Who benefits from consistent marketing?
During my 15 years in the digital marketing field, I’ve seen many people get frustrated with their marketing efforts. Although there were a variety of factors, I’ve found the one thing that showed up more often than not was a lack of consistency.
It really comes down to human nature. Even when we expect something to take time in order to be beneficial, we still look for short-term wins. And if we don’t have enough of them, our consistency suffers. It’s true in dieting, it’s true in exercising, and it’s true in marketing.
But the consistency of your marketing efforts plays a huge role in whether you’re successful or not! That’s because there are three major parties that look for and benefit from consistent marketing.
Algorithms
Like it or not, algorithms play a major part in our lives, especially online. Google, Facebook, and every platform in between makes use of algorithms. When other people share content online, the algorithms control what you see. And when you market online, the algorithms control what others see.
One of the common factors across most of those algorithms is that they like consistency.
If you’re creating content on their platform, their desire for consistency makes a lot of sense. They would be nothing without user-generated content. So if your marketing involves creating content on a consistent basis, they like that.
And what about search engines? Simply put, Google believes that sites that are updated on a consistent basis are more likely to have relevant content than those that aren’t. While that isn’t always true, a site that isn’t updated on a regular basis is inherently far less likely to have relevant content.
People
Consistency is good for people as well! Have you ever signed up for a retail e-newsletter for a store you frequented? If so, you probably expected to receive coupons in your inbox. And you might even miss those coupons if they didn’t show up!
Consistency in advertising trains people to expect it. And if it’s valuable, they look forward to it. It doesn’t matter if you’re sending out coupons or how-to articles. Provide valuable marketing on a regular basis and people will actually miss it if they don’t see it when expected.
You
Of course, consistency is good for you as well. Obviously, writing on a regular basis improves your writing skills. It should be no surprise that consistently writing valuable content and content that converts improves your skills in those areas as well.
The more consistent you are with your marketing, the better you’re getting at communicating with others. And that’s a skill that has widespread application for you.
So if you’re not already on a consistent schedule with your marketing, get on one! The algorithms and other people will appreciate it, and you’ll benefit as well.
Tim Priebe is an author, columnist, and the owner of T&S Online Marketing. He has been working on websites since 1997, and has experience in areas including websites, social media, email newsletters, blogging, search engines, and online video. He regularly assists clients with their presence on social networks including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Plus, and YouTube.
Tim is the author of several online marketing books, including “102 Tweets,” “Blog a Week,” and “Online Marketing Mindshift.” He’s active with several nonprofits, and has been on multiple boards over the years.
Tim has been married to his wife, Leann, since 1997, and has three boys, Josh, Jackson and Jacob. He’s also a huge fan of Superman.
Prior to joining IABC Central Oklahoma as a member in 2016, Tim had been both a speaker and long-time guest at events. He is serving his first board term as VP Communications.