Alessia Citro 0:02
Welcome to the corporate dropout podcast. I'm your host Alesia Citro. If you're sick of the corporate hamster wheel and looking to feel inspired and empowered to live a high vibe life as your own boss, you're in the right place. Dare to drop out in 321. Before we start the show, I want to tell you about the business I'm launching. Starting a business can be hard work, but it doesn't need to be confusing too. And that is why I founded Theia collective, a learning community for entrepreneurs, learn from experts across law, finance, tax operations, marketing, sales and more, and get the blueprint on how to set up and run your own business. Text biz, that's BIZ to 949-577-8709, or head to Theia dash collective.com. To learn more.

Alessia Citro 0:51
Hello, friends, I am back today with my friend Dana Farber. If you did not listen to our interview yesterday, be sure to go back and do that one of my favorites. It's hard to pick a favorite, but it was one of them for sure. And so let me tell you a little bit about Dana. And then we'll get right into it. So she is a marketer with a soul that went from being a chief marketing officer to becoming a recent corporate dropout and the founder of Moonstone marketing, which is a vision lead marketing and social agency for intuitive founders. She is also one of the mentors inside of the collective. So that might be a reason in and of itself to join us over there. And without further ado, today, Dana is going to be talking to us about how to set SMART goals for marketing. So with that, Dana, thank you for coming back. I cannot wait to hear your tips.

Dana Farber 1:34
Yeah, of course. Hi, everyone. So this is a tried and true tactic that I have advised everyone from clients of mine to former franchisees that I've worked with, this is the way that I like to approach marketing. So marketing is pretty much a great combination of right brain and left brain, you need that creativity, of course, you need that, that thought that will pop into your head and think this is a great idea. But to go from having a great idea to actually have any successful campaign that drives whatever your goals are, whether it's revenue, whether it's leads, whether it's email, signups, whatever you're looking to do, what I really recommend is making sure that every single one of your goals is smart. So we're going to walk through what that acronym stands for. And yes, marketing is basically just a lot of acronyms mixed into a blender. With some pretty branding on top, that's pretty much marketing for you. So if we're looking at a SMART goal from apps is going to be specific. So the biggest thing is making sure that your goal is specific, and then narrowing it down to the easiest, most digestible idea. That means that typically, whatever idea you start with, you're probably going to pair some things off of that, because you want it to be simple, so that it resonates with the consumer, and so that you know what exactly you were looking at, because just know that when you launch a brand, there can be many different tactics. And when you want to see ongoing success of your brand, there could be many different tactics. So this is every single tactic, every single campaign should be in and of itself, Spark smart. So first, specific second, that M is for measurable, you want to make sure that you're gonna be able to understand what the evidence is, this something was successful or not. So if you want to make sure that you're making progress, or reevaluating when necessary, you have to be understanding where those numbers are standing. So whether that is in a CRM system, whether that's going to lead capture form, everything needs to be measurable, you need to be able to understand the results and be able to drive different categories against them, you need to be able to measure what is successful and be able to split test and look at different levels of things. So you need to be make sure that everything is measurable. The next one A is for attainable. So make sure that you can reasonably accomplish your goal within a certain timeframe. And this means that you should be setting goals for yourself that are realistic, but that also, you know, set that wag that wild ass goal, I love that, you know, give yourself a goal, give yourself high expectations. But also don't worry if you don't hit those, you know, a lot of marketing. And I say this all the time, is throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. You know, a lot of it is just trying things and figuring out what's going to resonate with your audience. So you want to set goals that are attainable, so that you don't feel that you've, you know, didn't hit where you're supposed to be. But you also want to give yourself a little skin in the game that are it's for relevant. So your goal should align with your values and your long term objectives. It should fit your brand but it all should also fit your goals. And that's why I highly recommend having a an annual marketing calendar and then also a monthly marketing calendar so that you're really understanding what your goals are month over month and what your long term goals are so that you're consistently working towards it, whether again, that's revenue, whether that's generating new leads, whether that's email, signups whatever that y is for you. You want to make sure that you are measuring against that and that it's relevant to that long term strategy that you've set. And then the last one, probably the most important is time based. So set a realistic ambitious end date for task prioritization and motivation. So basically what that means is give yourself a window of time, and what an ideal campaign, you run it for a month, you run it for a quarter, and you're digging into that campaign throughout that month, you're adjusting where necessary, you're paying attention to the numbers, and then guess what, at the end of it, wash, rinse, repeat, you start that cycle all over again. So I tend to use a phrase a lot when talking to my clients that marketing is simple, it's not easy. So I understand there is a lot that goes into marketing. And for me, it's something that tends to feel intuitive. It's not intuitive for everyone. But if I can show my clients, the matrix, so to speak, and show them that really marketing is just it's a game, it's a game of trying different things, of seeing what works of running the numbers, and then starting it all over again. So again, marketing is not easy, but it is simple. And these are some tried and true tactics, making sure that your goals are smart, so that you know what you are working for and what you are working against.

Alessia Citro 6:05
So good. Alright, so let me ask you a follow up on this. For the new entrepreneur that's like, God, like what I have so many goals, like where should I start? What do you think is? This is probably hard to answer question with a lot of variables. And, and a lot of it depends, quote, unquote. But what would you say is like the most important thing to start out seeking when it comes to smart goals? Is it an email list? Or is it followers like anything like that,

Dana Farber 6:32
I think I am going to hit you with an It depends. But I will give you a tactic that I think works for everyone. So what I really recommend when you're starting a business, or if it's just a new quarter, it's a new year to new month, have a brainstorm with all members of your team. This is what I like to refer to as a brain dump, you want to get all your ideas out on paper, because the worst thing is when an idea pops in your head, you want to do it and then you just do it. Sometimes an idea isn't meant to be done right away. Sometimes it fits later on in your strategy. So it really helps for me and for a lot of other people too, just to see things visually. So get everything out, get it down on paper, and then your next step from there is organizing it. And ideally, you're working with a marketing partner or someone who can kind of help you see the forest through the trees. But what you want to do is start to categorize your content so that you understand there's different content for different things, there's content that's going to be driving conversion, there's content that's going to be there for engagement content that's going to be there for awareness, content and campaigns that will drive different metrics. So it's for you to decide as a business owner, what your key metrics, your KPIs, or key performance indicators really are. So that's where it comes that it's kind of up for grabs, it's up to the business owner. But a tried and true tactic that I would 100% recommend is get all your ideas on paper, synthesize from there, and then weigh your KPIs against each other. What is the most important thing if it's generating revenue? Great, that is a baseline goal that every single thing should tie back to, and then you can tie in subsequent sub goals to each of those as well. So ideally, the campaigns and the calendar are kind of building themselves based on what your timelines and goals really are.

Alessia Citro 8:08
All right, I have another follow up, kind of putting her on the spot a little bit. Okay, so a few things. One, where do you think is the best place to organize your content calendar? That's question one. And then I'll ask the follow up.

Dana Farber 8:20
You know, what I know there are so many tools out there, and I've used a ton of them. I'm an Excel girl through and through, I love an Excel sheet. I love that it is something that you can share with other people. I'm a big fan of Google workplace. That's not an ad. But I love it, you can share it, you can brainstorm, you can edit in real time. I don't like to be locked into a plan or to a strategy or even to messaging points. I like the fluidity of being able to adjust where I see fit. So I like keeping everything in an Excel sheet. So I've created kind of a marketing framework, so to speak, that has different tabs, we use different tabs that kind of really help guide your business in different directions. So I think start from scratch, you know, start easy, start free, use a Word document, use an Excel sheet, all it really matters is that it makes sense the way it's categorized to you.

Alessia Citro 9:07
Great advice. And then the second follow up would be let's say that there are for the M for measurable metrics around social or email that people want to track. Are there any tools that you really like to help that along?

Dana Farber 9:22
Absolutely. So I use Sprout Social for my clients as a way to track digital and social so I use that as a social listening tool as well as a way to track our progress. However, I will say that Instagram itself and Facebook have great insights tool. So I'm always looking at those insights tools. And what I would recommend is don't wait until the end of the month, every single month. You should absolutely be putting your numbers into a spreadsheet or document to be tracking them, uh, for reporting, but you should be checking it at least once a week just to get a good pulse on Where are you seeing followers come from? Where are you seeing drop bots come from where are you seeing higher engagement because ideally, this is where you are able to pivot in real time. And that's what makes campaigns truly successful is being able to pay attention to the data and pivot in real time. So I would recommend Sprout Social is great for social drip is one of my absolute favorite email systems. It's great for pop ups is great for automation, it's great for email reporting. I also love flow desk, it's just really user friendly. So there are some amazing tools out there. But I honestly wouldn't sleep on just Instagrams tool. They are great, they're free, and they come set up with every single one of your accounts.

Alessia Citro 10:36
This was so helpful. Thank you for coming back on. So before we sign off, we're here to find you work with you and plug anything that you would like,

Dana Farber 10:43
great. So you guys can follow me at Moonstone marketing, it's Moonstone, all one word, and k t g.com. That's also my instagram handle Moonstone MKTG. You can also find me as a mentor for the theatre collective. And I'm also on Spotify and LinkedIn. So feel free to follow me on any platform and get in touch. I have three different programs, new moon, half moon and full moon phase marketing for whatever phase you're in for your business.

Alessia Citro 11:09
Thank you so much for coming back. I just adore you. I've loved working with you as a client. I'm so excited that you're mentoring Thea and I just appreciate you imparting your wisdom on us as well as your story. So make sure to go back and listen to the interview. If you guys didn't it was so good.

Dana Farber 11:23
This was amazing. Thank you so much for having me and giving me this platform and I love what you were doing with all of your businesses and I love when ambitious that aspect that you are back at you.

Alessia Citro 11:33
Thanks for being here. And until next time, we'll see you all soon. Thanks for listening to the show. If you enjoyed today's episode, please help me get the word out about the corporate drop out by screenshotting and sharing this on social. I would appreciate it so much if you would subscribe and leave a five star rating and review as well. And I do the show for you and I want to hear from you. So tell me what is it that you want more of text me at 949-541-0951 or slide into the DMS at corporate drop out official or Alesia Citro with two underscores until next time