What To Expect Online for 2009
by Marsha Maung
Feb 6th, 2009
I’ll start with the most basic and OBVIOUS…which is that companies will continue to shrink their budgets for marketing and promotions. This is the kind of Catch 22 situation that happened a long time ago during the Great Depression. Hang on a minute, it happens all the time – yeah, you shrink the budget, no marketing; no marketing, less/no sale. It’s hard to toss this one out but in this modern age today, we have something that those business people back during the Great Depression didn’t. We have the Internet. We have social networking sites. We have blogs. We have websites. We have online marketing for search engines.
This should be viewed in a positive light despite the fact that this means more lay-offs and then more independent contractors in cyberspace and, sadly, stiffer competition for people who run online businesses. But the good news is that many experts believe that as the economy slows down, there’s going to be growth, EXPONENTIAL growth for online marketing companies, especially those concentrating on social media marketing. Why? Well, shrinking of marketing budget reduces offline marketing and promotions…and the kids have got to eat, so….
On the business premise, it is understood…that we’ll all try to go paperless and we’ll practically live our lives online; but many internet experts express concern for the entertainment and music industry as well. Radio stations and TV stations are going to have to pull up their socks and start running into this vortex of online activity and connectivity. More and more people will start watching shows and series, listen to songs on their computer, you see. Some may not download but they’ll try to save a couple of bucks, anyway.
Oh, but one of the things that experts see in this whole economy crisis is that it’s going to be a little harder trying to find free tools and downloads online. Everybody’s tightening their belts and free service providers are going to start reeling in their free services as well. So, don’t be surprised if, one fine day, you find that your blog service provider or free web hosting company sends you an email saying, “…unfortunately, we will no longer be providing this free service…If you wish to continue using our services, please sign up for one of our affordable packages.”
Ah well….
I left the best piece of news for last and that is social media marketing will continue to grow…rapidly…like a speeding bullet train out of control. People are connected to each other via their computers when they’re in the office or at home, then they’re connected to each other via mobile phones when they’re stuck in traffic. When they’re home, they are connected to each other via laptops while eating dinner with the family.
I know many people beyond the 40 age-group will shun this notion, shaking their heads in disbelief, because they believe that it won’t happen. But trust me, those who are 30 and beyond will be sucked into this socket, whether they like it or not. People who have ever even heard of LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter will start jumping into the bandwagon this year.
It’s going to be one packed wagon but…welcome aboard.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marsha Maung is a Malaysian-based freelance copywriter with two kids. She spends her time ferrying her kids around, watering her plants, writing web content, SEO stuff, ghostwriting books and also indulges in the occasional Facebook-ing. Visit her blog for more dirty details on the life and times of a mother, writer, designer, housekeeper, coffee-maker, poop-wiper, chef...and just about everything else under the sun.
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<b>Marsha Maung</b> is a Malaysian-based <a href="http://www.marshamaung.com" target="_blank">freelance writer</a> with two kids. She spends her time ferrying her kids around, watering her plants, writing web content, SEO stuff, ghostwriting books and also indulges in the occasional Facebook-ing. Visit her <a href="http://www.marshamaung.blogspot.com" target="_blank">blog</a> for more dirty details on the life and times of a mother, writer, designer, housekeeper, coffee-maker, poop-wiper, chef...and just about everything else under the sun.
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