Getting the word out | Marketers have the tools to weather the recession and position themselves for the future
Photo/Mindy Favreau
Sheri Bonnell, president of the Maine Marketing Association, says more companies have adopted social networking since the recession began
During a recession, marketing budgets are usually one of the first to go, despite research that shows companies that boost their marketing efforts are more apt to survive than their frugal counterparts. And with social media and online tools overtaking the marketplace, companies and marketing professionals now have a multitude of relatively cheap ways to reach customers and strengthen their presence.
But it’s not as easy as point and click, says Sheri Bonnell, president of the Maine Marketing Association. “Social media marketing is constantly changing, and marketers need to be on top of this rapidly evolving medium,” she says. At just 25, Bonnell manages programming and resources for the organization’s 100 members and over 1,000 newsletter subscribers. A Caribou native and 2006 University of Connecticut graduate, Bonnell is the marketing and product analyst at Custom Disability Solutions in South Portland, a division of Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co., which specializes in short-term and long-term disability.
Mainebiz recently sat down with Bonnell to talk about the state of the marketing industry, the key to mastering social media and how the marketing industry is weathering the recession. An edited transcript follows.
Mainebiz: What are people in the marketing industry talking about right now?
Sheri Bonnell: The whole social media marketing, Web 2.0 initiative is huge. I know that a lot of our members have voiced their concern because there are so many facets to a marketing campaign; you can choose things from association and media deals, public relations, e-mail campaigns, direct mail, advertising and promotions. At the end of the day a marketer has to strategize, and adding in a whole other tool to the agenda can be overwhelming. So we really were listening to members last year and conducted a lot of lunch-and-learn events that focused on social media, and that included Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, Facebook, and how to implement those into your market campaign. One of the challenges has been that a lot of people don’t understand the tools themselves and don’t understand how to implement them into a campaign. Our speakers are really good at giving case studies and examples of what worked for them and what didn’t, but what was really important that we stressed is that not everything is going to work for every business. And it’s kind of tailoring those tools to your audience and researching where your audience is going. And that will make the transition easier into the whole social media world. So that’s kind of been the buzz for the past year. And I’ve noticed other associations, other events going on in the marketplace — it’s all social media focused.
Have you noticed that people are becoming more comfortable with these tools?
Yes, absolutely. I definitely think people are really open to learn the tools and want to embrace it. I think that it just comes with practice, and the more knowledge people get with it, the more comfortable they’re going to be. I know I’ve become more comfortable with the tools myself just within the past year, and that’s based on being involved with the MMA and attending webinars about topics that I’m like, “Well, I really don’t know if I’m going to be good at that or if that’s really going to work.” I think it’s been positive.
We’ve heard a lot about that process to integrate social media into your business practices — we’ve even been doing more of it ourselves, and it can be tough.
It is. You would think it would be easy. And that’s the thing — it’s not just getting on a computer and sending a few e-mails here or there or putting an ad here and there. You really have to strategize and I think it’s one step that people [miss]. They get really excited and want to use it, and then they start using it but think, “Wait, where is my audience? And are they even going to this kind of site, are they using Facebook, are they using Twitter?”
So it’s really kind of getting that foundation done first and researching where your audience is, what are your competitors doing, doing that first and then using the tools and seeing what works best for you. Plus, it’s supposed to be fun, and I think that some people are getting caught up in the stress of it all, but really it’s supposed to be fun, and it’s just another tool at the end of the day.
We’ve heard a lot from marketers about how companies are cutting their marketing budgets. Are people talking about that too?
Absolutely. I experienced that in my previous role [at IntertechPira in Falmouth] where marketing budgets were just shrunk, and there was nothing you could do about it. You just had to think outside the box, and luckily one of our employees had a bit more experience with social media and introduced us to it as a team, and it really helped us with our products and services. I think in the recession more companies are embracing that. Those that had been more inclined to use traditional media, maybe print some more direct mail pieces or place more ads in a publication, are really embracing it and thinking, “We really could create a campaign that works for us and our products and services and our audience.” It’s just thinking of how to do that and then implementing it. But I definitely think more companies have been using social media since the recession.
Because of the budget issues associated with it?
Yeah, because of budget issues, but it’s just where the industry is headed, it’s just been the trend. And I don’t know if that’s because of the timing — the economy has gone down and that’s when the whole social media really erupted. I know they correlate, but I can’t say that [increasing use of] social media is because of the economy.
How else has the recession affected the marketing industry?
There’s been a huge decline in direct mail pieces. I think more people are using their opted-in e-mail lists, e-mailing their members, and then using social media tools on their website. In my own experience, the impact of the recession was we reduced direct mail incredibly, from thousands of mailings to only a few hundred, depending on the target audience. And actually [we’ve reduced] outsourcing some of our design work. We try to do things more in-house, trying to teach ourselves, taking classes or webinars or going to an industry event, to brush up on some of those skills. We might have had basic training back in the day, but just to keep things in-house until things roll over and we can increase our budget to get the actual professionals to do it again.
What is your advice for marketers in dealing with the recession?
Keep networking. Network, network, network — we have great resources just in this area, Maine Marketing Association, the Maine Public Relations Council, AIGA Maine, Ad Club of Maine, those are all resources that are available to professionals within their industry where they can go and network and continue learning. Because even if the recession ends, marketers need to stay updated with what’s happening and what the trends are and where it’s going. If you’re unemployed or working for yourself, work with a recruiter, try pro bono work, volunteer for a nonprofit and use your skills there, because you never know what could come from that.
Where is the industry headed?
I think the whole meat and potatoes of the conversation has been social media, and I think that, as more companies become comfortable, social media will continue to increase in use. But I do think that in a down economy, if that’s where we’re still headed, branding in a down economy is important. Brand differentiation, maintaining consumer expectations and customer relations, brand value — those will be important things to think about when marketers are strategizing to keep consumers engaged with their products and services.
Are more companies tweaking their brand or message during the recession?
I think that some have been trying to change their messaging in terms of being more sympathetic and empathetic towards the recession, more promotions, “We understand that it’s a down economy, so here’s 25% off,” stuff like that. But the difference is that consumers are aware of what’s authentic and what isn’t … That’s why I think in a down economy marketers will need to think about making sure they’re still being authentic to their audience. Consumers aren’t stupid, and the ones who’ve really stuck with brands for a long time will pick up on those things much quicker.
Mindy Favreau, Mainebiz staff reporter, can be reached at mfavreau@mainebiz.biz.
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