Prediction: Recession Is Good For New Media Marketing

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 it's message, or the placement for ads. What they'll pay for is help to use the new media well. When in the face of 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.