How To Adjust Your Digital Marketing Strategy During Coronavirus

We’ll cut to the chase. Coronavirus (or COVID-19) is taking the United States, and the world, by storm. It’s very likely that your business has been or will be affected by the turmoil of this economy-crushing pandemic. That being said, you’re probably cutting costs. And we’re here to the say that digital marketing is not one of the budgets to slash.

The Industries Affected

WordStream has looked at tens of thousands of advertisers in 21 industries to see how their active Google Ads have been impacted. The industries that are seeing an increase in volume and performance are: nonprofits and charities, health and medical, business management, finance, beauty and personal care, on-demand media, and flowers and gifts.

Industries that are seeing mixed results with a likelihood to see big changes soon are: real estate, home improvement, home furniture, automotive repair and maintenance, retail and e-tail, jobs and education, and legal services.

Lastly, the industries being hit the hardest include: travel and tourism, bars and restaurants, live entertainment, sports and fitness, building and construction, and industrial manufacturing.

Regardless of where your business lands on that list, there is ample opportunity to grow your business during this period and still gain business with the help of digital marketing.

Blog content and social media

Now is the time to develop your content strategy and social media plan. Fill your blog with news about your industry, how your product or services can help during this time, and answer any questions that your audience may have. Although, don’t make your blog the COVID-19 blog because this will end, and you’ll still want your blog work for your business.

As a data-first agency, we develop content marketing strategies based around website behavior, industry trends, and keyword research to make sure that site content has a lasting, long-term effect on website performance. To learn more about content strategies, check out our podcast with Pitney Bowes on the topic of B2B content marketing strategies.

While the goal is to have blog content found through search engines, giving it the additional push on other mediums will diversify website traffic. Create a social media plan to share content with your followers (and new audiences with the use of hashtags). Not every blog is meant for your company LinkedIn account, so plan social media posts strategically. For industry-focused content, stick with LinkedIn. For content that you want to spark a conversation, we recommend Twitter, probably the most conversational of the social media platforms. If you have great imagery for the content, make sure you’re sharing that too for the thumb-stopping power.

And don’t stop at just blogs! Almost 60% of marketers claim that they see higher engagement rates with video content than images, and we absolutely agree. Video content can be made in house with very little need for production, but when animation comes into play or you’re planning on using the video in ad campaigns, hiring an expert is essential.

Deals and promotions

Whether your business is ecommerce and online or purely physical, brick and mortar, you can still take advantage of the fact that everyone is in their home scrolling through their devices. The promotion can be for now, if you’re ecommerce or can provide the service remotely, or for later, if you need to wait for when you’re back in business.

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve experienced promotions of both types. For example, Magic Spoon is an ecommerce business that I’ve been following for a while, but haven’t actually purchased from yet. I follow them on Instagram and I’m on their email list, maybe I was waiting for the deal that I can’t refuse to come through? I’m sure you can relate! Well, they finally sent me an email for a great deal and I purchased it so quickly from their Shopify site. They sent the right deal to me at the right time, and they got the conversion. Send that email, share that promo code, boost that Facebook Ad if you have to – because there is a good chance that you’ll be catching consumers at the right time.

A completely different promotion I experienced was for a local car dealership. Now is not the time where people are going out car shopping, and the business realized that. Their advertisement included that while this might not be the right time for their customers, that they will be there for the community when we are ready to come back and shop and use their mechanic services. Their advertisement did not have the goal of an instant conversion like Magic Spoon, but it was a touching message that let the community know that they are there and prepared to take on any service needs. While I may not convert in the next couple of weeks, I will remember them when I’m ready.

Adjust your budget for digital

While a lofty advertising budget might not be in the cards, remember that digital marketing is key right now. Divert any traditional physical marketing budgets to this digital strategy, and cut any budgets that you can to invest in digital With your audience at home, endlessly scrolling through social media and the web, this is your chance to get their attention – whether it’s for now or for later. Even more importantly, make sure the content that you’re pushing is disruptive enough to break through the clutter and get the attention of your audience.

Good luck during this confusing time. While this type of situation is new ground for all of us, disrupting the digital space is second nature to us. Check out our work and drop us a line if you need help getting any marketing efforts into motion.