The world has changed drastically in the past year or so, largely thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Many stores are closing down indefinitely or implementing social distancing and people are buying fewer things than usual with a focus on the essentials.
It is likely things will stay like this for a while yet, but that doesn’t mean your business has to flounder in the unknown. If you aren’t sure about how to handle marketing during a pandemic, then here are some essential things to do — and not do — with different types of digital marketing.
DO Stay in Touch with Customers
It’s only natural for businesses to feel they have nothing to contribute to the conversation. You aren’t health experts, after all. However, the pandemic has deeper ramifications than the health and wellbeing of the general public.
The current pandemic has crashed stock markets and effectively shut down most countries. People are panicking about the global crisis and the impact it could have on them.
Keep in touch with your customers so they know that you are sensitive to their position and empathize with their plight. With so many people working from home with physical locations closed or restricted, staying in touch with customers also reassures them your services and commitments to them aren’t going to change.
Make sure that you communicate:
- The legitimacy of the pandemic and how it affects you and your audience
- Your empathy for your customers and let them know you’ll still be there
- Potential changes to your business, and how these changes can affect customers
- Your commitment to providing top quality services no matter what
DON’T Cut Off Communications
Your customers will be confused enough about what’s happening in the world. They aren’t sure how they should deal with all the changes caused by a pandemic.
Some businesses have reduced their communications – even cutting communication entirely. This is only going to make the problem worse. Cutting off communication is going to cost you a good chunk of your audience as people move to businesses that are still communicating and operating as normally as possible. It’s going to be challenging to get those people back when the world starts the recovery process.
There’s never been a better time to use marketing communication than right now. Don’t forget to keep creating content for your audience. This could be in the form of blog posts or videos on social media platforms.
DO Re-Focus and Re-Strategize Your Marketing Plans
Not every business affected by the pandemic has been affected negatively. For example, Zoom skyrocketed in value after selling itself as the solution for remote workers. Amazon has also seen great growth and increased hiring.
Your business should take some time to re-evaluate your marketing strategies and consider alternative marketing platforms. Why not take advantage of TikTok and YouTube? More people are watching more online content as they’re stuck inside.
Check out some of the most popular types of YouTube videos for inspiration. Another tip—research details like using a TikTok video frame size of 1080×1920. Also, how long should YouTube videos be? Studies show around 6 to 8 minutes long is best. Looking into this beforehand is essential, as you want to do things properly.
For marketers, why not focus your efforts on companies that do better during a pandemic, such as online stores and mask manufacturers? Those in the hospitality industry don’t have to stop marketing either. Focus on creating a plan to bounce back better than before when the world opens up again. You can always take another look at your marketing strategy, no matter what kind of business you run.
DON’T Stop Creating Content
As mentioned before, some businesses might stop communicating with customers. This is your chance to take advantage of that. You shouldn’t stop creating content like YouTube videos. Instead, double down and create even more. Continuing marketing during a pandemic is imperative. Furthermore, consider new avenues like looking through some first blog post ideas and creating a new blog. The internet is filled with excellent blog post ideas. One of the simplest posts to make right now would be a post addressing how your business is handling the pandemic.
Create content now to give yourself an even greater advantage later. The competition will be scrambling to get back in the game, but that won’t be a problem because you’re already five moves ahead of them.
DO Review Automated Marketing
Automation may have been the driving force of your marketing efforts before the pandemic. Continuing to run market automation without checking and updating that marketing to reflect the situation could make you seem insensitive and more profit-driven in the eyes of consumers.
Be sure to go through the automated marketing and update your messages. This includes checking ad campaigns, email messages, and other communication points with customers such as automated customer support.
DON’T Reduce the Marketing Budget
Please keep in mind that other businesses are suffering as much as yours. While some other businesses have shut down indefinitely due to drops in profits, this is actually an optimal time to boost marketing – not reduce it.
Ad rates are potentially going to go down in response to people reducing their marketing budget. Your advertising budget will go further than before, giving you more bang for your buck. You’ll also have more market share and better access to the people other companies were reaching. The key to marketing during a pandemic is to work smarter, not harder. Check out some of our marketing tips you can implement on a budget.
Marketing During A Pandemic
You might think that a pandemic means your business has to go into marketing hibernation, but that isn’t the case. You’d be surprised to learn that there’s actually never been a better time to ramp up your efforts.
Explore new marketing channels and messages, stay connected to the audience, and let them know you care. Everyone is scared right now, so offer a helping hand in these trying times. People will respond well to that kind of message, giving you an advantage over others who cut communications entirely.
