When Was the Last Time a Recession got Branded?

I notice the BBC have now given the downturn/creditcrunch/recession (depending on your state of pessismism) it's own fancy branding. Plus their web content guys have ground into action, creating a nice interactive guide to the current economic crisis, full of features like Remember the last recession?, and an Audio Slideshow by Robert Peston which explains the causes of the global crisis. What fun!

Why Social Media Shouldn't Exist

I've just been reading about a one day seminar on The Future of Social Media, and it made me realise just how big a deal this sector of the internet has become. Just check out some of the 'big name' brands who'll be attending (and the price tag of course).

But then it got me thinking about the validity of Social Media - as a buzzword, a trend, niche, sector or topic. Is it possible to argue that Social Media or Social Networking as descriptions shouldn't even exist, because all our online activities should be social in one way or another?

Is it time to move beyond the Social Media catch all and start trying to integrate the pinricples of communication, interaction, dialogue, recommendation and opinion sharing into everyday websites?

For example, if the Boden website allows it's customers to post and share their own honest reviews (sometimes negative) of their produts, then surely the Boden site is social. Each review even includes details about the reviewer; gender, location, age, and frequency of purchase. It would be one simple step to enable Boden customers to actually find and engage directly with each other based on these criteria, on a social basis, or for users to see what else the reviewer bought or where they shopped just like the same principle of social bookmarking.

Maybe social recommendation by a site's users and customers will be the next evolution of Amazon's classic 'people who bought this also bought this....' sales tool, once that technique gets so overused it loses effectiveness (or users start to mistrust the recommendations of site owners).

It certainly makes a case for websites to start engaging users in a more active way, through the creation of user generated profiles integrated with internal transactional and buying behavoural data... think Facebook for ecommerce shops.

Marketing Through a Downturn - Tip 1

'Target those customers and market segments which you think will be most recession proof, at the expense of those that you think will suffer the most'

Now I'd been thinking a lot about this one recently, for my own online marketing consultancy business. I'd been trying to think of industries and market segments which might do well out of an economic downturn, especially with PPC.

I thought of the debt sector, which I have done work on in the past, but I know I'd have to be incredibly selective about who I work with as I really wouldn't want to profit from other people's misfortune.

Then I thought about the addiction and rehab sector - another market I've worked on which spends big on PPC. But a contact of mine from this area, said this market could in fact be hit at the upper end by city exec's getting their health insurance slashed, preventing them from checking in for a detox.

It eventually took someone else to point out the obvious. I was discussing my relief at the recent article I'd seen about online ad spend being up with Anna, who works with me part time on SEO. I backed this up with some evidence of old small business leads getting back in touch with me after a few years.

She pointed out that maybe I should forget industry sectors and look at products instead - which led us to think that clients might not be so likely to engage people like ourselves on an ongoing consultancy basis, but instead small businesses might be more keen to pay for training in Adwords and SEO so they can do the work themselves.

I really like this idea, as I've always been realistic and comfortable about people trying to implement our advice themselves if they don't have a large budget, and I think training sessions will really appeal to small businesses who know they should be doing something online but don't know how (or what).

So that's what we are now working on alongside regular consultancy work - a programme of seo and ppc training courses starting off for small businesses in Kent. I'll keep you posted!

If I wasn't a Marketing Consultant (2)....

...I'd be training to be something medical.

I heard some boffin on the radio at the weekend saying that in a recession the NHS definitely won't be downsizing, mainly because research shows that unemployed people are more likely to get ill!

Not sure where that leaves my wife Sarah who's just started studying to be a midwife, as pregnancy is hardly an illness. But then again maybe people will be staying in more to save money, and so birth rates will soar up!

The Banks Must be Really Hurting

BBC NEWS Business UK banks' £37bn bail-out unveiled

I'm amazed that the government (and in theory us taxpayers) will be getting such a massive share of RBS, 60%, and Hbos/LloydsTSB - 40%. I never dreamt the government would have exacted such a high price for the bail out they've given the banks.

Surely after this, banks will finally have to become more customer focused and start treating consumers with more respect and humility than they have in the past. I'm thinking of things like taking 3 days to transfer BACS payments, excessive bank charges, and so on.

Business Start Up's Booming

I recently researched and released this news story on behalf of Selectabase, which announced the fact that over the last few months the number of business start ups has leapt up.

Compared to the same period last year, the number of new businesses setting up shop in the UK grew by over 11% between June-August. Up till then, starts ups had been down compared to last year.

It's a really surprising trend, given the current economic turmoil. You'd be forgiven for wondering who on earth what want to be starting out and leaping into the cauldron of fire which is the small business sector (not estate agents, that's for sure - they were one of the types of business start ups to be DOWN on last year).

But then I heard recently that teaching recruitment had increased, often amongst city workers. In fact public sector recruitment could benefit in a number of areas - a senior police officer friend of mine told me some time ago his force had plenty of applications from mature candidates seeking a career change.

I also think the figures are reliable, because at a recent trade fair I attended on behalf of Jim Garrahy's Fudge Kitchen, another client of mine, we noticed lots of new coffee shops, farm, shops and deli's planning to launch in the next couple of months.

So good to luck to those bold entrepreneurs starting their business just now, and lets just hope their confidence is rewarded.

If I Wasn't a Marketing Consultant...

...I'd be applying for this job as Director of Marketing for the British Army. Wonder if you get a uniform? Or a camo desk?

Online Ad Spend up 21% - What a Relief!

Phew, that was a relief.

It had all gone a bit quiet there for a while with regards to how the online advertising sector was coping. As an Adwords consultant that was a bit worrying.

Now it turns out online advertising (and let's face it, that means Google Adwords) is up 21% whilst 'conventional' advertising is down, according to a report on Brand Republic.

This reinforces the hunch I'd had that businesses won't cut back on online marketing, and in fact more will start to use this method because of the benefits it provides in measurability, immediacy and cost effectiveness.

So with a bit luck, the current career path might just hold up. Doubles all round!