Recession-Proof Marketing: Forrester Says Social Marketing Will Thrive in Economic Downturn

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you know that many economists have been predicting an economic downturn — perhaps a recession — in the coming year.

A group of my favorite Forrester analysts, including Jeremiah Owyang, Josh Bernoff, and Charlene Li, got together to discuss how this potential recession might affect the work that Web-based and community marketers do. Their conclusion is that social marketing is uniquely suited to weather an economic storm.

They’ve put their conclusions together into a report that I highly recommend that you take the time to download and read. The main points:

•  ”Consumers in a down market pinch pennies. Brand advertising in mass media loses effectiveness because it’s harder for consumers to go from ‘I know about that product’ to ‘I’m going to buy that product.’”
• “Social applications like discussion forums are better than advertising at helping people in the consideration phase when they’re on the fence about purchasing. In a recession, improving consideration will be more cost-effective than blasting awareness messages at resistant consumers.”

They also make one very important recommendation: focus on results:

Many interactive marketers tell us they’re just ‘toe-dipping’ with social applications. Toe-dipping won’t survive recessionary cost cuts. Instead, concentrate on programs with clear objectives tied to metrics like increased sales conversions, measurable word-of-mouth, or improvements in online buzz…

Your CEO is warning your VP of advertising to prepare to cut spending. You should be whispering in her other ear with stats about how your email marketing, search marketing, or online advertising programs are paying off.

So whatever you do, be it Facebook application, a Drupal-supported online community, or a blog aimed at informing your customers, make sure to have some idea of your desired outcome and a way to measure it.

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