Digital Postage

NEWS FLASH: Cost of Facebook ads down by 35%!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 a 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

About the Author

Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best-selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads.  He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. Mr. Yu is the "million jobs" guy-- on a mission to create one million jobs via hands-on social media training, partnering with universities and professional organizations.You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train up young adults and business owners. He speaks for free as long as the organization believes in the job-creation mission and covers business class travel.You can find him hiking tall mountains, eating chicken wings, and taking Kaqun oxygen baths-- likely in a city near you.