Many small business owners struggle with promotion.
One principle that has helped me grow Micserah, my direct-to-consumer wristwatch brand, is simple:
Go for underpriced attention.
Spend on appropriately priced attention.
Ignore overpriced attention.
I apply the same logic to building my personal brand.
Right now, Facebook and Instagram offer massively underpriced attention. And I'm saying this clearly — take advantage of it before it becomes like television commercials or billboards: expensive and inaccessible for small businesses.
Learn Before You Spend
Before you do anything, go to Google and search:
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"How to create Instagram ads"
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"How to create Facebook ads"
Spend time learning. Watch videos. Read guides. Understand the basics.
Then start small.
Too many entrepreneurs look at big brands with massive ad budgets and assume marketing is expensive. It's not. It's about strategy.
Yes, you can do billboards. You can brand a BRT bus for ₦250,000+ monthly if you have the budget. But for most small businesses, that attention is overpriced.
Be honest — when last did you really look at a billboard?
Most people are staring at their phones in traffic.
TV commercials? People are scrolling Instagram.
The world has moved online.
The New World of Marketing Is Digital
Thousands of small brands are making millions of naira through:
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Facebook ads
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Instagram ads
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Influencer marketing
At Micserah, about 80% of our ad spend goes into influencer marketing on Facebook and Instagram.
The beauty of these platforms?
You can start with as little as ₦1,000.
It's accessible. It's scalable. And it's performance-driven.
How to Win on Facebook and Instagram
1. Create Customer Segments
Do not advertise to "everyone."
Break your audience into segments.
Create 5–20 different audience groups and test each with small amounts of money. Some will fail. Some will perform exceptionally well.
When you find the segment that converts, increase the budget for that segment.
Example:
If you sell hair attachments, you could target women in Lekki who are interested in Tiwa Savage. If your product aligns with what she represents stylistically, you're tapping into a highly relevant audience.
Relevance beats reach.
2. Go Narrow
Many people go broad because they are afraid of high CPMs (cost per thousand impressions).
But narrow targeting often yields faster, better results.
If your buyers are concentrated in Lagos Island, target Lagos Island only.
Precision reduces waste.
3. Don't Blow Your Budget on OnPostst
This is where many small businesses fail.
They boost onPostst heavily and hope for miracles.
Instead:
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Test multiple creatives.
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Test different captions.
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Test different audiences.
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Use small budgets first.
Once you identify what works, then scale.
Also, pay attention to your organic posts. If a post already has strong engagement, that's usually a good candidate for paid promotion.
4. Invest in Video
Video is powerful — but it must align with your brand.
Ask yourself:
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Should it be entertaining?
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Educational?
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Product-focused?
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Lifestyle-driven?
For a brand like Micserah, aesthetics matter. The video must feel premium.
For other businesses, humour or storytelling might convert better.
Understand your brand voice before investing heavily in production.
Why I Love Facebook and Instagram Ads
They are intent-based.
You're not just hoping someone driving past a billboard notices you. You're placing your product directly in front of likely interested people.
For small businesses, that efficiency is everything.
If you're running a small business, don't complain about marketing being expensive.
Learn the platforms. Test intelligently. Spend wisely.
Underpriced attention doesn't stay underpriced forever.
How are you currently promoting your business?
Leave a comment — I'd love to hear your strategy.
— Adekunle Adeniji
Very insightful
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this information.
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