There's no longer any doubt that a slowing economy is on every Maryland businessperson's mind. For my citybizlist post I thought I'd discuss how businesses can use online marketing for cost-efficient and effective marketing during a downturn.

In a recent February report, "Strategies For Interactive Marketing In A Recession," leading Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff, predicted that interactive marketing tactics such as search marketing, social media (blogs, social networking), and email may actually thrive in a recession and/or slow economy. He remarks that unlike the last US recession, when dot-com and venture capital monies dried up fast, consumer companies advertising today have much more stable budgets. If a recession were to hit, these companies would most likely be looking for cheaper advertising opportunities and will move away from TV, radio, and print towards online advertising. In his report Bernoff doesn't make the distinction between large multi-national corporations and small and mid-size businesses, but I believe whether large or small, companies will be hard pressed NOT to turn to online marketing during an economic downturn.

What’s the Internet’s appeal as a marketing channel? The Internet is one of the most measurable, trackable advertising mediums available; therefore it can provide a greater ROI and transparency than traditional media like radio, TV, and print. In the business world, the top two activities performed are reading email and conducting searches via search engines. Internet advertising also provides a more cost-effective way of reaching your ideal customer by demographic, location, and as of late, even user behaviors, like time spent browsing before purchase, or likelihood of a person clicking on an ad while watching videos.

Whatever the tactic under consideration, it's wise for businesses to start developing their online marketing strategies now. For companies focused on local business, here are five best practices worth considering as a foundation for an online marketing strategy during these economic times.

1. Buy search engine visibility with paid search (PPC) – If you do not have a presence in the major search engines, you might as well consider yourself invisible to a certain segment of prospective customers. To counteract this, consider launching a small, measurable search advertising campaign, like Google AdWords, that can have immediate ROI. Pay per click (PPC) advertising is the most cost-effective, quick results advertising available. Also online directory advertising like Yellowpages.com and local search in Google or Yahoo might be worth testing.
   
   
2. Build towards free search engine visibility with search engine optimization (SEO) – So that you don’t have to keep paying for your search engine visibility with PPC, consider search engine optimizing (SEO) your web site so that search engines can index and list your site higher in the pages of their search results. SEO is the workhorse of Internet Marketing. It provides much needed visibility for businesses who are competing for fewer and fewer dollars. SEO is highly measurable, easier to execute, and less costly than many offline marketing tactics.
   
   
3. Retain existing customers with email – Focus on customer retention and up-selling to your existing customers by developing an email strategy. Present valuable information special offers and new products as a means to hook your readers. Automated email list management solutions exist for all sizes of databases and complexity of needs.
   
   
4. Leverage existing content and marketing assets for social media purposes - Post photos, videos, PowerPoint presentations, whitepapers, surveys, and podcasts to generate interest in your products/services and to engage in social media marketing through blogs and sites like YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, and iTunes.
   
   
5. Find and engage with your niche audience and their online communities – During a slower economy, consumers are much more deliberate about the kinds of purchases they make, therefore, the role of influencers in social media discussion groups and blogs are more important than ever. Join the discussion but don’t be blatantly commercial – be informative, offer opinions, respond to complaints…just get involved because if you don’t, someone else might take control of your brand.
   

11:45 AM •