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In the good old days, buying advertising was as simple as calling a media buyer to find out how much inventory was available.  Advertising could be purchased by length and frequency where simple pricing rates could apply.

In the online realm, a creative executive soon finds that the model is not only dissimilar, but it’s nearly non-existent.  This especially becomes apparent when considering the world of search engine optimization and social media.  Do these questions sound familiar?

How much does it cost to get my site ranked #1 on the top of Google?
Can you get my company into facebook, twitter, etc.?

If you have been asked these questions in the past, you likely go into “repeat mode” where a 10,000 ft. education overview is required to explain your consulting rates.  And even if you are lucky to have a prospect that is willing to hear your entire pitch, the whole thought of having to wait for results is not the advertising norm and will typically spawn a negative reaction…even among seasoned executives.  For those that find themselves in this situation, I suggest you may want to view social media and search engine optimization like strength training.

1.    It may look like a big job- no one said that it was going to be easy.  In contrast to purchasing advertising, disciplines like search engine optimization and social marketing take time to grow and harvest.  Everyone would love to have instantaneous results, but this is not realistic

2.    It takes continual practice- to be successful with most online media, you’ll need to continually try new things and perfect others.  No one has a magic formula for success.  If it were an exact science, it wouldn’t be marketing.

3.    Frequency is key- just like building muscles, you need to continually develop your online presence, grow your social footprint, talk to industry professionals, and keep reading.

4.    Think holistically vs. too narrow- too much of anything is typically not a good thing.  Like strength training, focusing globally is better than just doing one thing.  In addition, taking time to rest certain areas will allow you to rejuvenate and worth those areas from a new perspective.

5.    If you let things sit, they lose strength- if you’re serious about managing a certain channel, you can’t “get it to a point” and decide to drop off without incurring some consequences.  This isn’t to say that you can’t pick it back up, but as a general rule of thumb, continual maintenance is needed to keep things at status quo.

The idea that marketing promotion takes time to build strength is not a totally new idea.  The fact of the matter is that most advertising channels do not translate into instant success by merely using them.  Every advertising medium needs time to work their magic, measure results, and tweak.  Social media and search engine optimization should be treated no differently other than it will typically take more initial invested man-hours to build momentum.  Everyone wants to see results overnight, but in many cases is not possible given the medium’s characteristics.  An experienced online consultant should be able to set realistic expectations and milestones that are required to achieve your business objective.  Advice your prospects to be patient and build strength, the results are just around the corner.