Online marketing and the recession go together like peanut butter and jelly. The low, low prices and skyrocketing potential for exposure are enough to drive any board room executive into a frenzy. However, internet marketing campaigns can quickly become money-pits if those in charge understand very little about how online advertising works. The key to a successful internet strategy is to take the time to design the company website properly and set up analytic data-measuring programs that can measure the success or failure of everything done online. Over time, the winning ideas and the losing ideas will plainly present themselves. Here are some other tips on how to spend those valuable marketing dollars during a recession.

Sometimes looking at the strategies of others is a good place to begin thinking about online marketing. According to a recent survey, ”Tough Times Call for Tough Measures,” conducted by the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit (eMOS), 84% of respondents planned to increase or maintain their spending on email; 77% will increase or maintain online advertisements; 76% will increase or maintain keyword search campaigns; 62% will increase or maintain their social networks campaigns; and 38% will increase or maintain video advertising budgets. The basic point is that, despite the recession, most managers know better than to make cuts to their marketing campaigns. Experts across the board agree that keeping brand awareness thriving is essential to coming out of the downturn strong.

The ”2009 Tribalization of Business Survey” found that some of the top online marketing strategies during a recession include: increasing word-of-mouth (38%), improving customer loyalty (34%) and creating brand awareness (30%). Many executives feel this can be best done through the matrix of social networks. However, certain obstacles exist — like getting people to join, return and stay engaged. To gain the best results, market plans should include partnering up with other vendors, running exciting promotions and contests, offering special perks for participating and giving community members something of value for their time. In addition to these objectives, executives are also placing some emphasis on idea generation (29%) and customer support (23%).

Loyalty programs are a popular online marketing strategy that offers excellent customer retention and return-on-investment. Research firm CIO Insight reports that nearly 75% of U.S. shoppers belong to at least one loyalty program, although these initiatives aren’t functioning as well as they could. The key to making these programs work is to offer continuous incentives to spend and special perks that really make the customers feel important and valued. These days, consumers want coupons and contests, but they also want content and substance, which is where marketing newsletters come into play. To read about four successful case studies of loyalty programs, visit www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Special-Reports/Loyalty-Programs-How-4-Companies-Foster-Loyalty.

Before divvying up the online marketing dollars, executives must first decide which areas are most important to them. For instance, does the company require more brand identification and ”buzz” (social networking/viral videos), more established credibility and return customers (affiliate marketing/content publishing), more web traffic (banner ads/pay-per-click), better traffic retention (internet design), or more targeted web traffic (SEO)? Whatever the company leaders decide, they should ensure enough staff is devoted to these sectors to make them work optimally. They must also be realistic about what each area of online advertising can effectively achieve.

Visit Make Money on Computer to find out more about internet marketing strategies, from Adsense to affiliate marketing programs. There’s a solution to fit anyone who wants to have a successful internet presence.