Back in January I posted my prediction that the possible economic recession would be good for new media marketing. At the time the recession was only talked about in theory. Today, we’re more aware of it and may even be feeling it a bit. I heard recently that the economy my remain in this state for another twelve to eighteen months, and I contend that this is still a good opportunity for the expansion of social media marketing (and social media marketers.) Here’s the original post from January in its entirety. I think it fits today just as much as it did then. (Note: some of the links in the post below go to my old blog.)

There’s lots of news today about a possible recession. The Federal Reserve made the biggest rate cut in 24 years today to head a recession off at the pass but the stock market isn’t really responding well so far. While a recession (or even the hint of one) will increase fears in many traditional sectors of media and marketing, I think new media marketers will benefit from this and here’s why….

• Blogs don’t cost anything to start.
• Online video is free. So is creating your own video channel on YouTube.
• Creating a Facebook group doesn’t cost anything.
• Recording a podcast costs next to nothing.
• A basic Flickr account to engage your customers is free.
• Twitter doesn’t charge to message the people most interested in what you are doing.
• AdWords only cost you something when someone clicks your ad (and you determine the cost per click.)

There will still be marketing in a recessed economy. There will still be marketers spending money in a recessed economy, even if there’s not as much of it. What marketers will be paying for, however, is not the use of the technology, the air time to broadcast its message, or the placement for ads. What they’ll pay for is help to use the new media well. When faced with decreased marketing budgets, new media will emerge as the cheaper option because companies will pay consultants (i.e. digital coaches) a few thousand dollars to teach them how to fish the new way. This may be the tipping point for new media marketing as marketers and advertisers give it a shot out of financial necessity rather than being convinced that it’s the right thing to do. Whatever the case, a recession is going to be good news for new media marketing. It’s bad news for traditional advertising and marketing, but Google was already telling us that.

I’d like to make a request: please be quiet. Don’t say anything. Please don’t say anything at all to the people you’re trying to reach, and especially don’t try to do it with social media tools. Don’t even think about starting a blog or creating a YouTube channel or signing up for Twitter. Please don’t begin a Facebook group, Flickr page or launch a podcast. Don’t do any of these. Just be quiet, unless of course, you really have something to say.

Sure, a lot of people are using social media. According to Forrester’s early 2008 data, 90% of Americans between 18-24 years old, 84% between 25-34 years old, 76% between 35-44 years old, and 72% of 45-54 year olds are using some kind of social media. Clearly, most Americans are online and using social media technology, but please don’t let these numbers encourage you to begin engaging them in social media unless you actually have something to say.

So how will you know if you have something to say? Start with these:

• If you have truth to share, you have something to say.
• If you have an experience to draw from, you have something to say.
• If you know something I should know, you have something to say.
• If you can tell me about someone I should meet, you have something to say.
• If you have perspective where I am lacking, you have something to say.

The biggest misconception about social media tools is that they fix communication issues. They don’t. They merely extend the reach of what you already have to say. Therefore, if you don’t have anything to say already, you now have the opportunity to be equally ineffective to a larger number of people.

Social media doesn’t consist of magic beans and pixie dust. It doesn’t create something for you that wasn’t there to begin with. If you’re saying nothing today, you will say nothing in more places with social media. Your silence will be amplified and resound with a great hollowness that would echo for eternity if not for the absence of anything there in the first place.

My advice to anyone interested in social media tools is that they immediately forget about it. First, figure out what you actually have to say. What is the message? What compelling content do you have to offer? To what degree are you willing to engage in conversation openly and candidly with people who may want to talk to you?

These are the types of questions that are appropriate to get started. The wrong questions begin with choosing technology. The technology should fit the content, not the other way around.

Content, then, becomes your focus rather than the technology. Content is the basis on which people will measure you in social media. Good blogs have good content. Bad blogs have bad content. The content is not good because the blog is good. The blog is good because the content made it so.

As you consider social media as a means of reaching people, don’t neglect the more important task of focusing on great content. Yes, you can reach far and wide with social media tools. Social media has become a useful and persuasive force. It’s wide access and ease of use have created more opportunities for more people than media has ever provided in history. The case is compelling and seemingly irresistible, but if we want to reach people with these great tools and we don’t do it with compelling content, then what are we really doing? We might as well just be quiet.

