8 Digital Marketing Must-dos in the Time of the Coronavirus

Digital marketing services providers have been saying for years that digital is the future.

But no one knew that the future would be now. And that it would happen such little time to prepare.

COVID-19 has changed the way the world operates, whether we were ready for it or not.

Amid lockdowns and the need for people around the globe to practice social distancing, communication, business, and tons of other processes have witnessed a shift – a shift whereby interactions take place with screens in between.

So if you were a small business in the past with local customers, not paying much attention to your online presence, you no longer have a choice – your marketing plan for a coronavirus downturn has to scream digital.

But you’re not immune if you were already focusing on online avenues either. The coronavirus impact on digital marketing means that you also need to make some changes in your strategy.

In this blog post, we discuss some strategies just to get you started.

Here you go:

But first:

Emphasize the importance of preventive measures – and then do it again.

Regardless of the industry you belong to or your core operations, when you are a digital marketer, you have access to an audience.

And when you have access to an audience, you have a responsibility. Especially at a time like this when the actions of every single individual all over the world have consequences.

Use your digital marketing platforms to share information about hand-washing, self-isolation, healthcare measures, and all other related topics regularly and efficiently.

You have the advantage of knowing how to get a message across to a large group of people – use that to do some good.

We’ll use the example of some leading brands here. After the pandemic broke out, McDonald’s broke up their logo to promote social distancing.

Audi did the same thing with their logo. Meanwhile, Burger King had a unique way of telling people to “stay home.”

These are just a few examples. Many leading brands have taken to their digital media platforms to encourage people to take the preventive measures being suggested by authorities.

Become a part of that list.

Keep your consumers up-to-date.

You need to keep your customers, as well as everyone who follows you, updated every step of the way.

Depending on which part of the world you operate in, you may be a few days, a few weeks, or a few months into the Coronavirus crisis.

Even if you are a few months in already and haven’t quite figured out a digital marketing strategy, it isn’t too late to start.

Your aim is to not leave your customers out of the journey.

Are you stopping deliveries for the next two weeks? People who already have and those who are likely to place an order need to know.

Will clients see delays because your team is unable to be as productive as they usually are? Tell the clients who will be affected.

Is your brick and mortar store closed but you are keeping your online operations up and running? Let people know so don’t they end up outside a closed store (this is only relevant if you’re not in lockdown).

In short: your consumers need to know just where you stand.

Focus on reputation management for your brand.

This is a great time for you to make sure the public sees you for your values and the ethical way in which you operate your business.

You may be one of those businesses that offered your employees the option to work from home way before it became the current norm.

Your team may be collecting donations to assist those who are most hard hit by the crisis.

You may be making sure your clients don’t suffer, no matter how hard your team has to work.

Your current customers and potential consumers need to know all these things so they can see your brand for what it stands for.

Offer your services to frontline players for free.

This is the time to stand up and be there for each other if there ever was one.

And the people who most deserve our assistance as a sign of gratitude are those who are on the front line, tackling the disease.

That’s right – we’re talking about healthcare professionals, delivery drivers, janitors, and everyone else who is making sure that our systems don’t collapse and the general public health improves. And you don’t have to stop there.

You can offer your services to everyone for free for a limited time. Or for a discount anyway.

Example? Neil Patel is currently offering many premium features of UberSuggest to businesses for free to help them cope with the situation.

Many eateries are giving healthcare workers free food and drinks as a thank you.

We’re all in this together – that is the only way we can beat it. So do what you can for others and help others out.

Keep people’s morale up using digital marketing.

There is an air of anxiety, fear, and apprehension that lingers almost everywhere you look.

Nobody quite knows how long they are going to be in isolation and when they will be able to do the things they love again.

Some are bored out of their minds. In other places, the situation is a lot more severe as the quarantine takes a toll on people’s mental health.

This, again, is an opportunity for you to put your experience of digital marketing services to good use.

Lift up people’s spirits and help them stay engaged. Help them find a hobby, catch up on paperwork, anything and everything that would keep them busy and feeling productive.

Which brings us to our next point:

Help others utilize their free time well.

Let’s talk about our own industry for a while – digital marketing services.

If you are an experienced digital marketer who knows the kind of skill set a rookie in the field needs to build, you can use that to provide value to your followers.

Today, for example, we came across a highly useful article about courses (originally super expensive) that are temporarily being offered for free!

Newbie digital marketers or those looking for a change of career will find information like this highly useful!

But that’s not all that you can do – you can also share a lot of information that would be useful for the general public.

Most professionals are now having to work from home until things get better. A blog post on work from home during the coronavirus outbreak can help them get tips on how to keep themselves motivated and productive.

This is just one example – you can come up with many more.

Be consistent with your digital marketing strategy.

Whether it’s SEO or content marketing, link-building or any other digital marketing strategies you employed before the Coronavirus, you can’t abandon them completely.

While it may seem useless to keep on spending time and effort at a time when business is slow and the economy is in turmoil, this situation will come to an end.

And when it does, you want to be able to get right back on track.

If you reduce the amount you invest in SEO and other efforts right now, your organic traffic will suffer. And that will affect your business operations in the future.

So remain consistent if you want to recover quickly once the crisis is over.

Use your words wisely.

Whether you outsource your digital marketing services or take care of them yourself, you know that copywriting constitutes a major chunk of your efforts.

How you say what affects the impression you leave on your consumers. And so this should be a major part of your content marketing plan for a coronavirus downturn.

Your copywriters need to use language that is:

• Sensitive
• Considerate
• Accurate
• Clear and concise
• Relevant
• Supportive
• Optimistic

More about this here:

Marketing During COVID-19: 4 Essential Copywriting Guidelines

Do I need to be a part of this shift?

At this point, you are likely asking yourself this question.

Know, that as far as your digital marketing efforts are concerned, you need to make some changes yesterday.

Whether you outsource your digital marketing services or head them yourself, you need a new marketing plan for a coronavirus downturn.

And the sooner you start, the better.