When life offers you lemons, make lemonade. Proper?
There’s rather a lot to glean from turbulent occasions just like the 2008 recession and the more moderen COVID-19 pandemic. Inside these intervals are droves of case research proving that whether or not or not an organization comes out thriving is basically depending on the energy of its advertising and marketing. It’s no coincidence that those who leaned in are those nonetheless prospering.
Take Hyundai, for instance, a model that launched the Hyundai Assurance Program in 2009 (a response to the 2008 recession), a marketing campaign permitting prospects to cease funds and return their vehicles within the occasion they have been laid off. And whereas U.S. auto gross sales dropped by greater than 20% in 2009, Hyundai’s U.S. gross sales increased by 8%.
Want additional convincing? Learn on for extra examples and professional recommendation.
Desk of Contents
Is one other recession truly coming?
Predicting the subsequent recession is like forecasting the climate (particularly for these of us, like myself, residing in temperamental London): Figuring out precisely when, why, and the way extreme a recession shall be is difficult, contemplating the number of components impacting the markets that drive financial climates.
Nonetheless — and understandably — anticipation of the subsequent recession is each pervasive and anxiety-inducing. One in three marketers think a recession will have an even bigger impact on marketing than COVID-19. According to HubSpot’s 2025 Marketing Report, 41% of marketers expressed negative sentiments about economic conditions impacting their marketing strategies.
“I think fear is what sits at the bottom of all of this,” says Robyn MacMillan, artistic director and cofounder of The Everburn Company. “The manufacturers that may see previous the type of hill are those that truly are capable of climate the storm.”
Is a recession imminent? In all probability (some argue we’re already in the beginning of 1). However does that imply you must panic? Undoubtedly not.
What Entrepreneurs Can Be taught From Previous Slowdowns
“Historical past has receipts,” says MacMillan. “Recessions don’t truly cease individuals from spending or buying. We nonetheless want companies. We nonetheless want platforms.”
“I interpret this as consumers being less panicked and more pragmatic about potential downturns because of what they learned about handling their financial situations from the economic effects of COVID-19 and post-pandemic inflation,” says Tristen Taylor, who conducted the survey.
In other words, your customers aren’t as panicked as you might think. So why should you be?
Take a breath and remember: Brands (you!) still need marketing — arguably even more during a recession than at any other time. And the brands that stay adaptable and focused can still grow.
Read on to discover top recession tips to bear in mind as a marketer.
Tips for Preparing and Navigating Recessions
1. Use data to connect with customers.
Recessions are vital times for marketers to audit their relationships with customers.
A crucial step in recession-proofing your strategy is gathering real-time data on consumer attitudes, preferences, and behaviors. With that insight, you can refine your marketing efforts — ensuring your messaging is not only timely, but truly resonates with your audience.
“We make too many assumptions as marketers,” says MacMillan. “Remove those assumptions and really connect to the data, see what sentiment analysis you can do to then see what your consumer needs right now.”
2. Don’t underestimate the power of social media — even if your budget is cut.
When asked which marketing tactics they’d prioritize if economic uncertainty continues, 23% of respondents in a 2025 HubSpot survey pointed to social media marketing. If you ask me, this number should be higher, considering HubSpot’s State of Consumer Trends report found that social media is the top channel for product discovery for Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X.
While a recession often means tighter budgets, that doesn’t mean your social strategy should take a back seat.
Here are a few high-impact, budget-friendly focus areas to keep your social presence strong without overspending:
User-Generated Content
User-Generated Content (UGC) — anything created and shared by customers — is one of the most powerful marketing tools. For one, it’s free. But more importantly, it drives organic trust, genuine engagement, and a sense of relatability.
We saw a surge in UGC during the pandemic. Why? “Because people had more time,” says MacMillan. And for many in-house marketing teams, it became a lifeline.
MacMillan vividly recalls one client, a cybersecurity company in Gothenburg, Sweden, that thrived by tapping into the power of UGC and leaning into relatable, everyday case studies. Rather than spotlighting complex product features or tech-heavy stats, they focused on human stories — like the one about an elderly mom who accidentally clicked a phishing link disguised as a promotion from M&S, which led to a bank account breach.
