Blog Layout

This is a subtitle for your new post

As we approach the end of the first month of 2023, the goals we set waaay back at the start of January have probably been long forgotten by now. We all set goals for things, whether it’s day to day short term goals or something bigger but we don’t all know how to set goals for success. How can SMART goals help? Let’s take a look at what SMART goals are and the benefits of them. 


What are SMART Goals? 

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. Each component of this acronym will ensure your goals stay in focus and you stay on the right track. Let’s take a closer look at each step of SMART…


Specific 

First of all, your goal needs to be specific. What we mean by this is, instead of “I want to make more money” you reframe your goal to “I want to make an extra €10,000 in my business this year” When you have a specific goal, you can then begin to break it down into manageable stepping stones. By working backwards from your goal of €10,000, you could work out that you need to earn an extra €833 per month or €30 a day to make it happen which is a lot less daunting and easier to plan for.


Measurable 

Your goals need to be measurable or how else will you know when you are hitting those goal targets? When you have identified your specific goal, it’s a good idea to create checkpoints from the start so you can measure your progress along the way. Going back to making an extra €10,000 a year, how could you break this down further and what actions do you need to take to work towards the overall goal? Maybe it’s introducing yourself to 10 new prospects a week or cutting down on unnecessary resources within your business. 


Achievable 

The next question you will need to ask yourself is, is your goal achievable? While we would encourage anyone to reach for the stars and more, some goals just need to be a bit more within reach to achieve using the SMART method. If your goal is to gain 30 new clients, it might not be achievable in the next week but spread out over the course of six months or a year, your goal becomes achievable. What actionable steps can you take every day to ensure you achieve your goals?


Realistic

Realistic and Achievable are closely related in the fact that for your goals to be achievable, they also need to be realistic. So, going back to the goal of 30 new clients in six months, this goal might technically be achievable but will it put you under so much pressure that it’s not realistic with the time and resources you have available? Weigh up what’s achievable and what you can achieve realistically for the best results. 


Timely

Lastly any goal you set yourself should be timebound as without this, it’s not really a goal just a lifelong dream. You can set short term or long term goals but always ensure they have a clear start and end date. To take actionable steps towards an achievable and realistic goal, you need to set yourself a target time frame.


What are the Benefits of Getting SMART with Your Goals?

While this method is considerably longer and takes more effort than the type of goals you write down and lose on bits of paper, the results are worth it. SMART goal setting gives you  clear results to celebrate in an achievable timeframe.


SMART goal setting also allows you to track and measure what works and what doesn’t during set time periods instead of aimlessly floating towards a vague idea which never materialises. If you own a business, SMART goals can get your team motivated and excited about working toward a shared end result. 


Example:


Initial Goal – To learn a new language



Specific To learn French before your holiday to France in one year’s time by learning 10 new words every month. 


Measurable By month one I want to understand and speak 10 French words, by month two, I will learn 20 new words. Test yourself every month!


Achievable How achievable is this goal for you? Do you speak any French or are you a beginner? Do you have time to learn 10 words a month or should it be less? Are you a fast learner? 


Realistic Is this a realistic goal for you? Is one year enough time to learn a whole new language? How can you break it down into realistic steps to fit your life?


Timely To learn French before my holiday in January 2024 has a clear start and end date. 


We hope this has helped you to think about how SMART your goals are and what you can do to achieve them with the SMART method. What do you want to achieve this year? Have you set any goals? Let us know here and we will send you some encouragement!


If you want to take this a step further, why not try out our free SMART Goals Workbook download? Check it out here


Our Blog

Featured Business Spotlight! - Annette & Holly

by Lakeland Digital • 10 Oct, 2023
Introduce yourself and tell us your business name... Hi, we are Annette & Holly from A&H Creations How long have you been in business? A Couple of months What is your product or service? Kinder box with sweets and treats for all occasions Why did you start your business? To help my daughter get involved in something she has a creative side to her. What are you most passionate about in your business? We love making gifts for people and seeing the end product. Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 years time? Hopefully it will have grown more over 5 years. What is your advice for anyone who wants to start a business? Go and do it, it’s never too late to start and achieve your goal. Is there anything you dislike about being a business owner? Not at the moment How do you promote your business? Social media & posters Share the links to your website and/or social media with us! Facebook Instagram If you would like to shine the spotlight on your business and be featured in our blog, just send us a message .

