How has the recession affected you? Perhaps you lost your job and you’ve turned to the online market to become an entrepreneur. Maybe you already had a web presence but the recession has forced you to step up your game. Or you could be an advertising company that’s witnessed severe budget cuts and now is the time for you to be more creative with spending and marketing campaigns. There are a few ways in which social media could be of great benefit for you, when it comes to continuing to build your brand.
Network Socially
Online social networks all seem to do the same thing, but there are only a handful of social sites that enable you to actually network. That means that you can leverage real relationships with people in order to work your way through a crowd, albeit a virtual crowd. You have a social graph, and everyone else has one too. Turn to sites like LinkedIn and Facebook for actually expanding your social graph and reaching the people you need to get in touch with.
Before you go networking all over the web, target the people you’d like to become acquaintances with and develop a strategy from there. It sounds calculated, but it’s effective and it helps to keep you focused. Once you’ve determined the people with whom you need to connect, see how this can be done using the people you’ve already befriended in online networks, as well as other applications through which you can reach your target contacts. Be straight forward with your objectives when dealing with yourself and your contacts. This can be accomplished without being harsh or coming off as a jerk, and it will likely be appreciated as people won’t think you’re coming across as being fake.
Search for Jobs
The online job search has been a long-standing staple of the Internet, but thanks to social networks, we’re able to shift the way in which we use the Internet for landing a new gig. Instead of passively perusing through job listings that have been posted by the hoards of corporations out there, online social networking allows us to transfer some of the “who you know, not what you know” mentality to the web. For most people, relationships determine the bulk of when and how you end up with a new job. Knowing the right people can be more of an influencing factor than book smarts or even experience.
This goes hand in hand with the ability to better network online. As with targeting people you need to know, target companies with which you’d like to work. Check LinkedIn for people that already work at this company, or seek out connections you already have that can link you to a person already working at this company. Don’t be afraid to reach out to others in order to reach your goals. See here for some pointers on better utilizing LinkedIn to get lucky.
Social media has also brought about more channels by which employers can post their job listings. Peruse through sites like Twitter to see which companies are hiring. Use these channels to communicate with those companies’ employers as well.
Cheaper Advertising
While there is still a direct correlation to the amount of money spent on a marketing campaign to its relative success, there are still a few ways in which you can leverage online social media to spread the word about your brand.
Getting influencers involved with your product can have a great trickle down effect for your brand. The influceners are powerful on Twitter and other social media sites, and can ultimately drive a lot of traffic to your site. Being consistent with your online marketing will also help you send a unified message to consumers. Be sure to use all the major social media outlets in order to enhance your chances of being seen by a wide range of online users.
Go after press, and give them a good reason to write about your product. The easiest way to do this is to start with a good product. T-shirt company Threadless has been able to weather recession and use social media to its advantage by keeping prices low, and adhering to its core values. Harper Reed, CTO of Threadless, says this has helped the website maintain higher volumes of traffic.
Partnering
Resources are limited for just about everyone out there, so to avoid deadpooling, many companies simply join forces. One great way to find companies that would be great parters is through social media. Use a professional networking site such as LinkedIn, or see what new business models are emerging from relevant industries on networks like Vator.tv. Scour Twitter for tweets pertaining to your areas of interest, and see what companies are behind this.
Additionally, look at what successful companies are doing with their brands. Is this something you’d like to be a part of? Get in contact with those companies using various social media channels and see if there is an opportunity for the two of you to team up. Maybe you can really help each other.
Earn Revenue
The recession has in many ways encouraged a more efficient use of technology, specially when it comes to the web and mobile devices. While the recession hasn’t been the only reason behind technological advances, the way in which certain aspects of social media, such as developer platforms, are being nurtured as alternative ways in which to generate revenue for all parties involved.
Facebook’s platform, for example, is being leveraged for direct sales to consumers, indirect advertising through applications, and a potential money-maker for Facebook itself. This means that developers have a unique opportunity to create a new type of product that would rake in a lot of cash, either because of their first-mover advantage or the new way in which a marketplace has cropped up around social media. To this end, the virtual goods market seems to be the best example of how this can take place. Paying $1 for a digital gift or a video game upgrade doesn’t require a lot of commitment from the consumer, but can usher in some serious monetary rewards for he developer and the platform.
See how creative you can be with your limited resources and the increasingly lowered barriers to entry for things like digital goods, which can put you in a position to enter the market at low costs with the potential for a high return on your investment. These are opportunities that can often be found in the midst of a recession, where consumers don’t mind sending a distant friend a virtual teddy bear, or some extra cash on those mobile apps that keep their mind off these sour economic times.
Add New Comment
Viewing 8 Comments
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Add New Comment
Trackbacks