Things You Need to Know About
Marketing During COVID-19
We are living in unprecedented times. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it. It’s not just our social lives that have been affected by the pandemic, but our businesses have been impacted greatly, as well. While life certainly is different, your business still can reach out and connect with your target audience.
Like many business owners, you may be feeling a bit unsure of how to approach your business or connect with your audience. Below you will find some insightful and timely information that will help your business push forward even in uncharted territory.
Put Your People First
Admittedly, it is a daunting time to be in business. If you read the papers or social media, you hear about local businesses that aren’t sure they can weather this storm. While it is natural to worry about your bottom line, you need to take care of your employees. Without healthy employees, your business will fail. Now is the time to put concern for your staff above all else.
Work from home if possible. Embrace social distancing. If employees do have to report to an office or place of work because they have been deemed essential, ensure that they have resources to protect themselves such as PPE, and access to soap and water for handwashing. There are a lot of tools for businesses to help them get through this time.
Implement video conferencing for meetings. Video conferencing is a great way to still connect you’re your employees in as natural a way as possible if you are working from home. Your target audience will appreciate you for taking care of your staff now and in the future.
Your Business is
Going to Change
You need to accept that your business is going to change. In fact, it probably already has. COVID-19 has changed the way people interact. When human interaction changes, businesses that want to thrive must change with the times. While change can be scary, it doesn’t need to be something that stops you from succeeding. Now is the time to accept that business, and life as we know it, has changed. Some changes will be short term, but other changes may be ongoing and we can start to plan for them. Now is the time to embrace a business recovery plan.
Stay Relevant
If you aren’t frozen with indecision like some business owners, your initial reaction may be to press on like things are business as usual. Yet, when you go to the grocery store or log onto your personal social media accounts you will see that business as usual is not where people’s heads are at.
You need to keep your outreach relevant. Look for ways to meet the needs of your audience. For instance, if you own a restaurant run specials that will help make food more affordable or more easily accessible for your customers and make sure your social media marketing lands the message.
Avoid Non-Essential Product
Launches or Press Releases
In the business world, we want to keep everyone apprised of what we are doing; we want to stay relevant and in the forefront of the minds of our target audience. In the past immediately sharing company news was an obvious part of a marketing strategy. Yet, now is not the time for that. It is a harsh reality that no one cares about your exciting company news right now. So, unless a press release or product simply cannot be shelved, don’t bother with it. Your target audience wants to hear from you about the current situation we are all living together.
Update Your Look
While no one wants to hear your company news, they do want to hear from you and they want to know that you are in this with them. Do some work on brand messaging and consider revamping your logo in a “separate but together” theme. Some well-known businesses have updated their logos for the time being and it is going over well with the masses. A social distancing logo change can be easy and is a great way to let people know that your brand is with them during this time of struggle.
Online Services:
A New Area of Focus
In most areas of the world, face to face events are not happening until further notice. Now is the time to look for a way to go online with your services so you can reach out and connect with people where they are. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, stay with the products and services that you currently provide, just implement online options into your marketing strategy. For instance:
- Create webinars that your audience can log into from home
- Do a live video on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram that will allow you to engage with your audience
- Offer virtual consultations or services
When you go online you allow your audience to see that you are still there for them. Being available and reliable will benefit you now and in the future. If you take the time to produce ideas and content that stay within the scope of your current business, they will benefit your marketing strategy even after the panic has passed.
Make Social Media
Your Friend
Now is the time to embrace social media if you haven’t already. If you already engage on social media, step up your efforts. Social media usage is up; 66% of social media users say that their usage has increased since stay home orders have been issued around the world.
Start by making sure that all your business information is up to date. Upload relevant content. Engage in live videos. Speak to the needs of your audience; social media is a simple and effective way to reach the masses in real-time. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn are all great resources that will allow you to connect in a way that is comfortable for your audience.
Get Visual with
Video Production
Did you know that 85% of internet users would prefer to see a video rather than read text? Now is a great time to consider videos as a marketing tool for your business. Videos can be shared in a variety of ways including on your website, your social media, and even email.
In the past several years, businesses have found that videos are an important part of any marketing strategy as it tells your story for you in an engaging way. The turn around is quicker than you might think and the return on your investment will likely make it worth it, as well.
It's Time to Optimize
If you have been planning on revamping your website, now is the time to do it. Make sure that your brand messaging is clear. Be sure that your content is optimized so that people in need of your services or products can find you with a simple Google search. Make sure that your website and web presence are working for you. Marketing and web presence go hand in hand, when done right your audience can find you, get to know you, and trust you based on your online presence alone.
Be a Helper
Right now you can help your company develop brand recognition by doing the right thing: helping. Being a helper may not have been a part of your marketing strategy in the past, but right now it is an important element at driving business and moving forward even in tough times. Take what you know, your resources or your skillset and seek to help the community at large. While the efforts are not about your business right now, your audience will remember the helpfulness of your brand when they next need your product or service.
Convergent1 is
Helping Amid Crisis
As a business ourselves, we understand the struggle of maintaining a business amid an unprecedented public health crisis. Daily business and personal lives are in a constant state of flux and you may not know where to start in marketing your business during this unusual time. Our Business Recovery Plan will help your business make bold moves to stay relevant now and after the crisis has passed.
