Is social media a safe bet in an economic downturn?
November 13th, 2008 by Lloyd Gofton
There has been plenty of discussion on the topic of how the current economic climate will affect the development of social media. Dawn Foster at Fast Wonder wrote a particularly good post on the subject earlier in the week, and her findings seem to match our experiences.
At Liberate Media we too have noticed an upsurge in enquires and opportunities, but as Dawn rightly points out, enquires are not the same as signed contracts. However, it still begs the question: why more interest now?
It will come as no surprise to suggest that PR, like the majority of other sectors, is being hit by the economic downturn. Traditionally PR is the first to be reviewed when times are tough and budgets are disappearing.
Now admittedly, Liberate Media straddles the realm between traditional PR and social media. We are comfortable in both areas and believe the two work well together, so we are positioned a little differently. Therefore, this upsurge may not be what traditional PR agencies are experiencing, although I would be interested to hear what traditional agencies think on the matter?
Either way, it still begs the question; why is confidence in social media and digital communications continuing to grow, at least on the evidence from our own experiences, when in the past PR and the comms sector has been hit hard and fast by a financial downturn?
You could argue that social media understanding is beginning to turn into social media spend, and we are now seeing the second layer of adopters dipping a toe in the water. Brands in general are at least realising that they need to get to grips with social media, even if it isn’t always turning into involvement just yet. That would certainly explain some of the interest, but surely that clashes with a reduction in available marketing spend, so there must be other reasons.
As many commentators have already pointed out, the more measurable nature of social media also makes it a more reliable strategy in a downturn. It must also be said that the current financial climate has given consultants an added incentive to find a final solution to the social media ROI and measurement issue much faster than during any of the preceding years, which also suggests measurement is a strong differentiator in attracting marketing spend.
So, are we experiencing a positive side effect from the current market conditions? Brought on because spend must be carefully allocated and measureable, and encouraged by a growing understanding of social media? Well, it’s far too early to say and if the worst of the economic issues are yet to be revealed it’s certainly not a safe bet, but the positive signs are there.
If this is a growing trend will it also lead to a growth spurt in social media service offerings from the traditional PR agencies? Who up until this point have been quick to talk about, but slow to develop, social media specialisms? Perhaps those that invested in the development of social media and related digital communications early can at least take some solace that their endeavors are baring fruit at the time it is most needed.
Before closing, I should also point out that we believe the recession will not be all bad for the PR industry, as my colleague Wendy McAuliffe pointed out recently in her excellent post: the role of PR in a recession.
Let me know what you think.
Tags: economy, PR, Social media
