Even in mid-November, many marketers are still preparing their marketing budgets for next year — which will probably be revised in three months — which is why virturally no one prepares a five-year plan anymore. But what if you were asked to come up with some smart search and social media marketing strategies for a decade of deflation?
Ain’t gonna happen, right?
Well, A. Gary Shilling, an award-winning economic forecaster, told Minyanville today that the global economy is going through a long period of deleveraging and weak growth — which makes deflation far more likely and a far greater threat than inflation.
Shilling is the author of The Age of Deleveraging: Investment Strategies for a Decade of Slow Growth and Deflation. He has an incredible forecasting track record — including the recent housing and financial bubbles.
You can read Josh Lipton’s wide-ranging discussion with Shilling at Q&A With Gary Shilling: Investing in the Age of Deleveraging, Part 1, and Q&A With Gary Shilling: Investing in the Age of Deleveraging, Part 2. Or, just watch the first part of the video interview on Minyanville’s channel on YouTube.
Gary Shilling On How to Invest In the Age of Deleveraging and Deflation, Part I
If you’ve never heard of Minyanville before, Annie Stickney, the General Manager of Online Marketing and Development for Minyanville Media, spoke at SES Chicago 2010 in the session entitled, “Update on Real Time Search: I Want it Now!” Following the session, Matt Bailey, the president and founder of SiteLogic, interviewed Stickney about Emmy Award-winning content and community platform.
Real Time search tips for publishers with Annie Stickney, Minyanville, at SES Chicago 2010
Now, you’ve gotta love a financial and business destination that features Hoofy & Boo’s News & Views, the first ever animated business television show. Hosted by Minyanville’s Hoofy the Bull and Boo the Bear, it offers a topical and timely look at the week’s big stories, market conditions and the world we live in.
And with the addition of human staff writers like Lipton, who joined Minyanville in August 2009 from Forbes.com, Minyanville.com is quickly becoming the go-to destination for people who want to know what’s happening in business and finance before it happens.
This brings me back to Lipton’s video interview with Shilling. If the United States and world economy will struggle for several more years, then what impact will this have of your search and social media marketing strategies?
For starters, marketing strategies that have worked for the last 25 years will not work in the next 10.
It’s also worth dusting off the SEMPO State of Search Engine Marketing Report 2010, published in March by Econsultancy, and re-reading the research that shows companies are continuing to shift money from other marketing and IT activity into search engine marketing.
Of the companies re-allocating budgets to search engine marketing, around half (49%) are moving it from print advertising. More than a third (36%) are shifting money from direct mail, and almost a quarter are moving budgets from web display advertising (23%).
According to the report, measurement of return on investment (ROI) is the biggest challenge faced by marketers seeking to improve their search marketing and social media efforts. For SEO, 42% of respondents say ROI measurement is one of their three biggest challenges, while 43% cite this problem for paid search.
For social media marketing, this problem is particularly evident, with 63% saying this is one of their biggest three challenges. The next biggest challenge for those carrying out social media marketing is “making the business case for investment‟ with 38% of companies saying this is a major issue.
So, if you go to SES London 2011, then make sure you attend sessions like Basic Analytics, Meaningful SEO Metrics, and Deep Dive into Analytics on Tuesday, Feb. 22; Update on Real Time Search: I Want it Now!, Why Does Search Get All the Credit?, and Is Search Remarketing/Retargeting Right for You? on Wednesday, Feb. 23; as well as Making Money with Affiliate Programs, Speaking Geek: How Marketers Can Work with Web Developers to Achieve Business Goals, and Conversion Clinic on Thursday, Feb. 24.
Why? If you are asked to come up with some smart search and social media marketing strategies for a decade of deflation, then you’ll know what to do.
I should disclose that SES is a client of my agency, but trust me on Boo the Bear.