Creating a Realistic Marketing Schedule

It goes without saying that we live in a society of instant gratification. When we launch a marketing campaign, we want results at the snap of a finger. Unfortunately, this is far from reality with most marketing campaigns.

Like almost everything else in life, marketing requires patience and a realistic mindset.

Creating a realistic marketing schedule doesn’t have to be complicated.
When you know what to expect, you might have an easier time playing the waiting game. Here are several guidelines to follow for creating a realistic marketing schedule.

Set Goals Within Reason

The first step to creating a realistic marketing schedule is setting realistic goals. Not only should they be realistic, they also need to be specific. Setting your target goal as “generating more phone calls” isn’t going to help you achieve much of anything. Specifically state how many calls, e-mails, or leads that need to be generated in order to consider your campaign a success.

 

Realistic Schedule For Social Media Campaigns

Depending on the popularity and context, social media campaigns can yield results within several hours to a few weeks. For example, ‘like’ campaigns can generate new Facebook likes quite quickly. However, if you are looking to generate leads from your social media campaign, this can require a bit more time and testing.

 

Realistic Schedule For Direct Mail Campaigns

When it comes to direct mail marketing, you can set an expiration date right on the mailer. The key here is to give your audience enough time to absorb your message and respond. It isn’t advised to mail your direct mailers out on a Friday and expect top results come Wednesday morning. Depending on your offer or call to action, give your customers at least 3-4 weeks to respond.

Creating a sense of urgency can get results trickling in faster.

 

Realistic Schedule For SEO Campaign

SEO campaigns take time to gain traction, especially if you are executing it the ethical way. Although you can technically achieve results quite quickly with unethical SEO practices, these results are unsustainable and will result in penalization from Google.

Your expectations for SEO depend on where your website is ranking to begin with. There will be time differences in results between a brand new website and a website that is 5 years old. There are also other varieties to factor, especially if a website has recently been penalized.

SEO campaigns are unique to each client. It can be difficult to pinpoint an exact timeframe for SEO results, but most businesses will begin to see movement within 3-6 months. It’s important to understand that SEO is not an overnight fix; it requires diligence and patience, but the results can pay off big in the long run.

In a perfect world, our marketing campaigns would yield results quickly and efficiently. Marketing can be a bit unpredictable, and practicing patience is critical for your success.