Managing your marketing during Covid19

With the UK and most of Europe being gripped by Covid19 businesses are now having to adapt the way in which they operate. This will also include their marketing. Physical locations have mostly been closed other than essentials so having an online presence is now more crucial than ever. Managing your marketing during Covid19 could be the one thing that helps to keep your business operating.

Social Media 

With more and more people working from home, now is time to make your social media game strong. Social Media is going to be the best way to communicate with your consumers directly, and gives you the best chance to promote your brand. 

However, do be more sensitive to what you post during this time. Sales posts are more of a no no in this time, however adopting a helpful nature is not. Make sure you offer advice to your customers or audience about your products. Help to reassure them.

Some tips on how to utilise your social media during this time are as follows:-

• Utilise social media to let your customers know of any changes to your services, delivery or even stock changes. 
• If you operate a help line which has become increasingly more busy then utilise your social media DM structure. Set up an automated message for anyone who replies,and if you can support that way this will help to reduce time.
• If you operate your social media through a scheduling tool make sure all the team who need access, do have access. 
• If you operate in a market where there is a growing concern around the situation, start a Facebook or Linkedin group so your audience can join for ongoing updates and discussions.

You may have already implemented some of these ideas however these are just some of the ways you can tailor your Social Media to have maximum effect.

Paid Search 

Paid search has seen a decrease in the past few weeks due to Covid19. With more and more companies not being able to fulfil orders, or services due to a variety of government restrictions in place. Companies are increasingly cautious as well due to their own supply line being cut enabling them to make their own products.

Not all is lost however. An increase in work from home has meant that adverts that are still running are very much effective. Changes in consumer behaviour does also mean you need to be on top of your game to ensure you are managing your campaign effectively. Somethings to consider could be:-

• Ensure your budget is being utilised in the best way to focus on potential new keywords for your target audience. 
• If your business has changed to new operating hours or locations ensure your adverts are running with that new information. Do not have a call now button if no one is going to be there to answer. 
• If you target commuters at specific times, think are these people still commuting? Maybe look at utilising different hours. 
• Reconsider your KPIs and targets. See if they are realistic and reflective of the current climate.

Some really key things to consider around paid search when managing your marketing during Covid19. All of which are going to be best utilised by your budget.

Launching a PPC campaign for the first time it may be difficult to know where to start. Take a look at this latest post for more details. How to Launch a Successful PPC Campaign For The First Time

SEO & Content 

Content during this time is going to be super important for being able to retain, and also engage your following. If your business or company provides products and services which are classed as essential then you need to be mindful of this. A sales pitch is not going to help. 

Ensure your content is aimed at your audience and outlines the necessary guidelines as laid out by the government. Your content needs to be engaging, and not scaremonger people into wanting or feeling like they need to buy your product. Stick with your relevant SEO keywords but also consider adding in some new ones to reach wider. 

Alongside what is mentioned above you could also look to do the following:-

• Update the website with relevant content to ensure people know what you are doing. Be that working from home, new operating hours or not doing any customer facing work. 
• Create a Covid19 specific blog page. This will help to house any information during this pandemic, and can be easily removed once necessary.
• Take a look at your SEO strategy, and also overall content strategy and see if it can be tailored. Most would have planned theirs around when people would and would not be at work. Now this has changed, have you adapted yours?

SEO and the content you put out on your website is going to be vitally important to how your brand is perceived over this difficult time. Ensure you are on point, and retain your audience.

To Conclude

Managing your marketing during Covid19 is something that you need to ensure you are doing. When this epidemic ends, you will need to ensure your business has enough traction from its current audience to be able to survive. Altering your marketing plan, looking at marketing channels differently, and really evaluating the type of content you write all help with retaining your business.