Marketers are often the first to get cut during a recession: Here’s ho

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by Anna Munhin Mar 21, 2023 News
Marketers are often the first to get cut during a recession: Here’s ho

Whether a company uses an in-house team or hires an agency, the cost of marketing and PR services is high. When times get tough, the communications team is often the first to go.

Communications pros should be prepared to serve budget-conscious executives who are hungrier than ever to see return on investment. When times get tough, there are a number of pragmatic strategies you can use to keep your job. Three to try.

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This is the first thing. Share media coverage.

It is quite common for a piece of media coverage to be promoted the day it goes live. It was a missed chance. It is always a good idea to assume your key audience didn't see the piece the first time. During tough economic times, it is more important than ever for communications professionals to keep their media coverage going. This is how.

  • Share the news coverage on social media channels, tagging the reporter and leveraging relevant hashtags.
  • Weave the media coverage into future social media content. Share it again—it’s unlikely that your entire audience on social media saw the article the first time.
  • Add the article to your organization’s website. If it’s a tier-one article, consider adding it to the homepage as well (“As seen in”).
  • Incorporate the media coverage into your blog strategy. Strategically weave a backlink to the article into the blog to increase the number of eyeballs on it. 
  • Include the article in internal company newsletters or whichever internal communications platform you use so employees can share.

There are two Host a strategy seminar.

Talk of a recession causes businesses to scrutinize their spending. Don't think that your PR program can go on as usual. It's a good idea to check in with your clients on a regular basis. Goals are changing. Does your team need to be aware of any changes? Is there a plan in place to deal with backlash if layoffs happen? When inflation, recession, supply chain, and labor issues abound, offer to conduct a strategy refresh. Whatever you do, don't do business as usual.

There are three. Be clear about the return.

Every team has to contribute to the company's bottom line in some way. To find out how many people came to the website by clicking on a backlink embedded into the article, you can use free platforms. Tracking clicks on demo requests and new business leads is possible with the help of the analytics service from the search engine. If you can't communicate the return on your work, your program will be the first to get cut when budgets are tight.

The last word.

Don't be alarmed if the upcoming recession results in less budgets. Get creative, lean into what you can do for free, promote the work you've already done, and clearly communicate the value of the work you're doing.

Next PR is a tech PR agency. She lives in Colorado.