But should you advertise during a recession?

Ad agencies, consultants, and the network say YES, but is that self-interest or truly a case of getting ahead when your competition has stopped advertising?

The cost of Facebook traffic is down 30% since more people are stuck at home and most advertisers have stopped campaigns.

But from an ROI perspective, unless you’re Brandon Hurtado (selling tons of BBQ for pick-up) or Amazon, your stores are shut down, so you can’t sell.

Sure, personal trainers can do online workouts via Zoom, but the travel industry is hard-pressed to make money with their physical assets being closed.

Measuring the efficacy of advertising during a recession is so fraught with challenges that it’s nearly impossible.

I’ve looked at a dozen studies and they’re all garbage because of confounding factors– mainly because of selection bias.

In other words, when a recession hits, the winners get stronger and the losers go out of business.

BOTTOM LINE: if you can afford to advertise for 3 months (even via the dollar-a-day strategy)– with no revenue– go for it.

“Advertising” is now paying to deliver your content, which isn’t necessarily sales material. It could be helpful training or good news you’re sharing.

Think of your advertising as “digital postage”.

Dennis Yu

Dennis Yu is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other organizations that have many locations. He has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs because of his partnership with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Companies like GoDaddy, Fiverr, onlinejobs.ph, 7 Figure Agency, and Vendasta partner with him to create training and certifications. Dennis created the Dollar a Day Strategy for local service businesses to enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring. He's coaching young adult agency owners who serve plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians in conjunction with leaders in these industries. Mr. Yu believes that there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers need to be certified and licensed. His Content Factory training and dashboards are used by thousands of practitioners.

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