There are no two ways about it, COVID-19 is making business life challenging. The only way you can reach people is making sure you take their message to their homes, homes that are right now being bombarded with lockdown messages from every angle.
So how can you cut your way through the noise and make your brand stand out? By being your industry superstar.
Becoming a leading voice
Now is the time to use your platform to educate, inspire and listen. So far, we have seen some fantastic examples of businesses offering up quizzes, viral challenges, making the most of the time we have at home, and supporting planning for the future. So, what can you do to lead your industry?
Content is king, always has been and always will be – but using content in a way that comes across as a pushy sale is going to get you nowhere.
Bring in something different. Look at the different general demographics. What can your brand do for…
- The parents trying to home school
- The couple trying to work from home together
- the individual living alone who can’t go out to socialise with their friends
- The silver surfer who no longer has their friends and family visit
Each group presents your business with an opportunity to be a strong, recognised voice in your marketplace, so use your content platforms to address them.
Keep content innovative but relevant, informative but to the point, and interesting but simple to follow.
Getting your content out there
Once you have your content in place and have a schedule set for regular updates (whether that be by time or event) you need to make sure you are using the right channels to get people there. Keep the following in mind:
SEO – This always needs to be managed, whatever you are doing, whatever the climate. You need to ensure that your brand is ranking well and although it may be a slower burner for ROI (depending on how you currently manage it), it is vital that your on and off page SEO work is always looked after so you can get your customers to your content.
PPC – If your SEO rankings aren’t what they should be right now then PPC is your go to for increasing traffic to your content, now and always. It is vital that you do your research though. Not everyone is going to use that one search term that you think they will. Google Trends is a great way for ensuring you are spending money in the right way to beat your competitors and for you to see a strong ROI.
Social Ads – Thanks to the detailed segmentation that social media allows for, social ads are great for drilled down targeting so you can really get in front of the right demographic. You can associate your advertising with your page or groups to create a community of people talking and sharing ideas. People sounding off in the comments section about your activity or thought leadership can be great for your brand.
Whichever route you decided to focus on right now there will be long term effects that will stay with your brand long after the lockdown is over. If you establish yourself as a trusted knowledgeable expert now, people will continue to come back to you for years to come.
More advice for these challenging times
For more information or advice on how you can better prepare your brand for the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown please contact us, or join us for our Digital Marketing and COVID-19 webinar on Thursday April 23rd.