Leveraging the Web in a Down Economy

In a down economy, whether you’re a non-profit or for-profit organization, there are some things you can do to harness the power of the web without going broke. During these tough times, remember that interactive marketing is measurable, effective, and is inexpensive relative to other forms of media and has a lower barrier to entry. It will take careful planning and monitoring of your investments but if done correctly, these tactics could prove very fruitful.

Here are 5 areas to focus your marketing during these tough economic times that could have you saying “bad economy, what are you talking about?” in no time!

1. First and foremost, get back to fundamentals. Look at what has traditionally worked for your business on the web and shore up those programs. For example, if database marketing has been a mainstay of your marketing program, bolster it with stronger messaging, meatier content and offers, and test new mailing schedules to small segments of your database to see where you might be able to drive incremental revenue.

2. Keep your message on target. Remember that it’s not about the technology; it’s about the people. The technology is just a means to an end of communicating with people. You probably don’t need a new app or widget to be successful on the web. Take a step back and ask yourself what your message is and how you can maximize its delivery via the web. Consider how it ties into your overall marketing strategy and how it will help you achieve your short-term and long-term goals.

3. Learn how to harness the power of new interactive channels such as social media. Social media is a relatively inexpensive way to reach out to customers and stay in contact with them, without many of the worries of maintaining a strong email database. Don’t forgo your email marketing, but consider that while email addresses change, people lose jobs and you can’t reach them at their former email address and the like; social networks provide a way for you to talk to them, regardless.

4. Are you taking donations online or selling products online? Focus on the donation/shop and buy areas of your site. Your donation/sales funnel may seem like it should be a “set it and forget it” portion of your site but quite the opposite is true. Utilize your web metrics tools to better understand where people are falling off in the process and see how you can keep them engaged through checkout and implement a recontact strategy for those who bail before completion.

5. The opportunity for non-profits and for-profit organizations to partner has never been greater! It drives consumer behavior. The SALT group released its "Trends in Branding 2009" report recently and said that when consumers are "faced with two branded options, the one that offers them the opportunity to support their community or a good cause will increasingly win." Companies singled out by SALT include Target, with its "Do 5% Good" campaign, eBay's World of Good, and Project RED, which has partnered together with such brands as Apple, American Express, Starbucks, Gap, Microsoft and Hallmark.

Selling it all to your boss a challenge? Take a stand for what you believe is right for your company to do but then support that with hard facts. Look to possible internal and external benchmarks for data to support your ideas.

Note: I will be speaking at the FDMA event on Thursday, March 19th. The event will be the Non-Profit Marketing Mini Summit and I will be presenting with Joe Laratro, President and Owner of Tandem Interactive . We will cover web marketing for non-profits including how to use Google and YouTube. Details here at the FDMA site .

Deer in Headlights: How do the Twitterverse, Facebook, and MySpace Fit into My Corporate Interactive Marketing Strategy

Last night I attended the SFIMA monthly educational meeting held here in Ft. Lauderdale at the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas. It was the organization's first ever open forum, peer-to-peer event where attendees were able to ask questions of the board and other subject matter experts around the room. While unsure whether this format would be a success, it was well-received and undoubtedly the biggest issue on everyone's mind was social media.

Business owners, marketing VPs, directors, and managers all looked like deer in headlights as questions about Twitter, Tweeting, Facebook and MySpace advertising and more were discussed at length. Summarizing and paraphrasing, it seemed that the biggest concerns raised were:

1. What is social media?
2. What is Twitter?
   
3. What is Twitter etiquette?
   
4. How can I use Facebook for business?
   
5. What networks should I be on?

Everyone seemed to be looking for that one simple answer to the question: what can social media do for me and how can it be done?

Just like search, print, TV or any other marketing channel, your social media marketing plan should tie back to your overall corporate strategies. For example, if your goal is lead generation, you will have a very different social media markeitng plan than if your goal is one of brand extension.

Someone raised the example of how Dell computers is using Twitter. Last year they sold over $1 million worth of refurbished machines via Twitter. They have a Twitter account with a very specific goal and message of selling refurbished machines. The Green Peace charity has the goal of raising awareness of their organization and increasing donations. These messaging strategies are very different.

Start by asking yourself, what do you want social media to do for you? Why do you want to engage in social media marketing activities? If you can't answer those 2 questions for your business, you shouldn't be in social media.

Once you answer those questions, your strategy should naturally shake out from there. And I offered this advice last night: creating your social media strategy, planning and initial implementaiton should take time. There should be careful consideration to which social media vehicles are right for your business, what your messaging should be like, the frequency of messaging, how to acquire a following/friend base, etc. But once that detailed strategy, planning and implementation are done, the ongoing maintenance of your social media marketing plan should be fairly simple. Literally, if it is taking you more than 5 hours per week, you've done something wrong and you need to regroup.