Companies are always trying to get the jump on an event, piggybacking with it to improve their visibility. COVID-19 state shelter-in-place restrictions was an event most every business jumped on with emails and Social updates.
The day our state shut down emails from Comcast, Home Chef, Volkswagen, and more sent supportive emails letting customers know the businesses were still “there for them.”
But, let’s face it, businesses that are not considered essential services and are shut down have a challenge, to stay relevant and visible while services are not being used.
Marketing is now more about the relationship and being there than pushing products and services. Here are the top 3 changes to make to your marketing plan now.
1. Adjust Your Strategy
Look at your products and services, while you may not be able to sell right now and people may not be buying at this time, this will not last forever. Change your seasonal campaigns to fit more in line with the current situation. Stores selling prom dresses may want to focus more on comfort wear, accountants may want to start booking taxes for the new tax deadline date (June 15), etc.
2. Continue Updating Accounts/Website/Etc.
Don’t stop your Digital Marketing and Advertising campaigns if you can afford to keep them in place, if you can’t consider scaling back, but keep doing something! Stay in front of your audience by updating your Social accounts daily, keeping publishing blogs, keep sending emails, etc. This will ensure your company stays in front of an audience, keeps your website optimized and your search rank in place, as well as maintaining the search algorithm for the Social sites, Google and Bing.
3. Keep Advertising
Because of the downturn from COVID-19 digital advertising has gotten cheaper. Cost-Per-Impression and Cost-Per-Click ads on Facebook have gone down, even with the increased usage of Social Media during this time. Advertiser interest has decreased. This opens advertising for your business that is less expensive and more beneficial.
Maintain Brand Awareness
Though you may not be able to overtly sell because your business is not essential and is shut down, you should keep the company out there and in front of everyone. Just providing practical information for your audience, special offers for when the quarantine ends, and showcasing past projects is enough to keep your business moving forward when everything has stopped.