As evidenced by the narrative and following examples in this The Atlantic article, Why Good Advertising Works (Even When You Think It Doesn’t), advertising almost never yields results immediately. People just don’t like to be sold, or the idea that they can be sold.
Good advertising takes years of coddling, coaxing, nourishing, and patience before its return may be realized. It’s like raising a cow–look how much time and effort goes into “beefing” up before thousands of cow care hours later a road construction crew slogs into a nearby Burger King after a long, hot one to convert that now flame-broiled investment to moo-lah.
There is this emerging trend that has businesses hyper-focused on short-term ROI. This “get rich fast” scheme is masquerading as a legitimate best-business-practice. With the advent and use of sophisticated metrics and other high-tech tracking devices everyone feels that the marketing formula has come so far as to align investment predictions with actual return. That is almost never the case, especially with online brand marketing.
It is recommended that social media, newsletters, blogs, etc. and other outbound marketing be conducted on weekly basis. There are a slew of statistics that demonstrate how increased frequency yields increased traffic, which in turn increases conversions. But no one can tell you exactly how much you return will be on those marketing efforts, nor can they tell you which marketing channel will be more effective.
We are living in a shot-gun approach to marketing world; some call it multi-level marketing, but the point is there is no one way to hit those moving targets. Instead you do everything you know to do, and look for what’s working and focus harder in those places. But, this process is not as immediate as we make think.
Just as it takes a couple of years to raise, let’s say a black angus cow, to slaughter-weight, expect your marketing return cycles to extend in similar fashion. If you are beginning a blog, or social media campaign, you really may not begin to see traction until after the first year, or two. Of course, cycles will vary depending on the business and ability to cross-market new channels to an existing client base, but we’re talking starting from scratch here.
The good thing about raising cattle or a marketing campaign is that the more you do it, the easier it is to get an idea of what kind of return vs. cost you’re dealing with. But remember, outside threats to your marketing efforts can be just as unforeseen and detrimental to your cash cow campaign as a caravan of bored teenagers who can upend your entire stock in an hour long cow tipping extravaganza.
