The ultimate truth that is pervading the minds of businesses and brands globally – how long are the pandemic and the subsequent social distancing expected to last? The most recent reports suggest that things aren’t going to go back to normal for a long while.
Sure, vaccine trials are going to help speed up matters, but experts don’t really know when it will all come to fruition. Other scientists are of the opinion that since previous pandemics in history lasted anywhere between 12 to 36 months, the same might be expected of the Novel Coronavirus.
But what does this mean for companies and brands? Researchers and marketers are now resigned to the fact that this is the new normal. There is no going back to a time before the pandemic as too many aspects in several areas of people’s lives have changed for good.
As such, social media strategists, marketers, and companies have to make the best of the situation and ensure that businesses run smoothly once again. This article will endeavor to discuss the many ways in which you can optimize your social media strategy keeping in mind all that is going on around you.
When the pandemic first began rearing its head, and the ensuing lock-down was imposed on citizens across the globe, several social media marketers and businesses decided to either completely stop all their marketing efforts or reduce ad spending considerably.
Although such a move was a natural one, researchers found that it wasn’t the best course of action to take. According to a long term study, during times of economic uncertainty, the ideal thing to do would be to ‘INCREASE’ your marketing activities and spending rather than reduce or stop it.
Because, as a brand, the last thing you want to do is lag behind all your competitors when the economy is up and running again. As per another recent study conducted by advertising agencies, 43% of consumers actually feel reassured when brands make an appearance these days!
And 56% of them have admitted to wanting to know how brands are helping communities during the pandemic.
As a social media strategist or entrepreneur, the perfect way for you to restart your marketing efforts would be by empathizing with your customers.
Since the coronavirus outbreak has impacted everyone in one way or another, there is an extreme need nowadays of being sensitive to people’s circumstances. Several major brands are reaching out and showing their support to their customers through various means.
How can you contribute? You could advertise the fact that you’ve slashed the prices of a particular product or have decided to give it away for free in the hopes of easing the burden of your community.
You could also hold and organize free webinars for your audience as they have become all the fad these days.
These actions will, more than anything, help your business in the long run as well. Because customers would now see you as a generous, understanding, and dependable business to invest in.
Ensuring that these moves show up in your social media channels is essential to your brand’s growth and visibility. You could achieve this either by promoting relevant posters on Facebook and Instagram.
Or you could make use of a free slideshow maker that allows you to advertise a mix of videos and photos either on platforms such as Facebook or even your website.
This is the only time that all your potential customers are at home, on social media channels and other online platforms. So, this is when you can make full use of your PPC campaigns.
Not only are these kinds of campaigns economic in nature, but they also allow you to connect and engage with your customers directly, thereby giving you an edge over your competition.
Not to mention the fact that PPC advertising gives you plenty of brand recognition even if your position in search engine results is not that high at the moment.
Another way of utilizing what COVID-19 has brought on is by amplifying your video marketing efforts. Your audience and your customers (old or potential ones) are even at this moment consuming all kinds of video content. All the action is happening online.
Schools and colleges are taking online classes and conducting online exams, office goers are working from home and any sort of offline marketing has all come to a close. This means it is an opportunity for advertising to use the digital medium to their advantage.
You can promote your video content either on Facebook or Instagram (where it is most likely to be consumed) and also use video sharing platforms like YouTube to build and grow your brand.
With YouTube, you can optimize your content to make it SEO friendly and ensure that you use the best YouTube video editor to get the best results.
Considering all that is happening around us now, creating a focused and narrowed down user experience could completely turn things around for your brand. What does your audience need right now? Addressing these needs could be the goal of your website or social media channel.
Instead of focusing on your products and services, try to focus on what you can offer to your consumer (that is of relevance, of course) in terms of their economic or social situation.
You can do this by making your customer services readily accessible. Ensure that the contact details of your business are easily available and the directions for the pick-up and drop of delivery are at hand either on your website or social media platforms.
Understanding the market and specific problems faced by your audience and potential customers is crucial to your social media strategy. Once that is out of the way, you’re sure to be successful in growing your brand and increasing your reach and engagement.
The current situation, therefore, calls for the utmost patience and empathy and continuing all your marketing efforts according to what the circumstances entail.
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