Depending on their industry many businesses may have noticed a drop in sales and revenue due to the Coronavirus. Unfortunately for some markets there has been almost no activity at all and they have had to diversify and come up with new ideas just to survive.
Marketing is crucial
Now we are in our second lockdown your marketing is vital to maintain your brand awareness and engage with your customers. As people spend more time at home and are using the internet your marketing focus needs to be online. Here are some tips for marketing your business during a pandemic and maintaining a connection with your customers.
Build your social media presence
Now is the time to focus on increasing your brand awareness rather than lead generation. Keep your brand and message in front of your audience. When things start to open up again and your target audience needs your services you will be at the forefront of their minds. The easiest most cost-effective way to do this is via social media. Ensure you have a combination of content and it is not always about selling. Competitions are a great way to increase interaction, encourage your audience to like, comment, tag and share posts and give them something in return. If your business has lots of photos why not join the #TBT (throwback Thursday).
Keep in contact with your customers
This is extremely important especially in lockdown when people feel isolated. Whether you send an email, pick up the phone or increase your social media activity. Take the time to keep in touch. Social media is one of the major communication channels during a pandemic and especially in a lockdown. In addition, internet usage, Netflix and streaming of networks has increased. Maybe people are not thinking directly about visiting their hairdresser or visiting their local pub. However, they will still be interested in your business, especially if you can share useful quality content.
Help out in a crisis
One of the greatest forms of marketing is to create goodwill. People will always remember the good things that your business does, especially in a time of crisis. If you can help people get through during these strange times, they will remember what your business did. Then when they start to spend money again hopefully they will buy your services or products.
Have a look at your competitors
Another resourceful idea is to have a look a what your competitors are doing. Check whether you target audience are engaging with their activity? Is their activity working well in your market? Can you put your own spin on it? Are there any gaps in your competitor’s activity that could be an opportunity for your business?
Improve your website’s SEO
SEO or search engine optimization is an on-going valuable activity which helps to improve your website’s online presence. Google and other search engines like Bing continually change their algorithms. Therefore it’s important to keep up to date with the changes and update your website accordingly. The aim of effective SEO is that your website pages and posts come high up the search results. Ideally within the first few results when your target audience searches relevant keywords and search terms online. SEO can be a complex subject from both a technical aspect and from a creative content point of view. If your business’s team does not have the skills and knowledge to undertake effective SEO this maybe something you need to consider outsourcing.
.In conclusion
Whatever you are trying do not give up, consistency and perseverance is vital. Learn by your mistakes, keep your activity up and eventually your efforts will pay off. Although these are unusually tough times do not make any knee jerk reactions. Review, plan and adapt and evaluate continuously to ensure your message and activity is relevant. If you have any questions around marketing in a pandemic or a lockdown or require SEO support. Please get in touch for a no obligation chat, call 07753941231, email or complete my online form.
