News alert: PR can help companies keep the lights on
Carmen Hughes
A recent McKinsey & Company survey found that 55% of marketing executives planned to cut spending on traditional media. In lockstep, Marketing and Public Relations departments at companies are moving their dollars online. Startups and large companies are increasing spending for email campaigns, online advertising and social media, as well as online search analytics. Mashable recently reported that even while some are slashing budgets, dollars are still being thrown at social media.
Despite the economic woes, it’s still essential for companies to find ways to create and maintain brand awareness and mindshare. This blog post points out that Marketing and PR efforts during a down economy extends awareness with customers and drives sales, and suggests this can be done by using a small, lean and mean outside agency. One key point from a recent survey by Aberdeen Group notes that in previous downturns, the firms that learned to market smarter fared better than those that decreased their marketing budgets. Further, after the economy bounced back, those firms that marketed during the downturn also yielded better profits.
Here’s a relevant and timely article in the Wall Street Journal that talks about how startups and board members are clashing over whether to save or spend in down times. One insightful quote from the article comes from a board member of a startup noting, “"Companies can't just save their way to success."
For tech startups, in particular, or for any company comfortable navigating the social web, there are a plethora of online vehicles to meld with your company’s Marketing and Public Relations efforts that won’t break the bank. At Ignite PR, we are helping our clients,which range from startups to established public tech companies, undertake various social media activities to stretch their marketing dollars more effectively.
Which camp does your company fall into on this debate: the save or spend camp? Equally important, what are your competitors currently doing to expand their business amid this lingering recession?
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