By now, life has come to a standstill for most of us. Health and safety are a major concern worldwide. And an economic overhaul seems to be right around the corner. Scary times indeed. Surely, there are some industries that are seeing a surge in their business like E-commerce companies, supermarkets, and other companies which provide essential services. But, businesses that relied on trade shows, exhibitions, events, etc to network and build connections are finding it difficult to do so right now as most countries are under lockdown to enforce social distancing.
Now is the right time to put digital strategies to work. At the same time, you need to make sure that you aren’t exploiting fear during a pandemic. Businesses are going to struggle for a while, but there is still hope. In this post, we will be discussing how Digital Marketing can help you as a business to recover from the pandemic. Let’s jump right in.
Companies are turning to Digital Marketing to survive COVID-19
We are living in uncertain times. Companies which can remotely work are doing the same to stay afloat. Advertising on billboards, live events, conferences, word of mouth referrals, other off screen advertisements etc cannot be done right now. Easiest solution is to go online. If at one point you thought making a Facebook page was unnecessary, it is time to rethink the same. It is time for businesses to jump into social media marketing, content marketing, SEO, pay per click, and influencer led marketing.
With more people online for a longer time, your consumers can now find you at their fingertips. You now have time to study the change in customer behavior, create digital strategies, figure out where to find your consumers online, and find out which approach would work best for you. Maybe you might think of digital marketing as an emergency fill in now, however, once you find out the advantages of digital marketing, you might want to make it one of your marketing contingency plans.
Few Digital Marketing ideas to consider during COVID-19
Stay positive. The lockdown is not going to last forever. Your business will be able to go back to normal once all this gets over. (A new normal though) A little planning ahead would do you a lot of good. So, here are some Digital Marketing ideas for you to consider during COVID-19:
- Connect with customers
If you do not have a digital presence, create one right away. Being connected with your customers during this crisis is essential to build the rapport between you and your customers. Trust us, customers will remember this. Be empathetic. Do not look for profit right now, instead focus on connecting with the customers. Now is not the time to remain silent. Your customers will have questions. Provide answers using online channels or via phone.
- Review and Evaluate your marketing strategies
Make sure that your online presence can be seen. Employ SEO for the same. If you have been using any paid advertising campaigns, review them. Change your keywords if required so that they rank better. Change your strategies if you think it is not going to work during a pandemic. Ford postponed its announcement about relaunching the Bronco car since customers might not be in the mindset to buy a new vehicle. KFC discontinued their marketing campaign that had the ‘finger licking good’ catch phrase because of worry about hand hygiene during Coronavirus.
- Finish your digital marketing strategies kept on hold
You will have a bit more free time in your hand now. Use that time to focus on completing the digital marketing strategies you have kept on hold. Maybe your website could do well with a redesign now, or perform an audit of your website to check where you are lacking, check whether your call-to-actions are working or not, continue your pay per click campaigns, etc. Think long term. Focus on local SEO and getting good reviews from your customers.
Conclusion
A couple of months down the lane, things will get back to normal. Customers buying patterns will stabilize and you can get back on track with your marketing strategies. However, now is not the time to pause your Digital Marketing strategies. Pausing your ongoing SEO now could have a negative impact on your business later. Focus on connecting with your customers now. Build your brand online so that once this is all over, you can bounce back. More importantly, don’t panic and stay safe in your homes.
