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Welcome to today's edition of Social Media Growth Guide!

Happy New Year's Eve! 🎊

As we close out 2025, it's the perfect time to reflect on your social media journey and set intentional goals for the year ahead. Whether you're starting fresh or building on momentum, this guide will help you create a growth strategy that actually works.

Why Goal-Setting Matters for Social Media Success

Without clear goals, you're posting into the void. Goals give you direction, help you measure progress, and keep you motivated when growth feels slow. The accounts that grow consistently aren't lucky—they're strategic.

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Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.

Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.

Learn more.

Step 1: Audit Your 2025 Performance

Before planning ahead, look back. Take 30 minutes to review:

What worked well? Identify your top 5 performing posts. What do they have in common? Topic, format, posting time, or tone?

What didn't work? Be honest about content that flopped. This isn't failure—it's data.

Your current metrics: Note your follower count, engagement rate, website clicks, and any other KPIs that matter to your business.

Step 2: Set SMART Goals for 2026

Vague goals like "grow my Instagram" won't cut it. Use the SMART framework:

Specific: Define exactly what you want to achieve. Instead of "get more followers," try "gain 5,000 Instagram followers."

Measurable: Choose metrics you can track (followers, engagement rate, email signups from social, sales).

Achievable: Be ambitious but realistic. If you gained 1,000 followers in 2025, aiming for 10,000 in 2026 might be a stretch.

Relevant: Align goals with your business objectives. More followers mean nothing if they don't convert.

Time-bound: Break annual goals into quarterly milestones. This keeps you accountable and lets you adjust strategy.

Example Goals for Different Platforms

Instagram: Grow from 3,000 to 8,000 followers with a 4% average engagement rate by December 2026.

LinkedIn: Post 3x weekly and generate 50 qualified leads through content by Q2.

TikTok: Reach 100,000 views per month by June and monetize through the Creator Fund.

YouTube: Publish 52 videos (one per week) and hit 10,000 subscribers by year-end.

Step 3: Choose Your Growth Strategy

Pick one primary strategy for each platform rather than spreading yourself thin:

Content pillar approach: Create 3-5 core content themes and rotate through them consistently.

Collaboration strategy: Partner with 2-3 creators monthly for cross-promotion.

Engagement-first method: Spend 20 minutes daily engaging with target audience content.

Paid acceleration: Allocate budget to boost top organic content and run targeted ad campaigns.

SEO optimization: Research keywords and create searchable content for discovery.

Step 4: Plan Your Content Calendar

Consistency beats perfection. Here's how to stay consistent in 2026:

Batch create content: Dedicate one day per month to create 15-20 pieces of content.

Use templates: Save 70% of creation time with reusable templates for graphics and captions.

Schedule in advance: Use tools like Later, Buffer, or Meta Business Suite to schedule 1-2 weeks ahead.

Build in flexibility: Leave 20% of your calendar open for trending topics and spontaneous content.

Step 5: Track and Adjust Monthly

Set a monthly review date to check your progress:

• Are you on track to hit quarterly goals?

• Which content types are performing best?

• What new trends should you test?

• Do any goals need adjusting based on platform changes?

Your January Action Plan

To hit the ground running in 2026, complete these tasks before January 7th:

1. Write down your top 3 social media goals for 2026

2. Create your content pillar themes

3. Batch create your first month of content

4. Set up a tracking spreadsheet for monthly metrics

5. Schedule your first week of posts

Tools to Support Your Goals

Analytics: Native platform insights, Sprout Social, Typefully, or Hootsuite Analytics

Content creation: Canva Pro, Adobe Express, or CapCut for video

Scheduling: Buffer, Later, Hootsuite, Typefully, or platform-native schedulers

Idea generation: AnswerThePublic, Google Trends, or ChatGPT

Performance tracking: Google Sheets template or Notion dashboard

Final Thoughts

The difference between accounts that grow and accounts that stagnate in 2026 will come down to intentionality. You don't need to post more—you need to post smarter. Set clear goals, stay consistent, and give yourself permission to experiment and learn.

Here's to your biggest growth year yet! 🚀

That's a wrap!