The rise of the Coronavirus has rocked many nations across the globe. Employees are being furloughed from their jobs, supermarket shelves are being raided by panic buyers and restaurants have zero customers dining at their tables.
With the current circumstances, businesses need to be able to unite together as communities look for resources, information, education and support. As a business, you may be looking for ways to stand the tide as the economy becomes vulnerable and owners question their future. Digital marketing could be the way to help you achieve this, and here’s how.
Utilise social media channels to connect
Social media helps us to all keep connected. The current times means we’re unable to meet up with our friends and family, go to school or visit public places. This means now more than ever users are gripped to their social media platforms and socialising through digital methods rather than in-person.
Businesses can use this opportunity to show their empathy towards their followers and help out their customers/clients. Rather than being pushy and salesy, businesses can show their support through their social media marketing and see it as an opportunity to expose their brand through the good deeds they’re doing or posting relatable content to what’s happening now.
Ensure you have a digital presence
With people being unable to waltz the streets like they normally do, search and social media traffic has significantly seen an increase over the past couple of months and is likely to continue its rise. We’re looking towards digital platforms for our own entertainment or looking for updates in our local community. This includes doing online shopping.
Online media will be consumed more than ever before, so if you don’t have an online presence then you’ll be falling way behind with your brand exposure. Use search engine optimisation strategies to climb your way through the search engine results pages to ensure your business can be easily found.
Pay-Per Click (PPC) Advertising should be considered a good move
Whilst many businesses will want to draw back on their expense to ensure they keep their rainy day fund, you may be missing an opportunity by not utilising pay-per click advertising. When you think about it, users will be online more than ever now that they’re unable to go outside which means more chance of clicks driving through to your webpage.
There has also been an average decrease in cost per click budgets, which makes this an even better time to invest in PPC, whilst rates are low. This gives your business an opportunity to make the most of the market share that’s been made available by businesses that are drawing back their budgets at the moment. Liaise with your local branding agency to create ads that can be projected online and entice your audience through PPC.
Prepare for the bounce-back
Although there is uncertainty about what the future holds with the Coronavirus, what we do know is that we’ll eventually come back to a form of normality, whenever that will be. This will likely see consumer habits stabilize and the economy pick up again, and it’s at this point where you should want your business performing as well as possible.
This is where search engine optimization can be beneficial as it’s seen as a long term strategy. Whatever contribution you make towards your SEO strategy, will benefit it for tomorrow and the months ahead. If you pause your SEO now, it could be detrimental when you want to pick things up again and your business is way behind the pack when things pick up again.
Consider special offers in exceptional circumstances
In times of uncertainty, you have the opportunity to show support for your customer base. Economies in all aspects are likely to be struggling, whether it’s household incomes or business entities that are beginning to see losses. Therefore, discounts and special offers could be enticing for those who still require services or products, but at struggling from a financial standpoint.
Identify what your market-fit is and create a special offer for that particular product. Many people will be browsing online and trying to find discounts or special offers to save money. This is a great time to attract customers that can’t stretch the budget at the moment but also keep your revenue flowing.
Local SEO is now more important than ever
Lockdown guidelines are preventing us from travelling distances which means we’re now closer than ever. This means customers will be looking at local service and products that they can reach close by and travelling to local destinations.
So, make sure that your business is utilising local SEO strategies to optimise your website for local searches and ‘nearby’ searches. You want customers in your local area to find your shop in your geo location so they’re more likely to come to you against the other local businesses in the area. In a time when we’re all looking out for convenience, this gives your business a chance to be the support that local families need.