This week’s social media batting practice involves a local, upscale music venue trying to figure out how social media marketing can work for it. This “pitch” was submitted by Steve, a MicroExplosion reader and our batter was Lynn Terry of ClickNewz.com. Lynn’s full list of recommendations and ideas follows the entire scenario below.

Scenario: How would a local entertainment venue (mainly musical arts) use social media to grow its fan base and increase single performance sales and season memberships? Assume the venue has a reputation of being a “black tie only” establishment, but in reality caters to music lovers from all walks of life. It recruits some of the most famous acts in classical, jazz, pops, cabaret and rock music and is known throughout the region. They sell out several shows a year for the more famous names, but want to be full for every weekend and weeknight show as well. What should they do?

Lynn’s ideas: They obviously want a social media campaign that will cover two objectives: gain local interest and also create a specific impression. In order to attract people from “all walks of life”, those people need to see others just like themselves.

I would recommend a photo/video campaign as the base for the online marketing strategy. They can be used to display the wide variety of entertainment available, as well as crowds & individuals (various types) that frequent the venue.

Use Flickr to host the photos and YouTube to host the videos. This serves two purposes: it saves on hosting space & bandwidth usage, and it also helps to create a broader reach. The goal is to “go wide” so that you are easily found online in a variety of places online. Not only will you be found at various social sites, but it will create more opportunity to be found in search engine results as well.

The primary web presence should be a blog, or a website + blog. Using a blog format will allow people to engage in discussions about specific shows they attended, subscribe to the calendar of upcoming events, and interact both with the business and other customers.

Elements to feature on the site/blog might include:

• About Page -written to give the impression desired
• Location/Directions -including photos and Google Map
• Entertainment Calendar -with RSS & Email subscription options
• Show Reviews -photos, videos & written reviews of recent shows
• Photo Gallery -invites visitors to submit photos as well
• Mailing List -notification for upcoming shows
• Testimonials -encourage visitors to send feedback & publish it

A great way to encourage visitors to sign up for the email list is to host a monthly giveaway. It might be a dinner, appetizer or door pass from a random drawing of subscribers. You can also use the drawing strategy to get customers to submit testimonials.

Tip: A prize of higher value could be offered for video testimonials, shot on scene.

Using the blog to feature reviews of recent shows will serve two purposes: it helps create the impression desired by featuring the variety of musical arts available, and it also allows you to optimize pages for keyword phrases such as: acts, names, music types, etc. Ranking well in the major search engines for the name of a well-known band can help you reach their fan base online.

Setting up a well-optimized blog and website, and optimizing your photos on Flickr and videos on YouTube, will allow locals and fans to find you. The next step in the marketing campaign is to find them.

Set up an account on MySpace, as their primary share in the social media market is with music. Use the name of the business for the account so that the URL is myspace.com/business. This makes it easy to find online, both by memory and by search. Use the calendar feature to display upcoming events. Search for bands and independent musicians that have played in your venue and add them to your friends list. Next, search your town and local area and send friend requests liberally.

When a band is scheduling a show, ask them if they have a MySpace account. Offer to feature them on your Top Friends space prior to the show and encourage them to send out an invite to their own friends list by posting a bulletin.

Set up an account at Twitter.com also, which is a micro-blogging service. Again, use your business name for the account. Publish updates daily that feature upcoming shows and artists, and link to the full write-up on your website. Use the search box in your Twitter account to find bands and locals just like you did with MySpace.

You now have presence on five different online properties - your own domain, Flickr, YouTube, MySpace and Twitter. Done right, you can “own” 50% of the search results for phrases your ideal visitors are searching for online. Meaning if someone searches for XYZ Band on Google, you can easily show up in 5 out of the top 10 results.

Getting them to your site is the key. Interacting with them and engaging them in your content is what will turn them into loyal, repeat customers at your local venue.

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Lynn, thanks so much for your ideas and giving us a lot to think about. Anytime a business can own 50% of the search results for the keywords or phrases they want is a big win. That’s the beauty of what social media marketing can do. Interestingly enough, almost everything you suggested here costs nothing to get started but it takes time (sometimes significant time) to set up and maintain well. It just shows that in the economy of social media marketing time is the new money!

Also, thanks for the pitch Steve. All right…who’s got another pitch and who’s our next batter?