How to align your marketing with your business goals using OKRs
Mar 29, 2025
If you’re putting energy into marketing but still wondering, “Is this actually doing anything?” you’re not alone.
Many SMEs and startups are active on social media, creating content, maybe running ads, but the impact feels vague. What’s often missing isn’t effort, it’s alignment.
That’s where OKRs come in. They help you connect your marketing activity to your actual business goals, in a measurable, time-based way.
What are OKRs?
OKRs (objectives and key results) are a goal-setting framework that helps you focus on outcomes, not just tasks.
Objective: What you want to achieve by a specific time
Key results: How you’ll measure progress toward that outcome
Initiatives: The work you’ll do to make it happen
They’re ideal for SMEs who want clarity, structure, and real progress, without the bloat.
Keep it simple: One business OKR and one marketing OKR per year is often more than enough to create impact.
Step 1: Set your annual business OKR
Your business OKR should reflect a high-level priority for the year. It could be about growth, positioning, retention, or expansion.
Example business OKR:
Objective: Establish our business as a go-to provider in the UK SME market by December 2025
Key result: Increase direct and organic website traffic by 20% year-on-year
Key result: Earn 3 industry awards or mentions by December 2025
This positions your brand to be known, recognised, and trusted, setting the foundation for future growth.
Step 2: Create a supporting marketing OKR (Attract phase)
Now translate that business goal into a marketing OKR focused on earning attention and building awareness.
Example marketing OKR:
Objective: Increase brand visibility and engagement with target audiences by December 2025
Key result: Increase website traffic by 20% over the year
Key result: Grow LinkedIn followers by 300 by year-end
Key result: Earn 10 backlinks from relevant industry websites by November 2025
This OKR is measurable, time-based, and laser-focused on the attract stage, bringing new people into your orbit organically and authentically.
Step 3: Choose initiatives that support your key results
Now that you know what you’re aiming for, you can plan how you’ll get there. These are your initiatives, specific activities tied directly to your key results.
Example initiatives:
Publish one SEO-optimised blog per month starting in Q1
Launch a LinkedIn content series in Q2 focused on founder insights
Collaborate with a partner on a Q3 guest blog or podcast
Run a targeted awareness ad campaign in Q4
Optimise your website’s homepage and About page in Q1 for better clarity and engagement
The key here is that you’re not doing marketing for marketing’s sake. Every initiative ties back to a goal.
Step 4: Break down your marketing OKR into supporting OKRs (if needed)
As your marketing activity expands across different channels, you might find it helpful to create supporting OKRs by focus area, for example, content, SEO, and social. These help keep ownership clear and measurement tight.
Main marketing OKR:
Objective: Increase brand visibility and engagement with target audiences by December 2025
Key results:
+20% website traffic
+300 LinkedIn followers
10 earned backlinks
Supporting OKR: Content marketing
Objective: Use content to attract and educate our ideal audience by December 2025
Key result: Publish 12 blog posts by year-end
Key result: Rank in the top 10 for 5 new SEO keywords by October
Initiatives:
Monthly blog content calendar
SEO optimisation process
Repurposing content for email and social
Supporting OKR: LinkedIn marketing
Objective: Build trust and authority on LinkedIn by December 2025
Key result: Increase followers by 300
Key result: Achieve average 5% engagement rate on posts by Q3
Initiatives:
2 posts per week
Community engagement (commenting and responding)
Quarterly LinkedIn content themes
Final thoughts: clarity beats complexity
You don’t need a dozen OKRs or a complicated strategy to make an impact. Start with:
One clear business objective
One focused marketing OKR
Measurable, time-based key results
A handful of initiatives that make sense for your audience
When your marketing aligns with your goals, and your customers’ needs, everything gets easier. You gain momentum, build credibility, and set your business up for sustainable growth.
Want help mapping your OKRs?
At Bagna Marketing, we help SMEs create focused strategies that support real business growth. If you're ready to align your marketing with what actually matters, we’d love to help.
If you have any questions, feel free to drop us an email at info@bagnamarketing.co.uk or meet us for a coffee at Platform or the Rose Bowl.