Aside from the argument of whether we are in a recession or not, its safe to say that just about everyone I know has the economy on their mind. Big picture, its certainly understood that there are signs of struggle, with banks failing and joblessness at its peak.

I've heard from many financial shows over the years that those in the know invest in the low, that is, when a stock is at or close to the bottom of its dip. One recent example of what I would categorize as investing in the low, is that of Warren Buffet's 3 billion dollar investment in General Electric recently. This got me thinking.... should we all be investing, not necessarily in the stock market but in ourselves and our businesses.

It's my belief that we can push through this mess by basically stepping on the gas pedal of innovative thinking and betting on the growth of ourselves and our businesses'. Making the decision to retreat or do nothing because we "fear" it could get worse, would be disastrous for each of us, the businesses we manage, and the economy as a whole.

One area that many companies are investing is in their internet marketing strategy. Recession or no recession, companies are investing heavily on "inbound marketing strategies". They are redesigning websites to be lead capturing machines, publishing new content, and leveraging analytics to improve site/sales efficiencies, and networking with others to uncover new business opportunities. These companies are innovating their sales and marketing processes and most importantly, finding ways that sales and marketing can work together to grow their business quicker and more profitably.

Here are a few reasons why the thought of recession should not stop you from making an investment in your internet marketing strategy:

Be In The Mix: The internet is primarily an "inbound" marketing channel that is used to "pull" potential clients to you. Put yourself and your business where your target market is looking for a solution.

Spend Time, Not Money: Just about every internet marketing strategy require a good deal of time (as well as patience) and less of your money compared to traditional marketing and advertising strategies.

Measure It: In order to know what is working and what isn't working and should be thrown on the scrap pile, you need to measure. Website optimization is a key aspect to any successful campaign.

Shift Gears: According to eMarketer, more companies are shifting away from traditional marketing approaches and into online marketing as a result of the downturn. Can any of us afford to not be where the competition is?

A Commitment To Constant Improvement: If your the type of business that has been doing the same thing as you did 25 years ago, in terms of advertising and marketing... you have a problem. Your problem isn't that you still have that flock of seagulls hairstyle. It's that you don't know what's working and what's not working in your strategy. Improvement can only be accomplished if you can measure their success and failure.