How do you run your company's online marketing during a pandemic?
source: own elaboration
The coronavirus COVID-19 has dramatically impacted the lives of individuals, but at the same time also changed the rules of conduct for many businesses. Travel agencies, gastronomy, hotels, beauty salons, hairdressers, dance schools, companies organizing events and providing photo services - the activities of companies in these industries have changed clearly, but let's also remember about other branches of the economy. Companies selling various goods and offering their services were forced to close premises and offices or significantly reduce their operation, which resulted in the transfer of even more purchases to the Internet. Although most companies have invested in various forms of online promotion for a long time, they have now become an absolute necessity. But how to effectively advertise on the internet during a pandemic? Below are some tips that can be very useful in this topic.
Focus on content
Of course, under the influence of recent events, most companies have significantly intensified their online marketing activities, and when so much content appears on the Internet, the quality of published content is particularly important. First and foremost, you should choose the topics properly: remembering on one hand which are currently popular, and on the other hand which are most appropriate for a given business. It may be a good idea to describe how COVID-19 affects your business, what changes have occurred, and how you are dealing with the current situation. An interesting procedure may be presenting some of the employees, describing the problems they face or taking part in one of the many online challenges. Thanks to this, you can gain not only potential customers, but also a lot of sympathy and positive publicity.
Show your support and take care of your image
If your company has the opportunity to support any initiative without investing alarmingly high resources, it definitely should. Even if it only means sharing content on your websites, fanpages, profiles, etc. It may be a local initiative, another one connected with your industry topic or completely unrelated to it - it is important that you show what kind of entrepreneur and person you are or you want to be. At a time when there is so much talk about commitment, you must show that the fate of the surroundings is important to your business and that you are ready to help as much as you can. Thanks to this, you also create a database of partners with whom you can start working in the future. Even if such actions do not translate directly into sales results, they will certainly have a very positive impact on your company's image.
Remember to provide services at the highest level and share positive comments
The consumer locked up at home has enough time to give you a rating - this can be an opportunity for you, but also a threat. You should make every effort to ensure that the service provided by your company is at the highest possible level. However, consider the restrictions that the pandemic has brought to your business. If you sell products that you previously bought from the manufacturer or broker, make sure they are still available and delivered. Control your inventory and check that all shipments leave in a timely manner. Encourage customers to post ratings and comments. Finally, remember to share positive feedback and thank customers for it. However, you can’t forget about negative statements - try to explain each situation that puts you in a bad light.
Control your statistics
Certainly, you check statistics on your marketing campaigns on a daily basis, but now you need to pay more attention to it. First, consumers behave differently in connection with a pandemic. Secondly, the changes introduced in individual countries and regions affect the activities of entrepreneurs, including your partners. Thirdly, your competition is awake and could completely change their marketing strategy. It may suddenly turn out that your target group has changed, the geographical scope in which you provide your services is different or that the marketing activities carried out so far have suddenly lost their raison d'être. Of course, you can see all these changes in your statistics, but you need to carefully check and compare them with each other.
Marketing budget protection
Remember that the difficult situation in which we found ourselves in connection with the COVID-19 coronavirus didn’t cause that online fraudsters suspended their activities. On the contrary, many of them decide to launch their attacks right now, when it is so important for companies to promote on the Internet. At present, enterprises can’t afford to lose their customer base, suspend websites or even run off their Google Ads budget that leads to not displaying ads. The consequences of fraudsters activities can be much more serious than before. Therefore, preventive measures that will help protect your business and its marketing budget should become your priority. To find out how we can help you defend yourself against various forms of online fraud - contact us.
