Why You Need To Accelerate Digital Marketing Strategies During the Coronavirus Crisis?

It’s been a few months now since the entire world has come to a virtual standstill with the novel Coronavirus. From having to practice compulsory quarantines and social distancing to life without the outdoors and offices, we are going through a situation that none of us expected.

With this much disruption and ambiguity around, most entrepreneurs might consider putting all marketing attempts, including digital marketing initiatives, for their businesses on hold. If you are a business owner who is contemplating the same way, we’d say, you are preparing to make a wrong move.

Do you know why?

People are spending the majority of their waking hours online now. In fact, this pandemic has made Internet hits surge by nearly 50-70%, as per Forbes’ findings. This indicates that ‘NOW’ is the right trying time for businesses to use digital touchpoints to connect better with their target set of audiences.

If you are pondering how your business can benefit from this now, when most of the customers don’t have enough cash to buy new products, here are two essential points you need to recognize and accept first:

1. The lives of humans on earth are the results of several survivors. Our species has witnessed countless catastrophic, and devastating threats and successfully won over them. COVID-19 is just another one among such disasters; we will definitely surpass it, and get back into normal life.
2. Business is not just like any regular job where you work till evening and get paid when the closing bell rings; it’s about waitings and conquerings. After months or years of hard work and commitment, you will be paid off in bulk.

Yes, This Is The Right Time!

“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful” – this is a quotation from Warren Buffet. 

We don’t totally conform to that; however, from our experience of operating an IT business for over a decade, we could say that the best time to double down yourself is when others are idle.

Consider this: At this time of financial downturn, you will have lesser competition, so putting in a bit of effort from your end may bring easier faster results. We are not asking you to run short-sighted ads and sell your products for 10 times their original price, as supplies are running low around the globe. That literally isn’t marketing. You might be able to earn a quick buck through it, but let us tell you, that won’t last.

What we are advising you is to adopt meaningful digital marketing approaches to supply the right information to your audience and convey that you are in tune with their needs, thereby preparing your business for the long haul. Mentioned below are the major benefits you may acquire from this:

• Expand your targeted audience set

Coronavirus has made people all around the world to be more home-based. Even though this shift has caused consumption styles to be more online-centric, people are anticipated to keep their preferences and purchasing habits intact. For instance, rather than eating at a favorite restaurant, they will now try to access similar services through online shopping.

Using AI-driven tools, you can examine such online behaviors to identify the type of products or services each person is searching for. You can then develop a list of your target audience who are exploring the topics or the keywords related to your business. Once you have this list prepared, start advertising your brand to them through the right messages and tactics to resonate with the current situation and needs of these people.

• Be in touch with your existing customer base

Rather than asking yourself “how can I sell more to my existing customers?”, ask “how can I support customers during this time?”. Concentrating solely on financial gains amid the current circumstance won’t do any favors for your brand – instead, it may act against your business. So, the best approach is to use this situation to build an emotional connection with your customers by sending them coronavirus prevention measures, or positive thoughts to create a feeling that you are always with them.

CPG behemoths like Alibaba, LVMH, L’Oreal, etc., have already stepped up to raise their support for their global clientele.

• Get ahead of competitors

As we had already discussed, you will see most of the businesses closing down or slowing down on their marketing, during this dull period. Take this as your chance to strike and gain their customers too! 

Continue or double down your marketing efforts, and you will see the most significant return in the long term.

• Shout Out: “We are open”!

As we know, COVID -19 has made many companies shut down their operations temporarily. So, it would be best if you could stay connected with all your customers by sharing updates on when you will be open, measures you have taken for improving sanitation, what changes are made to your routine operations, and much more. Conversing with customers this way will help them connect with you whenever they are in need of your services during a crisis.

• Stay abreast of your rivals

We don’t know how far down we will go through this ongoing crisis, but like every other disaster, we will get away from this once. Waiting for that day to restart your marketing would be like restarting a race with your competitors who might be half the distance ahead of you! So, with the market, as it is right now, make sure you keep adequate lines of communication open with your valuable customers, and modify your digital marketing strategies accordingly, to keep your brand secure until then and into the long-term future.

And Here’s Your Action Plan!

As stated above, the Coronavirus pandemic has already transformed the way we live, the way we work, and the way we shop. This merely means being present on different social media platforms won’t help businesses go a long way. Instead, you need to rethink your marketing efforts to hold your business afloat and set your business up for the world after. For this, here are a few actionable marketing strategies that work right now and can prepare your business for progress in the new norm.

• Seize the power of e-commerce: As the above infographics indicate, people are getting more and more adapted to the comfort of practicing online purchasing, with obligatory stay-at-home orders and the fear of going outdoors. Experts in the field predict that, with this customer behavior shift, it’s hard to presume they will ever return to physical stores in high numbers. This calls for taking your products and services online at the earliest, regardless of the industry you are in. Even if you plan to resume operating your physical stores after the pandemic situation, you require a compelling e-commerce website both to withstand this period and establish a strong base for the future.

Need assistance with building an e-commerce website and an online presence? Talk to our experts now!

• Exploit Social Media channels: Be available always on Social Media platforms with relevant posts and copies that involve personalization. With the help of a proficient Social Media Marketing Company, you could formulate a tactical approach that emphasizes how well your products or services could benefit people who are stuck in their homes. You can also make use of message ads that open direct conversations with clients on your Social Media pages and chatbots that auto-respond to general inquiries directly from your pages. In addition to that, you can also leverage the power of the most pertinent hashtags to expand your social media visibility during this time.

For Instagram hashtag guidelines, head here.

• Focus on PPC advertising: Google, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have reported large spikes in their traffic amid the Coronavirus crisis. So, seeking the support of an experienced PPC company to run ad campaigns on these platforms is the most useful way to generate customers and revenue now. Such ads will help you to reach potential customers quickly during this uncertain time, declare that you are back in operations, and well promote your new offerings.

• Boost up your SEO: Right now, the Internet is drenched with COVID-19 content; however, that never implies your business can’t show up on the initial page of a Google search. The trick here is to start SEO promotions targeting long-tail keywords that are relevant in the current scenario, as well as specific to your niche — for example, trying broader themes such as ‘virtual’, ‘indoors’, ‘in-home’, etc., in a way applicable across your industry, can help. See the below screenshot – this design firm shows up first for the ‘in-home design consultation’ search.

Wish to know what all keywords your business could use for effective targeting?

Seek assistance from our digital marketing experts.

• Reoptimize content marketing strategies: As we are moving through crazy times, even your topmost performing content will require slight tweaks from time to time. Therefore, ask for guidance from an expert content marketing professional to polish up your top-performing posts and content appropriately to make them to that coveted first page on Search Engines. The important optimizations you can perform for this are:
  1. Add new extra facts
  2. Add long-tail keywords (mentioned above) in headings and content
  3. Add better stats and updated screenshots and images
  4. Add alt text to screenshots and images
  5. Add quality outbound links
  6. Add more compelling title tags

For assistance, hire our content marketing experts now!

Over To You

As of now, we are in uncharted waters; so, what used to work for marketing earlier is not going to cut it. The above discussed are just a few tactics we have innovated these days for businesses to help them stand out from the rest. If you need further assistance moving your business online, or using digital marketing in the right way to grow your brand, please feel free to get in touch.

Remember, only those brands that stood up and did something great during such predicaments had succeeded over the years!

PS: Hopefully, the coronavirus passes soon; however, for the time being, ensure that you stay safe and, if possible, stay indoors.☺