Social media will transcend the negative aspects of the recesson

Let’s face it, we’re in a recession. In the past five weeks, the stock market has tanked, the credit market has dried up, and a very large rescue/bailout plan has seemingly had little effect. Companies are now cutting back and employees are being let go.

Usually, the first cut in a recession is personnel, followed closely by the marketing budget. And no matter how much marketers will protest, no matter how many case studies and white papers we can produce showing that cutting marketing is the exact wrong thing to do, CFO’s and other decision makers bring out their scalpels and/or machetes. No doubt this time will be different.

This post is going to be a call out to decision makers, both financial and marketing, to take a close look at social media adoption as a means to keep a competitive edge and how your organization could be damaged or at the very least miss significant marketing opportunities and to address problematic issues. Social media is a whole new ballgame because it covers so much – marketing, customer relations, media relations, public relations, and a whole lot more. And much of it is not controlled by the organization. With your initiatives, you remain somewhat in control – although not as much as you think or you’d like. But social media is now effecting your brand(s), your status within your category, your organization as a whole. That’s because much of social media is initiated and, thus, managed and controlled by outside influencers.

It is you that has to adapt to this new age. You may not understand it at this point. You may have never knowingly read a blog, and you may declare you have no interest in doing so. You may think company names (Google, Twitter, etc.) sound silly, Therefore, you may feel that all of this is unimportant. If you feel that way, you’re wrong. That’s because this isn’t all about you. It is about the way we are all communicating, learning, and exchanging ideas. It’s about how we are now being marketed to. Take the time to learn it. No excuses.

Forrester Research just released a study showing how the use of social media is growing among online adults in the US. What’s also telling is that it’s not just the numbers that are increasing, it is that the types of involvement reflect a deeper involvement by those that use it. If the internet allows greater interaction between user and others, then social media is the engine that drives it. And a solid majority of adults are hopping the drivers seat.

People are searching for information on products and services. They’re going to review sites. They may be blogging about your new line of products, the restaurant you own, the quality of your service. It may be direct comments or it may be part of an overall presentation someone has left.

Forrester found that, in 2008, only 25% of online adults are “inactives” when it comes to social media. The other 75% use social media -whether they know it or not – to express their views,feelings, and concerns. And 21% – just over 1 in 5, are now considered to be “creators”. People who publish blogs, write stories, and upload videos. That means millions of people are now taking time out of their lives to create, produce, and distribute content.

The above graphic show us the hierarchy of user involvement. Forrester reports that the largest group, not surprisingly, is “spectators” at 69% of users. Note that these groups overlap. This means that effectively 7 out of 10 online adults may well be conducting research on whatever is you produce or provide. Right off the bat, you should think of search engine marketing (SEM). But you also should realize that this means that these same people aren’t just using, say, Google, to find your website…they’re also headed over to online review sites to see what others are saying about you. They’re reading (and in many cases contributing to) online forums that talk directly or indirectly about you. And your competitors.

Here’s another graph that breaks down the percentage of each category amongst the online population:

Take note of the critics. Thirty seven percent are writing those reviews, commenting on forums and blogs…they’re getting involved. They are one step away from being creators. They are proof that our culture has changed. That, whether or not you understand it or not, your likely customer base is going online and “doing” social media to get info about you.

This means that regardless of whether or not there is a recession, regardless of whether or not you understand all of this, you need to develop a social media strategy to address the needs of your customers, to market and to promote. To engage.

The fact we’re going to be in a recession does not mean that we’re not going to stop getting involved with social media. And the reality is that that fact that many decision makers don’t see this quite yet will do nothing to slow it down.