The United States is experiencing the unprecedented combination of a pandemic and widespread business closures that are causing most people a great deal of stress. For business owners in uncertain times like these, it’s difficult to know what expenses to keep and which to cut. This is never an easy decision, but some sacrifices must be made to keep a business viable and able to weather a downturn. Usually one of the first expenses to go is advertising and marketing. However, is that the best choice? We’ll lay out four reasons to continue advertising and marketing in the current market to show why you should keep steady even if that goes against your first instinct to save money and protect your company.
Reasons to Continue Advertising during a Recession
- Cheaper Pay Per Click Advertising – If your competition is pulling back on its advertising, that means there is less competition for ad spend. You can widen your geographic reach and target a larger audience with a smaller budget as a result. This may also mean that your average position is higher than it was previously.
- Expanded Web Presence – If your company is the only one or even one of a handful of companies in your industry still marketing, you now have the potential to reach far more people for your brand. With that increased ability to attract customers to your website, new conversions are suddenly possible. Work on making your website more sticky by adding calls to actions, email signups, or other material that engage your audience and keep them coming back.
- Better Search Results – Maintaining the integrity of SEO in place and adding fresh content to your website is a strategy that will reap benefits in the long run. While search volume may be down a bit during this time, if you are adding more content and updating your SEO, you will see higher search results in the long run. We all want instant results for our efforts, but you will thank yourself later for choosing to continue marketing and content creation now.
- Greater Social Media Reach – Many companies have slowed down their communication with their customers on social media. This leaves opportunities for ad spend and organic reach for businesses that choose to focus on engagement. Even if you are not seeing clients or customers right now, there are still ways to engage your audience and profit after the current situation is resolved.
It’s hard to spend money when your business is suffering and you can’t see an immediate return. The bottom line, though, is that while it may be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel now, the choices you make will impact the months and years to come. If you can hold steady or even ramp up your advertising and marketing, you will thank yourself later for investing in future success.
If you need help with improving your website, your social media, your content creation, or your digital marketing during this stressful period, don’t hesitate to call us at 616-426-9303. We will be happy to discuss any and all options you may have to strengthen your web presence and attract more customers.
