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Marketing Budget Cuts and Social Media

With the recent economic downshift and crazy markets, companies are rethinking the way they do business, especially their marketing budgets.  Yesterday, Elaine Fogel wrote about the Association of National Advertisers survey that came out this summer talking about the cuts that are facing marketers.

ANA member respondents believe their overall marketing budgets will be reduced up to 10%, with almost a third saying it will be in the 11-20% range.

It’s not surprising that businesses are trying to find ways to trim off the excess.  A cut in marketing means a cut in sales, which evolves into a cut of profits in the long run.  It’s counterproductive to the company’s best interests.

Cuts of this scale means a lot of changes will need to be made in the way companies reach out about the products.  Some businesses, marketers, and PR firms are turning to social media to get the word out about themselves and their clients and services.

In the past two years, interest and participation in social media has expanded greatly among users.  With tools that keep us up to date with what’s going on in the mind of consumers, it’s sometimes more effective to reach out and start a conversation with people than to blast a direct mail campaign.  Why does social media get a gold star from so many companies?

A company can track what consumers are saying about a product or competitor’s product using Twitter and Twitter search (and many other tools and services).  Once they get a feel for the market reaction it’s all about starting a conversation to discuss what could be better, how to improve service, what the company can do to fix a service and so on.  Frank from Comcast Cares is a brilliant example of this. He started troubleshooting and customer service of Comcast products and the response has been wonderful for the company.

So you’re probably thinking, how do I get started?  Here are some pretty important points to consider, places to start, and thoughts to guide you along the path.  The best advice I can give?  Keep in mind that this is a process, it takes time to build the relationships but it’s worth it.

Chris Brogan - 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business

Chris Brogan - Workflow - Social Media for Markters

Todd Defren - Not All Social Media & Games

C.C. Chapman - Stop Hoping and Get Working