“Their scalability went off the charts as soon as they leaned more into that humanistic side that people crave during a fearful time,” MacMillan adds.
New Platforms and Features
In another recent HubSpot blog, I wrote about the social media platforms marketers should be keeping an eye on in 2025. The same advice stands on the recession-prep front.
Leveraging emerging features and trends like live video and audio can help your brand stay relevant and connected. If your brand is already active on Instagram (chances are, it is), consider how Threads can supplement your reach and engagement.
Plus, never underestimate the power of content that entertains. In stressful times, people crave reasons to smile and engage even more. Behind-the-scenes content is also effective for generating trust, giving your audience a genuine look at the people and processes behind your brand — something customers crave in uncertainty. Partake Foods, which coincidentally scaled massively through the pandemic, does a fantastic job with this (in addition to UGC).
3. Lean into the model loyalty you need to continue to grow your viewers.
Closely contemplate sharpening your technique round personalised experiences — customized and individualized curations of messages, content material, merchandise, or experiences. Whether or not you provide a reduction code to your most frequent prospects or ship them a customized card thanking them for his or her loyalty, little tokens of appreciation can go a great distance.
“Actually lean into that neighborhood you’ve created — make it possible for they’re engaged, that they really feel seen, heard and valued, slightly than simply being service,” MacMillan. “They’ll then grow to be advocates and associates.”
4. Promote low-cost or high-value merchandise.
Whether or not you’re promoting inexpensive necessities or premium items, the important thing throughout a recession is positioning: The way you body your worth makes all of the distinction.
“In case your merchandise are cheaper or present higher bang for the buck than rivals’, give attention to gaining market share from prospects who beforehand swore by pricier choices,” says Maxwell Iskiev, who leads analysis initiatives at HubSpot.
On the flip facet, Iskiev properly provides: “In the meantime, luxurious manufacturers can give attention to advertising and marketing the added worth prospects get for purchasing with them. For instance, a model promoting hand-stitched leather-based wallets can place itself as a longer-lasting various to a reduction pockets.”
Inexpensive Instruments and Know-how to Leverage
Top-of-the-line methods to streamline efforts in notably turbulent occasions is automating repetitive and guide duties — from electronic mail advertising and marketing to social posts and advert campaigns. This not solely saves time, however frees you as much as give attention to high-impact, strategic initiatives. AI may also assist optimize your efforts, enhancing focusing on, and driving down prices.
Beneath are just a few instruments I like that you may also discover useful.
1. Marketing Hub
Whereas new know-how can really feel intimidating to implement at first, HubSpot’s choices are implausible instruments try to be leaning into, when you’re not already.
HubSpot’s Marketing Hub comes geared up with AI and automation baked in, streamlining all the things from onboarding to day-to-day use, even for groups that aren’t extremely technical.
In my expertise, the automated workflows, knowledge assortment for every lead, and prompts on learn how to join with every prospect make Advertising Hub a useful asset for entrepreneurs. Based on our analysis, automating fundamental duties can save entrepreneurs as much as 2.5 hours day by day — that means they’ve extra time to spend money on high-level duties.
I additionally need to spotlight a brand new function that comes with the Skilled and Enterprise plans: Breeze social media agent. It helps you from starting to finish along with your social media technique. It creates and automates a multichannel social media technique on your model by creating belongings and posting them at ideally suited occasions. Breeze additionally retains monitor of efficiency metrics so you may see engagement and success ranges. It additional analyzes viewers knowledge to broaden your attain.
As I discussed above, natural social media is a cost-effective and extremely efficient type of advertising and marketing, so including AI that can assist you maximize its potential is a should in my view.
Core Options
- Automation of guide duties to save lots of entrepreneurs time.
- AI brokers to help with social media administration and help guests to your web site.
- Lead scoring instruments based mostly on buyer knowledge for focused outreach.
- Automated personalised electronic mail campaigns to achieve your viewers at scale.
- Information assortment and evaluation introduced in clear dashboards so you may perceive your prospects and tweak your technique accordingly.
Pricing: Free, Starter – $15 per seat/month, Skilled – $890/month for 3 seats, and Enterprise – $3,600/month for five seats.
2. Buffer
If you wish to zero in on social media advertising and marketing, one other inexpensive automation instrument for social media I like is Buffer.
