Marketing during a recession is a multifaceted topic and that's why this week has been devoted to subjects like how recessions are opportunities to gain market share, the illusion of stability in marketing, the role of risk and of failure.
I would like to end this week-long series by asking whether the recession can tip social media marketing into the mainstream. Could we see a widespread embrace of blogs, Twitter, and other forms of social media? Answer: probably, but not positively.
Embracing New Media Out Of Desperation?
Budgets are drying up, but the online channel is cheaper and easier to measure than traditional PR and print advertising. Television and the automotive industry - not usually bastions of innovation - are two examples of industries putting a bigger percentage of their marketing budget into digital (despite the ever-shrinking total budget).
As Lisa Hoffmann says, necessity is the mother of bravery. She claims that "[t]ight budgets will prod [small businesspeople] to do what all the preaching and prodding won't."
Likewise, Julie Power states that "recession could transform Twitter from an influential fringe network to a mainstream marketing movement."
I think they're right - that the recession will cause business to look toward new media, that it could transform it into the marketing mainstream. That's why I predict 2009 as a year of false starts and quickly abandoned Twitter accounts.
Winner And Losers
Don't get me wrong - winners will emerge and knock our socks off with their social media campaigns. Heck, not even just "campaigns." They will understand social media in such a way that they'll forget a short-term campaign and just add social media directly into their corporate DNA.
But of course, others won't. And that's fine. I'm reminded of a quote from Bruce Barton, former Chairman of BBDO: "In good times, people want to advertise; in bad times, they have to." It's a prescient warning to go against human nature. You are not safer in the foxhole. Hunkering down will leave you with nothing when you emerge.
There are plenty of smart people claiming that marketers will stick with the tried and true methods in 2009 and they have valid points. Companies will still sink millions of dollars into Super Bowl ads and maybe that works for them.
But the ones who include new approaches, who take the advice of people like Lisa and Julie, who experiment and figure out now exactly how their audience wants to interact - those will be the winners after 2009.
Social media is the wild west and there is the opportunity to eat up some real market share. Remember, it was the early adopters who made most of the money in the Gold Rush of 1849.
Ending The Series
I hope you enjoyed this series about marketing during the recession. If so, I urge you to subscribe and send along these posts to your friends or co-workers.
And please leave comments or suggestions below. Did I get it terribly wrong this week? Feel free to share your thoughts with the community. And thanks so much for reading.
P.S.: Lisa and Julie are great folks to follow on Twitter, by the way.
*
If you enjoyed this post, consider signing up for free updates via email or RSS. Otherwise, I hope you share it on StumbleUpon, Mixx, or the other social media tools found below.
(Image courtesy of artfulblogger via Flickr)
Link to original post