4 Ways Being a Parent Can Help Your Business!

by Lakeland Digital • 22 Sept, 2023
This is a subtitle for your new post

Our Business – The First Two Years

by Lakeland Digital • 14 Jun, 2023
Welcome back to our blog! It’s a little different this week as we usually tailor our content towards helping business owners, but today - Our blog is all about us! We are coming up to our second business birthday and wanted to tell you a little bit about our journey so far. You probably know us by now, but if not… Hi, we are Anita and Sarah! Back in 2021 we formed a partnership to provide marketing services to business owners. We were no strangers to marketing and had been working with business owners with their social media, content and copywriting for over 9 years! In 2021 we decided it was time to stop assisting other marketers and agencies to help businesses, utilise our range of skills and take on some clients of our own! Our first year was tough and a real learning curve for us both to get our business and processes in place because we bootstrapped EVERYTHING. From registering our business, drawing up a partnership contract, our accounts, our website, we did it all. We are extremely grateful for that time because we learnt so much along the way. In the beginning our services were aimed towards social media as that’s what we had both been working in immediately prior to setting up our business but as time went on we realised we had so much more to offer our clients, this was the catalyst for our rebrand in 2022. After many tears, our rebrand was complete and it was time to launch. We love our brand, it tells the story of us perfectly and captures who we are and what we offer. Since then, we have both studied hard to gain further qualifications to support our experience and have been helping business owners with many of aspects their businesses including writing services, social media, branding, design and printed marketing. These days our processes are a lot smoother and business is great! We are lucky to have the support from our amazing family, friends, clients and business connections. This week, we are celebrating two years in business, looking back at our hard work and high fiving each other on everything we’ve achieved. We are looking forward to the next two years and beyond! Thanks to everyone who continues to support us, it means the world. ❤️

5 Biggest Mistakes Business Owners are Making on Social Media

by Lakeland Digital • 29 May, 2023
Running a business is HARD. We are so used to wearing allll the hats, that it feels natural to take on every single aspect of our businesses ourselves but as social media marketers, we have come across a number of mistakes business owners make when it comes to their business social media accounts. Inconsistency Posting to your channels inconsistently does more harm than good on social media. Your audience is looking for a bold presence and fresh new content regularly. Social media is fast paced and let’s face it, sometimes fickle so you need to post on a regular basis to avoid your audience forgetting about you or worse, thinking your business isn’t active or open anymore.Get in the habit of posting your latest news, offers and business updates when they occur. Not Engaging or answering Messages The post and run approach doesn’t really work, yes posting regular content will keep people interested for a while, but not engaging with an active audience will cause your audience to drop off and lose interest. Social media is a two way street and using your channels to get your message across and then listening to and engaging with your followers is key. Take time to check your messages for new customer queries daily and shoot out a quick reply or arrange to follow up later. Not Optimising Content Make sure to optimise your content for each of your chosen social media channels. They are all so different! Take note of the different sized image ratios on each platform and adjust the sizing of your images and text to avoid chopping off half a word or image and also be aware of the tone of voice in your copy and your calls to action as the audiences on each platform can vary greatly. Deleting or Ignoring Negative Reviews Please please please don’t delete or ignore a negative review! Look at it as an opportunity to not only put things right with your customer but to show your entire audience how on point your customer service is. Learn from your negative reviews. Mistakes are normal and unfortunately, as a business owner your mistakes are on show for everyone to see but when you see a business who works hard to put that mistake right and turn a negative into a positive, that’s gold. No Clear Strategy Ahh strategy… this doesn’t have to be as difficult as it sounds. The core of every social media strategy is simply getting to know your target audience inside out and tailoring your content to them. Talk directly to the person you want to attract to your business through your content and ask yourself what they want to see, read, hear and watch. What do you think? Have you spotted any other common mistakes business owners make on social media? If you are done with social media and just want to concentrate on your business and what you do best, why not give our ‘done for you’ social media service a try? We are happy to set up a free call so we can get to know one another better and see if we are a good fit for your business.

Bullet Journaling – Keeping it Simple!

by Lakeland Digital • 23 May, 2023
Welcome back to our blog! We have been thinking a lot these past few weeks about staying organised as a business owner, especially if you are adding parenting into the mix! Anyone who is on a similar journey to us will know how exhausting it can be sometimes….(ok, all the time.) If you are reading this, we wanted to let you in on one of our favourite methods of organising our lives, appointments and work in a simple way and in one place. We love all things digital but does anything beat putting pen to paper when you are trying to organise your life and mind? Whilst we have all the respect for those pretty, washi taped to within an inch of their lives journals, for us, we have found simple works best. The Bullet Journal. Huge credit to Ryder Carrol l who came up with the concept of the bullet journal. The best part is, all you need is a simple notebook and pen. Here’s how it works: Open your notebook at the first two blank pages and write ‘Index’ at the top of both those pages.

So, What is Digital Marketing Exactly?

