Why Your Content Marketing Goals Could Fail (and How to Fix Them)
Setting goals for your marketing is exciting but it’s also where many small business owners get stuck. You’ve probably read stories about brands that “went viral overnight” and think that should be the benchmark. The truth? Aspirational goals are great for long-term vision, but your realistic goals are what keep your business moving forward in a way that fits your actual resources.
Take this example:
Aspirational goal: “We want 100,000 TikTok followers this year.”
Realistic goal: “We want to grow by 500 followers who are local customers.”
One fuels the ego, the other fuels your bottom line.
Factor in Your Resources
Your goals should always be tied to what you actually have on hand:
Time: How many hours a week can you or your team really give to marketing?
Budget: Can you support ads, design or outsourcing?
Assets: Do you already have great photos, a blog, or customer stories you can use?
Team members: Who is realistically helping? Just you, or do you have support?
Tools and channels: Are you focusing on one platform you can manage well or spreading too thin across five?
Busy Work vs Beneficial Work
Posting every day just to “stay visible” can quickly turn into busy work. Beneficial work means creating content that drives awareness, builds trust or leads directly to sales. Ask: will this effort bring me closer to paying customers or am I just filling the feed?
Use AI for a Reality Check
Tools like ChatGPT can help you pressure-test your goals. You can ask: “Is this realistic for a business with my resources?” or “What’s a smarter way to achieve this?” Think of AI as your brainstorming partner not a replacement for strategy.
Rebel Advice
Before you lock in a goal, ask yourself: does it serve your brand identity, and does it fit within the resources you already have? If not, adjust it until it does.
If you’d like support and want to explore this further, book a consultation with me! Or sign up to be the first to access the Rebel AI + Me Content Strategy Playbook—a tool designed to help small business marketing stay both bold and doable.
