How to Check Your Goal Progress with Targets in Measure Studio

When do you usually realize you have met or missed 50% of your goals?

For many of us, it happens at the worst possible time. During a monthly check-in when the lead opens the shared spreadsheet in front of the whole team. 

You're frantically filling in numbers right before the call, only to discover your quarterly goals are still far out of reach. Then comes the back-and-forth.

Campaigns shift mid-stream. Priorities get rearranged. Numbers get adjusted at the last minute. And those goals you set so confidently at the start of the quarter? They slowly fade into the background, gathering dust while the day-to-day rush takes over.

By the time you circle back, you're not steering toward your objectives, you're just reacting to them. And that constant cycle of setting, forgetting, and scrambling makes progress feel harder than it should.

The truth is, most teams don’t miss their goals because they're unrealistic. They miss them because they lose visibility.

We set targets, but we don’t revisit them often enough. We create spreadsheets, but no one actually enjoys digging through them. We're great at setting intentions, not so great at checking the path along the way.

That’s where things start to break down.

Because without a simple way to keep goals visible, they stop being a guide and turn into a quarterly surprise. And that’s not just frustrating, it can throw entire campaigns off track.

But now, with our Targets feature, you can stay in check always knowing exactly where you stand. How? Let’s cover that next. 

What are social media targets?

Targets are the measurable benchmarks you set for a metric on Measure Studio. These are concrete numbers with a timeframe.

Not “do more content,” but “reach 100K TikTok views this month,” “gain 500 followers this quarter,” or “hit a 10% engagement rate on campaign X.” They turn vague intentions into something you can actually track.

Targets can be useful steering tools or toxic milestones that encourage gaming, short-term thinking, and false confidence.

Common problems you’ll see in the wild:

• They get gamed: Teams optimize the metric, not the outcome. Want followers? Buy engagement pods or run low-quality giveaways that inflate numbers but don’t move the business.

• They are arbitrary: Many targets are pulled from thin air like “leadership wants 20% growth”. These targets are often without any baseline, seasonality, or capacity considered. That’s demotivating, not motivating.

• They create tunnel vision: A single headline target (e.g., impressions) can drown out what really matters (e.g., conversion, retention).

• They rot in the spreadsheet: Set once, forgotten forever, then adjusted last minute before a review. Surprise, you weren’t really tracking them.

• They reward volatility: One viral post can “hit” a target while masking underlying problems in consistency or quality.

So what makes a good target? And how do you avoid the downsides?

A good target aligns with real business outcomes, is grounded in historical performance and context, mixes leading and lagging indicators, and is reviewed regularly by a defined owner.

Limiting the number of targets to a handful per team also ensures focus, and keeping them flexible allows teams to adjust without losing sight of the goal.

Here are some practical rules that actually work:

• Align targets to real outcomes: If revenue matters, track content-to-revenue or qualified leads, not just likes.

• Use baselines and context: Set targets from historical performance + seasonality + realistic uplift (not aspiration alone).

• Mix leading and lagging indicators: Combine immediate signals (CTR, completion rate) with business outcomes (conversions, LTV).

• Limit the list: Focus on 3–5 targets per team so attention isn’t diluted.

• Define ownership and cadence: Who owns each target? How often do you review it? Weekly check-ins catch issues early.

• Build guardrails, not shackles: Allow adjustments but log changes so targets don’t become excuse-makers.

They shouldn’t be trophies or traps. When done wrong, they might just look great on a deck but are terrible in practice.

Read: How to Use TikTok Listening to Make Your Presence Viral-Worthy

Where can you use targets on Measure Studio?

Targets in Measure Studio aren’t one-size-fits-all. They can be applied at different levels depending on what you want to track.

• At the platform level, you can monitor overall performance across an entire channel, like total Instagram reach or TikTok views.

• The account level focuses on a single account, helping you track high-level goals such as follower growth, engagement rate, or reach.

• For teams managing multiple accounts, the account group level lets you track combined performance across several accounts, giving a bigger-picture view without losing detail.

• At the post group level, you can monitor specific campaigns, content themes, or time periods to see how targeted content performs toward your goals.

No matter which level you choose, setting targets this way keeps your goals visible, helps you stay on track, and allows for real-time, data-driven adjustments to figure out what worked and what didn’t.

Read: Everything You Need to Know About the 70/20/10 Rule for Social Media

How to use targets in Measure Studio

Are you ready to define clear benchmarks and see your progress in real time? Here’s how to get started:

1. Open your dashboard and click the Target button.

2. In the side panel, select Add Target. This is where you’ll start creating your benchmark.

3. Select the date range for the data you want to track (weekly, monthly, or for a custom period).

   
   

   Choose the level for your target: platform, account, account group, or post group. Pick the platform you want to track, like Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn. 

   
   

   Select the metric that matters most like followers, reach, engagement, or any KPI you want to monitor. Set your numerical goal, the exact number you want to achieve.

4. Save your target, which will now appear in a list for easy reference.

Once set, your targets are displayed right alongside your metrics on the dashboard. This makes it easy to monitor progress, stay on track, and make adjustments whenever needed so you always know where you stand.

Read: Top 10 Ad Campaign Metrics That You Should Track

Wrapping up

Instead of letting goals sit in isolation, Targets pull them right into your daily workflow. Every time you check your dashboard, you know exactly where you stand.

If you're close to hitting a goal, it’s a boost of motivation. If you're falling short, it’s a nudge to adjust, not weeks later, but right away.

And when the whole team is looking at the same benchmarks, there’s no room for guesswork. Success stops sounding like “engagement looks good” and turns into something concrete, like “we are 60% of the way toward our goal with two weeks left.”

In short, Targets make your goals part of the process, not an afterthought. They keep you accountable, aligned, and focused on the metrics that actually move the needle.

Want to see it for yourself? Check out Measure Studio and see how Targets can keep your goals on track.

Get started with Measure Studio today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I really need Targets if I am already tracking metrics in spreadsheets?

Spreadsheets can work, but they often leave you reacting too late. Targets in Measure Studio bring your goals right onto your dashboard, so you can see progress in real time instead of scrambling at the end of the month.

Can I set different Targets for different platforms?

Yes! You can set Targets at the platform, account, account group, or post group level. That means whether you’re tracking overall Instagram reach or the success of a single campaign, you can create a Target that fits.

What happens if I don't hit my target?

That’s actually the point, you’ll know right away. Targets highlight when you are falling short, so you can adjust mid-campaign instead of finding out too late. Missing a Target becomes a chance to learn, adapt, and get back on track.