by Lakeland Digital • 11 May, 2023
If you are new to the online world for business then you might be wondering what digital marketing is and what it can do for your business. In a nutshell digital marketing is any form of marketing on the internet including social media platforms, email marketing, SEO, paid advertisements, paid search or PPC, blogs, videos, your website and any other marketing activities that take place online. Digital marketing is most often compared with inbound marketing because you are actively pulling your current and potential customers towards you with your content which remains more aligned with digital over traditional marketing methods. According to Statista , as of January 2023, there were 5.16 billion internet users worldwide so if you are still on the fence with digital, now is the time to leverage digital marketing for your business. These types of marketing efforts can boost brand awareness and connect with your customer through every stage of their buying journey and to be honest, in this day and age, customers are already expecting businesses to create and maintain a strong digital presence. There are a number of free and paid ways you can market your business across digital channels and platforms and it’s a good idea to explore them and see which ones work best for you, your budget and your business. Why Use Digital Marketing in Your Business? Digital marketing simply places you where your customers are: online, and allows you to connect with them in the right places at the right times. Here are just some of the reasons why you should bring your business online: It’s highly cost effective You can strategize and measure your efforts to success You will reach your audience at every stage of the buying cycle It allows you to talk to your audience directly compared to traditional marketing methods which speak to the masses. Instantly adapt and change your marketing plans based on real-time metrics Connect with your customers and followers on a deeper level You can provide exceptional customer service Digital marketing can work for all types of businesses, it doesn’t matter if you are B2B or a B2C business, if you have a physical product or your business primarily sells services, the digital world works for everyone once you approach it with an open mind, a solid strategy and an understanding of your ideal customer. Do you need some help to bring your business online? We would love to grab a coffee with you and see how we can help. Contact us here .

What is Imposter Syndrome?

by Lakeland Digital • 07 Feb, 2023
This is a subtitle for your new post

How Smart are Your Goals?

by Lakeland Digital • 25 Jan, 2023
This is a subtitle for your new post

4 Ways a Blog Can Help Your Business

07 Apr, 2022
4 Ways a Blog Can Help Your Business Have you ever considered adding a blog to your business marketing strategy? Creating a blog on your business website is one of the easiest and effective ways to market your products or services and will help your business to grow and thrive. Here are just 4 of the benefits. Send Traffic Straight to Your Website You already have the website and the customers are out there...somewhere. Create a blog to link the two! There are 4.95 billion internet users globally according to DataReportal , that’s 62.5% of the population searching for content to consume, entertain and educate daily. Put yourself right in their line of vision with a blog. Showcase Your Products & Authority Blogging is a good way to highlight your products or services and let your audience know more about what you provide. If you have a product you could write a blog explaining how it was made or a ‘how to’ on ways to use it. This helps people who want to know more before they purchase and helps your existing customers too, allowing you to stamp your authority as the leader in your niche. The Results Are Endless A blog is not a one-time marketing effort. By placing your blog on your website, your social media platforms and listing it in Google, your content will be seen over and over for as long as you leave it there. This will keep generating leads, educating your customers and driving traffic to your website. Win win! Display Your Brand Message Your brand is a lot bigger than your logo, it’s all about how you portray yourself to your audience and how you present yourself in person and online. Not only will a blog convey who you are, it is also an opportunity to share your latest news, the unique way you do business and a chance shout about your values. The possibilities are endless. If you know you need a blog but just don’t know where to start, we would love to help. If you need some inspiration, just click here to bounce some ideas or let us know a little bit about you and what you want to achieve and we will be happy to work with you on your blogging strategy.

5 Benefits of Branding Your Business

by Lakeland Digital & Print • 11 Mar, 2022
5 Benefits of Branding Your Business If you have a business but lack an effective brand you might not realise just how important it is to your overall success long-term. Many businesses wing it and the result is lack of recognition, messy processes and unfortunately, in some cases, the end of the line for the business. Why take that chance? Read on for 5 benefits branding can bring to your business. Get Your Business Seen… and Remembered! A common misconception is that branding only refers to the ‘face’ of your business; the logo’s, the colours, the fonts when in fact, branding encapsulates your business in its entirety including your mission, your USP, your values, your tone, your style…you. It’s true though, that getting your business seen in the first instance with strong aesthetics is the showstopper, these are the reasons potential customers stop scrolling and take a closer look at what you do and more importantly, what you can do for them. Build Credibility & Trust What does a well-known brand evoke in you? Is it trust, familiarity and credibility? why do you always pick up a certain brand of washing powder? because you have used it before? because it does the job? you like the smell? perhaps it’s just ok for you, it could be better but it’s the one your family always used so you have always trusted it. Do you spot it instantly on the shelf? Does your home smell of it? This is all part of credibility and trust. It’s important to spend time building these elements within your business and threading it throughout your brand. Achieve Companywide Consistency One of the most important aspects of branding on the internal side of a business is its ability to keep your team in line and on the same page. If you have drafted out effective brand guidelines to your staff, then they instantly know what’s what. For your design team, it’s the logo, the font, the hex codes. For your customer service representatives, it’s your tone of voice, your values and how your customer perceive you. For your advertisers, it’s your message and the way you present and conduct yourself online and in print. Gain Customer Loyalty & Referrals As we mentioned above, familiarity helps with brand recognition, repeat business, customer loyalty and longevity of interest and use in your business. This also leads to referrals which is one of the best and most satisfying ways to get new customers! What better way for your customers to say “We love you!” Solidify Your Strategies If you know where you are, who you are and what you are setting out to do, strategy and goal setting becomes a whole lot easier to map out and adhere to. This doesn’t mean your strategy can’t change as you develop and grow, far from it but means that you can afford to test things out and be creative while remaining true to your brand. If you need some help with an effective brand kit for your business, we can help. We would love to get to know you and your business and help you to craft a strong brand. Have a chat with us!
Share by: