Digital Marketing During COVID-19
In the wake of COVID-19, Top Draw has been approached by many clients wondering about how they might proceed with their digital marketing efforts. Some clients are concerned about continuing to invest while others seem to be holding steady or even increasing their digital marketing activities. To navigate this time, we wanted to provide some practical, actionable advice that your business could incorporate into your continuity plan.
Keep Your Google My Business Listing Updated
When people search for you online, you want to make sure they have the most up-to-date information available about your business. If you qualify as an essential service, you want to ensure potential customers are aware that you are open and informed about your current hours of operation (if they have changed). If your business is closed during this time, you will definitely want to share that with potential customers as well. Have your employees transitioned to working from home? There is room in your Google My Business description to acknowledge this change and let searchers know you’re still open for business and they’re welcome to contact you by phone, social media or digital channels.
Revise Your Website
Your website also needs to be kept current to avoid any discrepancies with your Google My Business listing. Ensure that you indicate whether you are open or closed, accurately state your hours of operation and publicize any steps you are taking to assist customers during this time. Also, a prominent banner on your Home page with a call-to-action linking to a blog goes a long way in providing the important information customers will need. The main principles for website updates are to be timely, relevant, and avoid confusion with other digital channels.
Social Media Keeps You Connected
What is your business doing to help people through this trying time? Are you going strong with your employees working from home? Are you making donations to financially assist organizations that are fighting COVID-19? Letting people know about what your company is up to can help you gain a lot of respect from current or potential customers and your industry at large. You can even use social media as a way to connect for responsive and available customer service during this time.
Be Mindful of Your Content
If you are continuing your content marketing efforts, be cognizant of everything you post for its tone and how it may be perceived by your audience. You always want the content you produce to serve a greater purpose for your business, so ensure everything that you publish is empathetic and meets a real user need. For instance, a continuity plan or blog posts giving an operations update are completely appropriate content to create and distribute on your website and social media channels. If you find that you have some space in your schedule because the daily marketing activities have slowed down, produce some high-quality longer-form content. You will be thankful you did once business and marketing activities pick up again!
Be Flexible
Being adaptable during this time will be very important to continue digital marketing success. For example, is there a way to turn an event your business has planned into digital content? You could try using Facebook Live, Twitter Live, or IGTV (Instagram’s live video feature) to reach people in a new way. Instead of fully canceling an event, pivot the approach. Also, take time to be more strategic and think long-term. Tackle some of that search engine optimization work you’ve been putting on the back burner. Get creative and stay on your toes!
Don’t Turn Off the Tap
We understand that right now is an uncertain time, but your best approach is to keep your digital marketing efforts steady and reliable. You do not need to function business as usual; strategies, approaches, spend, and content topics can be adjusted. Turning off the tap completely is not the best approach. It might seem like a cash flow solution to temporarily save money and divert it elsewhere, but the companies that will be impacted the least will be those who invest in marketing efforts with a steady outreach. Keep your sales funnel open, be empathetic in your content and compassionate to your customer’s current needs.
Top Draw is here to help businesses integrate innovative digital strategies into their marketing plans. We’re continuing to do that as our team works from home. We welcome you to get in touch with us if you want to discuss how digital marketing can help you manage your business, communications, and sales processes during COVID-19.