Are You Using an Oak Tree or Mushroom Marketing Approach?

Image by Couleur from Pixabay

Our family has enjoyed living in the same house for over 20 years. During that span, we’ve observed a lot of changes in the plants on our little half-acre of property. For many years I have observed a medium-sized oak tree in our backyard growing. For this article, I’ll refer to him at “Oscar”. Early on, I noticed other oak trees in our neighborhood dropping hundreds of acorns every year and wondered why Oscar wasn’t doing the same. Initially, I thought he was just a slacker. Well, I did some quick research on Oscar’s design and found out why. More on that later. 

Although Oscar was “acorn-less”, he still provided wonderful shade for our family as well as shelter for birds and squirrels. He also supports a new rope swing that our grandchildren love. In exchange, he only expected me to clear thousands of his leaves from our gutters and yard each Fall. 

However, 2 years ago, I was pleasantly surprised to spot a few small acorns lying in the shade beneath Oscar’s branches. The next season, I noticed, even more, larger acorns. The other day, while rebuilding our deck, I spotted them – super-size acorns! In 2020, Oscar is hitting his stride and I couldn’t help but feel happy for him.

On the other hand, every year we witness small tribes of mushrooms that seem to appear overnight in our front yard. They never stay around very long. Then they are gone. 

What do oak trees and mushrooms have to do with your business and your inbound marketing strategy?

Mushroom Growth and Your Marketing

Why do those mushrooms on our lawn grow almost overnight? Their fruit (mycelium) grows differently than plants partly because they are fungi. Mushroom growth occurs due to cell enlargement while plants grow through cell division. Apparently, cell enlargement takes much less energy and time than cell division. 

Experts say that a mushroom can grow as rapidly as it can pull water into its cells. A wild mushroom can go from an underground “pin” to a fully-grown mycelium in 1-4 days. Of course, the downside of that rapid growth is instability. How hard is it to kick over a mushroom?

·     Mushroom Marketing Won’t Produce Quick Results

A Google Ads campaign, if managed strategically, will put your company’s website on the first page for as long as your budget allows. As Hubspot founders, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah write, “Google Adwords is an auction that is held in real-time.” The more Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads you buy, the more clicks you will get. For some purchases, especially commodities that consumers buy based on the lowest price, ad campaigns can be useful. 

However, when people are researching products or services where quality and integrity matter, many of them skip down to the organic listings on the first page. This is true for most B-to-B relationships.

 When it comes to organic inbound marketing, there really is no such thing as “overnight” results. The search engines are not designed to reward companies that are looking for shortcuts to the first page.  

·     Mushroom Marketing Won’t Produce Easy Results

The mushroom’s growth happens with less energy than plants, but an effective inbound marketing strategy requires time as well as energy. Getting your message to the right people at the right time takes planning, budgeting, strategy, communication, and diligence over months and even years. 

Simply stated, when it comes to internet marketing, there is no such thing as a quick and easy organic ranking. 

Oak Tree Growth and Your Marketing

First of all, only 1 acorn in 10,000 will grow into an oak tree. Our Oscar overcame some pretty stiff odds just to survive in our backyard. For that fortunate acorn that actually grows into an oak tree, it will take about 50 years to produce its first acorns.  That means that Oscar was growing toward acorn-producing maturity 30 years before we bought our house!

Second, the life expectancy of an oak tree can be over 1000 years. If he stays healthy, Oscar will outlive you and me by centuries. 

·     The market for your products or services is always competitive.

For your business to survive and thrive you have to determine your goals and create an inbound marketing strategy that will help you get there. The internet can work for you or against you depending on how you leverage it. 

·     Organic ranking in search engines requires long-term thinking.

You can’t expect your website to go from page 5 to page 1 in the first month of your inbound campaign. Most experts say that it takes 3-6 months minimum of hard work to get your website ranked on the first page. Many inbound experts recommend a 12-month strategy as the better approach.

·     Oak tree-type marketing requires resources. 

Companies should expect a measurable ROI on their marketing dollars. But you will have to make an investment and be willing to stay with it just like a wise investor in the stock market. 

·     An effective Inbound Marketing program can have amazing long-term benefits.

The next time you see an acorn on the ground or hold one in your hand, please remember this important fact. An acorn doesn’t just represent one oak tree. It represents a potential forest of majesty oaks.

Long-term thinking leads to longer life expectancy in your marketing program. The value of your investment accrues over time. Companies that persevere in their strategy and efforts will be rewarded with the best rankings and higher market share. 

We all want our business to thrive. Have you had to jettison mushroom-type marketing in the past? What are some of your company’s values and principles that align with an oak tree-type thinking?