Every thing you want for a profitable social media marketing campaign is included on this single software program instrument with a simple interface. I can merely toggle the tabs on the prime to Create, Publish, Analyze, and Have interaction for every bit of content material. Buffer connects with all main social platforms, so you may design and format your content material in accordance with the necessities of every, plus schedule issues to put up at the most effective occasions.
I additionally like that I can see how my content material is doing throughout all social platforms in a single easy-to-use dashboard. Lastly, Buffer retains monitor of all of your posts and viewers feedback so you may reply with out something slipping by way of the cracks. It makes the overwhelming process of staying on prime of all social engagement manageable.
Core Options
- Create your campaigns with their design instruments.
- Publish and monitor your social posts from a single platform.
- AI assistants show you how to at each step of the method.
- Content material collaboration for a number of teammates to work collectively seamlessly.
- Social channels: Bluesky, Google Enterprise Profile, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, Fb, Instagram, Threads, Mastodon, and X.
Pricing: Free – one person account and three channels; Necessities – $5/month for one person and one channel, however extra options; Workforce – $10/month for limitless customers and one channel with all their options.
3. Hootsuite
One other all-in-one social media administration platform, Hootsuite helps you create, handle, and sharpen your social media technique.
I believe its social listening function is admittedly useful for locating and evaluating traits, hashtags, matters, and occasions throughout social platforms. Staying on prime of these items will show you how to monitor model sentiment, monitor efficiency, and predict traits. One other benefit of their social listening instrument is that you will discover UGC and influencers who will work properly along with your model and providing.
Not solely does Hootsuite show you how to with natural social media, however you can too handle paid advertisements by way of your Hootsuite account. Your natural and paid methods can work collectively seamlessly by watching what performs properly and what doesn’t, and monitoring your advertisements throughout all platforms.
Core Options
- Publish and schedule all of your social posts from one platform.
- Observe and report on put up, marketing campaign, and advert efficiency.
- Inbox to gather all feedback and DMs throughout your social belongings so you may reply in a well timed method and by no means lose monitor.
- OwlyWriter AI helps write copy on your social posts, whether or not it’s captions, hashtags, or long-form posts. It additionally generates concepts so that you by no means get caught.
Pricing: Customary – $99 per person/month; Superior – $249 per person/month; Enterprise – customized pricing.
4. Canva
Searching for a instrument to help with design? Canva stays a go-to artistic powerhouse that each marketer ought to have of their again pocket.
You possibly can design something with Canva. It options 1000’s of templates and a drag-and-drop editor that permits you to rapidly personalize something on your model. I exploit it on a regular basis, and I like the flexibility it gives as a result of I can create social posts with the appropriate format for every platform, design net pages, and create shows to share with my prospects.
I particularly respect that I can rapidly create social posts that look skilled and match my branding with Canva. I can create a constant aesthetic throughout all social channels utilizing the identical fundamental template from Canva.
Core Options
- The photograph editor means that you can do fundamental photograph modifying all inside Canva.
- The brand new AI assistant, whereas nonetheless in growth, is a enjoyable instrument since you simply must enter a immediate along with your concept and Canva will rapidly generate a number of designs. You possibly can then additional immediate it to switch one you want however aren’t fairly glad with.
- There are over 400,000 professionally designed templates in Canva’s template library. For those who don’t need to begin with a clean web page, considered one of these templates is bound to provide the basis to begin designing.
- The drag-and-drop editor permits you to visually design your artistic belongings with none coding.
Pricing: Canva Free; Canva Professional – $120/12 months for one particular person; Canva Groups – $100 per particular person/12 months; Canva Enterprise – customized pricing.
Bear in mind: It’s not your first (or final) unprecedented time.
“Don’t amputate the arm that feeds your future,” warns MacMillan.
In different phrases, chopping advertising and marketing completely throughout robust occasions would possibly provide short-term aid, however it will possibly price you long-term development. Turbulent occasions check resilience, however in addition they reward manufacturers that proceed to point out up with readability, creativity, and consistency.
We’ve realized from previous recessions that those that make investments thoughtfully of their advertising and marketing not solely survive however typically come out stronger.
Editor’s notice: This text was initially printed in March 2023 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
