Since launching my own digital consultancy in January, I’ve been kept pretty busy doing social media projects for clients looking to take advantage of untapped online opportunities.
There’s healthy interest and activity in social media, which is a little strange given the overall economic climate. At a time when belt-tightening is happening, many companies want to get into social media and/or enhance their social media strategies.
In a lengthy blog post, Brian Solis asked if whether social media is recession-proof, citing a number of studies that suggest many companies plan to spend more on social media in 2009.
While surveys can be interpreted in different ways, my sense is the apparent bullishness about social media may be because the amount of corporate activity overall is still relatively modest.
As much as the digerati have been excited about the social media tools such as Twitter, the amount of corporate enthusiasm has paled in comparison. Many companies have, at best, dipped their toes in the social media waters, or not done much at all. This explains why finding social media success stories can be a challenge.
In the meantime, the economic downturn is having a major impact on how companies are doing business. When sales were booming, it was easy for companies to continue to do operate like they’ve done for years. This meant using the same marketing and advertising vehicles even as social media started to gain more traction among customers.
But now that times are more challenging and budgets are more constrained, many companies must think of the box from a communications, marketing and sales perspective. I think this has prompted many companies to explore social media more aggressively simply because it’s an opportunity with lots of untapped potential.
Meanwhile, many companies have realized social media has changed the marketing and sales landscape. They recognize the dynamics are different and the way that you engage with customers has changed. Suddenly, social media has become a strategic priority as a new way to reach and engage with customers, and drive sales.
As a result, there’s a lot of social media activity by companies who hadn’t been doing much if anything before. This explains why the surveys conducted have such bullish responses.
Before anyone gets too bullish about all this social media activity, it is important to realize many companies perceive social media as a low cost activity with the potential for a major return on investment. They hear about the free tools, and think social media can be implemented with little investment. In time, they will discover effective social media campaigns require time and money.
Nevertheless, there is a lot social media activity happening. Many companies are spending money on social media campaigns, while others are making small investments to explore the social media landscape to see what’s happening and what they should/could do.
This is not to suggest social media is recession-proof but there’s definitely a growing amount of interest.
Technorati Tags: advertising, marketing, brian solis, social media
6 Comments
Hey Mark, this is well stated. You are right, there is a growing amount of interest in Social Media. I really liked your comment about companies eventually realizing that "effective campaigns require time and money". The question is, from my perpspective at least, how to measure effectiveness and what does effectiveness really mean in this context? Before companies spend any real $$, the value will need to be proven.
Being on the front lines myself with many clients, I can tell you that executive management perception is that social media and web practice is cheap….
while the fact is, there is an enormous "shortage" of experience…Secondly,
Twitter going mainstream, for most companies, is a distraction from doing
the real work…which is strategic and focused…Thirdly, as you well pointed
out, this is not simply a new "spin" for marketing…its a teutonic shift for business, and business is to be conducted…The demand for training and
recruitment is number one…Mark…awesome post..right on.
"They hear about the free tools, and think social media can be implemented with little investment."
The problem in the competitive environment is that anyone can use the tools and sell the services for cheaper though they may have lesser experience and little knowledge of how it contributes to the larger strategy.
I just hope too many companies don't drink the Kool-aid and get their fingers burned because there is a lot of potential at the moment and in the future to expand on these new communications channels.
I'm a veteran SEO guy (over 10 years in the business), and I'm looking at the social media stuff anew to see how it can effect my bottom line and my clients. I'm not convinced at the moment, but reading your blog may help.
Is it too early to see specific job titles in SM? If so what are they outside of "Community ______"
Social Media is here to stay, however monetizing it has been difficult for most people so far.
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