Are you diligently working on growing your brand, but the results haven’t come when you thought they would? The input isn’t matching the output? Well, if this describes you, you’re not alone.

As we say here at IvyHill, your brand is like a plant. It needs the right conditions and time to grow. Every plant is different, just like every brand has its own unique spin on things.

Continuing with this plant analogy, think of strategic communications as the soil, water, sunlight, fertilizer, etc. that helps your brand to grow. It’s a fine art that requires patience and a bit of trial and error, just like gardening. If you’re newer to growing your brand’s reach, you can think of yourself as a newer plant owner. Alternatively, if you’ve been around for a bit, trying new tactics with how you’re communicating is the equivalent of repotting a plant. In both cases, you want to thrive.

Focusing too much in one area of your approach to how you’re communicating about your brand can be detrimental even if you have good intentions. Overwatering some plants by putting out social media post after social media post can saturate your feed and lead to lower engagement. Constantly pitching and trying to tie your brand into a newsworthy topic each week can dry out your brand’s message and be a turn off for reporters. It’s all about balance and figuring out what works best for your business.

Things outside your control can also impact your brand, just like they do for gardens. The old PR adage of “you can’t control somebody else’s ink” absolutely applies today. In fact, a recent survey from Muck Rack found that 49% of journalists receive at least 6 pitches per day. Couple that with tight deadlines and editorial pressure, it’s no wonder that only 8% say they respond back to every pitch they get. Ouch, right?

Sometimes it can be so frustrating when you put in all this work and you don’t see results immediately. However, that doesn’t mean the results aren’t coming at all. It just means they didn’t come when you thought they should. Roots matter for brands AND for plants. The right opportunities and growth will come at the right time.

So many people take generic branding recommendations to heart, change tactics constantly, or move on right before a result would have happened. They just don’t know it! Making small adjustments based on the data you collect and trends you observe is helpful. Don’t throw up your hands, say you’ll never have a green thumb and walk away because things aren’t happening within your ideal timeline.

Your garden is composed of all the different ways you’re trying to get your brand to grow. Improving your social media presence, updating your website, launching a new marketing campaign, or going to networking events…there’s always something you can do. Patience and hard work will get you the results you want. You never know how close you are to your goal if you give up now. Keep going. It only takes one post, one blog, one Reel, or one meeting to get the results you’re aiming for.

Just because you don't see your plant growing doesn’t mean things aren’t happening beneath the surface. Patience pays off.