"Do marketing" is not a goal
Most small-business marketing fails before the first post because the goal is vague: "grow the page", "get more sales", "go viral". You can't hit a target you haven't defined.
SMART goals fix this. Every objective should be:
- Specific — what exactly, for whom?
- Measurable — a number you can check.
- Achievable — ambitious but possible with your budget.
- Relevant — tied to revenue or a step toward it.
- Time-bound — a deadline.
Weak: "Increase our Instagram presence." Strong: "Get 50 WhatsApp orders from Instagram in the next 30 days with a ₦30,000 ($20) ad budget."
KPIs that matter vs vanity metrics
A KPI (key performance indicator) is the number that tells you whether the goal is on track. The trap is vanity metrics — numbers that feel good but don't pay you:
- Vanity: follower count, likes, impressions, page views.
- Real: enquiries (DMs/WhatsApp messages), email signups, add-to-carts, orders, repeat orders, cost per enquiry.
Vanity metrics aren't useless — they're diagnostic. Low reach explains low enquiries. But you report to yourself in money-shaped numbers. Every campaign, post, and deliverable in this course must name the KPI it serves. If you can't name it, don't ship it.
Match KPIs to funnel stage: awareness → reach and profile visits; consideration → saves, replies, email signups; conversion → orders and cost per order; retention → repeat purchase rate.
Choosing your channel mix on a small budget
With ₦50k–₦200k a month, you cannot be everywhere. Pick deliberately:
- Go where your persona already is. Chiamaka the Yaba designer lives on Instagram and Twitter; a B2B logistics buyer lives on LinkedIn and email.
- One primary, one secondary, one owned. Example for a Lagos bakery: Instagram (primary — visual product), WhatsApp broadcast (owned — repeat orders), Google Business Profile (secondary — captures "cake near me" searches).
- Match channel to funnel gap. No one knows you? Spend on awareness (social + small paid boost). People know you but don't buy? Fix conversion (landing page, offer, retargeting) before buying more awareness.
The most common ₦100k mistake: splitting it across five channels and moving no needle on any of them.
Try it now
Write one SMART goal for a business you know, name its single most important KPI, and pick a three-channel mix (primary / secondary / owned) with one sentence justifying each. Keep this — it feeds directly into this week's project.