{"id":21627,"date":"2023-07-14T12:43:46","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T16:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sanctuarymg.com\/academy\/?p=21627"},"modified":"2023-09-20T04:18:06","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T08:18:06","slug":"why-results-take-time-with-digital-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sanctuarymg.com\/academy\/strategy\/why-results-take-time-with-digital-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Why It Can Take Time to See Results with Digital Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Everyone wants fast results. Whether it\u2019s in business or anything else, it\u2019s not fun to wait around to see your hard work start to pay off. Wouldn\u2019t it be ideal to work hard in the morning and see the fruits of that labor by the afternoon?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, that\u2019s not how the world works, and it\u2019s not typically the case with digital marketing either. In this article, we\u2019ll talk about why digital marketing can take time to really pay off, and why you should be willing to invest that time (and money) to get meaningful results that really move your business forward. We\u2019ll take a look at some digital marketing strategies that don\u2019t take as much time, so you can hopefully give your business a bit of a short-term boost while also playing the long game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set Realistic Expectations When it Comes to Digital Marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we get into the more technical details of why it can take some time to see results with your digital marketing efforts, let\u2019s first talk about the contradiction contained within this field. In the digital world, everything is fast. You can get in touch with people in an instant. You can make purchases, watch shows, play music, and on and on \u2026and it all happens instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, we have become accustomed to getting immediate results when we do things online. It doesn\u2019t really matter what it is that we are doing on the web, we know it will happen just as fast as we can imagine. So when something in this realm takes a little longer, it stands out and feels like a pain point. Digital marketing can actually lead to some pretty quick gains in addition to the longer-term benefits, but many businesses don\u2019t stick around long enough to see it play out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To find success in this space, you\u2019ll need to set your preconceived notions of how the internet should work aside and get to know the digital marketing landscape a little better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Long Game vs. The Short Game<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"long-term-short-term-growth-investments\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To say that digital marketing as a whole is \u201cslow\u201d isn\u2019t really accurate. That\u2019s because digital marketing is an umbrella term that captures many different kinds of promotional activities on the web. It would be more appropriate to say that some parts of digital marketing take a while to produce results, while others can generate results in a hurry. So if you are just getting started in this space, it will be helpful to understand the timelines that you can expect with different digital marketing strategies and specific tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEO<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the top of the list, we have SEO<\/a>, or search engine optimization. It is the process of building a website that will rank as highly as possible in the organic search results for various targeted keywords. Organic search can be a great source of ongoing traffic, but only if your SEO is handled properly. Most likely, if you have been feeling like your digital marketing efforts are taking too long, it is SEO you are talking about. Without a doubt, it\u2019s a long game with this strategy. You are unlikely to see overnight jumps in your search rankings after doing some SEO work \u2013 you\u2019ll need to be in it for the long run if you want to win in this category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PPC<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But SEO is just one part of digital marketing. On the other side of the coin, we have pay-per-click ads, or PPC<\/a>. In this case, the results can be almost immediate. Assuming you have the other assets in place that you need, like quality landing pages, you can start to bring in traffic via PPC ads just as soon as you turn on your campaign. Businesses that need a quick rush of traffic to feed something like a special promotion or product launch will often lean heavily on PPC to make that happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Media<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Somewhere in the middle of these two timelines is where social media marketing<\/a> falls. When you promote your business on social media, it will likely take some time to build an audience and gain a following, but perhaps not as long as it would take to get good results from SEO. Also, you always have the potential of striking gold on social media and having a post go viral (at least on a local level). You can\u2019t guarantee great results in a hurry on social media, but the possibility does exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foundational Tactics Take Time to Make an Impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say for the sake of argument that you are a business that has been operating for some time and you already have a basic online presence. You have a simple website, a few social media accounts, and maybe have run a few ads. Digital marketing has never been your focus, but you have dabbled in it enough to know what it\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In an effort to take your business to the next level, you decide to work with a digital agency to invest in your business<\/a> and see greater leads and results. Companies in this position often expect that growth will come quickly since they already had a website and some social accounts, but that might not be the case. A solid foundation of digital assets needs to be established before gains can be made, and that process can take a bit of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some tasks that might need to be completed, or at least worked on for a while, to set the stage for greater digital marketing gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n