engaging?  If you haven’t met it, think about what you need to do in order to achieve it.  For some people they might just have to continue what they were already doing.  Others might want to develop a new plan of attack.

Also take this time to decide if each goal still serves you.  Will it help your overall goal for the year?  Is it something that brings you (or will bring you) joy?  What will meeting this goal accomplish for you or push you closer to?  Basically, do you still care about this goal?

If the answer is no, that’s great!  Mark it off the list and find a new goal you’d rather work toward achieving.  If the answer is yes, find new ways to achieve it.  See if any of the success you had with your completed goals can be used to accomplish this one.

5. Identify Any Roadblocks

When you first sat down to create your goals, you were likely very optimistic.  You probably thought they’d be a piece of cake or you’d encounter minimal setbacks.  But 6 months later, the rose colored glasses you were wearing have likely come off.  Spend some time thinkin of any roadblocks that might keep you from achieving your own goals.

Try not to spend too much time here: only thinking of negative outcomes or potential problems can lead to anxiety or make you not want to work toward your goals at all.  Just think of some things that might get in your way and try to come up with solutions if you can.  If, for example, your goal is to post a new video every single day but you’re moving in two months…that’s going to cause a problem.  In that instance, you might try batching content and making it ahead of time, or creating videos about your move.

6. Add Due Dates

Once you have your new goals, give them each a due date.  When do you want to accomplish this by?  If you have a larger goal, we suggest breaking that down into smaller, more digestible chunks.  Make that 2,000 follower count into 4 smaller numbers to work toward throughout the rest of the year.  This will make the goal seem more manageable and help keep you motivated.

Some goals will be ongoing or evergreen, meaning that you won’t stop working toward achieving them.  If that’s the case, break that into smaller goals with due dates.  It makes that huge goal much more attainable and keeps you steadily working toward it.

Pro Tip: Make It Fun!

Let’s be honest: most of us won’t find this task to be super fun.  It feels a lot like work, requires some self-reflection, and often (worst of all) includes math.  If you find yourself dreading this reevaluation, think of a few ways to make it enjoyable.  Go to your favorite bar or coffee shop, get a drink or 2, and dive in.  Treat yourself once you’re done with a trip to a shop or a really yummy dinner.  Maybe even get together with a friend and go through the process together.  Even if all you do is put on your favorite music, do something to make this enjoyable.

What if I Haven’t Done Anything?

Sometimes we reexamine our goals and find that we haven’t actually accomplished all we hoped yet.  Not only is it normal but it’s okay.  Maybe your priorities changed or you tried a plan of attack that didn’t work.  This exercise will help you identify either, and help you retarget.

We promise you’re crushing the year either way!  You’re doing a lot no matter if you can check it off of a list.