Economic Downturn Boosts Reliance on Social Media Marketing Tactics

Marketing Sherpa just released the results of a survey they recorded, detailing Marketers' response to the current economic downturn:

SUMMARY: Every marketing tactic gets more scrutiny when budgets face the sting of a struggling economy. Here is a glance at how marketers expect to tailor their investments in digital tactics during a downturn.



...Not surprisingly, house email and Web 2.0 are getting high attention; both are relatively low-cost and the former, at least, has proven ROI. Web 2.0 is seen as having the same virtue, although it doesn’t have email’s well-documented ROI...

(Full article can be found on Marketing Sherpa here: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30925)

Is this how my fellow marketers are reacting to the downturn? We're certainly tightening up marketing budgets here, and focusing on our programs with the best lead gen results (tied back to pipeline and closed deals). Less $$$ allocated to branding/awareness initiatives in the broader sense. We're putting down the shotgun and getting out the rifle, digging in our beachhead more around live customer webcasts, search (paid and organic), and community building... the later 2 are deeply rooted in social media marketing. For example, online communities can have a big impact on organic search/SEO. We did a webcast with Anvil Media about it recently: Boost SEO with an Online Community