Digital Marketing in the Age of COVID-19

We don’t need to tell you that this is a difficult time. Business is virtually shut down. Many people are home with their families – yet need to keep as physically far apart as possible. Toilet paper jokes abound (yet they’re not as funny as they were a week ago). Your hands are raw from washing them 50 times a day. “Somebody, please tell me something positive,” you’re thinking.

Take Advantage

We are reaching out to you today to tell you something positive: Not only will you survive this – you will come out stronger. But you need to do something right now. You need to take advantage of this captive audience. When in the history of humankind have so many people been trapped at home, bored (yet scared), and aching for human companionship? You can help them. And – really, it’s okay to say it – strengthen your brand.

The Win-Win

Unless you’re selling personal paper products or canned soup, your bottom line is hurting right now. There is no doubt that you need to cut back and conserve. Your digital marketing may be on the chopping block. We are here to tell you that this is not the time to do that. Yes, we know how self-serving that sounds, but let us explain.

Here at Affix Advertising we believe in the win-win. This is the perfect time for businesses across the world to put it into practice. People are connected to their devices during this time of hyper social distancing. They are spending many hours engaging with content. They are consistently checking email, browsing websites, and connecting on social media. What better opportunity to increase brand awareness?

Bad News, Good News

To give you an idea of the impact COVID-19 has had on social media, Facebook’s non-monetized businesses, like Messenger and Video calling, have surged. However, their advertising business is falling. Which means that your Facebook ads may have a bit less noise to push through.

Reach Out

There are many ways to reach out to current customers.

Vetted COVID-19 Information

There is a lot of bad information out there. The snake oil salespeople are slithering out of the woodwork to sell questionable “cures” to desperate people. Your digital content can educate people about what health experts are recommending to ward off the virus. And what to do if someone is symptomatic. You’ll want to stick with sources like the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Helpful Hints

Give folks ideas on what to do while they are sheltered in place. Tuna recipes, home schooling resources, how people can help during the crisis, etc. Bonus points if you can tie the content directly to your business. In any case, you want to tailor the content to your target market. For example, links to educational activities for parents of small children.

Other Resources

People need to know where they can get assistance – and how they can help others. Providing vetted resources on help from local, state, and the federal government goes a long way in creating goodwill. If your company is supporting a particular charity, share that information. Tell them why supporting that charity is important to you. If your target market is local, stay local in the information you provide.

Tell Your Story

People like to know what others are going through and how they are dealing with it. Tell the story of your business, your employees, and your products. Get creative. Your employees, if they are comfortable doing so, can do videos about how they are working from home. If you have children you are home-schooling, write about it. Humor goes a long way here.

Provide a Community

Get creative with your Facebook and LinkedIn pages. Ask parents to submit drawings from their children. Couples can upload recipes and pictures of their culinary creations. Again, try to tie it as closely as possible to your product or service.

Give It Away

Do you have content you can give away for free? An eBook or a tips sheet? Many people download free content, but now that they are home and bored, there’s a better chance they will actually read it.

Embrace Downtime

How many times did you wish there were more hours in a day? You may have an actual to-do list – or just ideas that have been floating around in your head for years. That marketing plan you kept putting off? Now is definitely the time to work on it.

Howdy, Partner

Hopefully, you now see the silver lining in this COVID-19 cloud. There are many ways to leverage digital marketing during this time to increase awareness of your brand – and genuinely help people. We encourage you to partner with us for planning and implementation. We’re a pretty creative bunch and can brainstorm ideas and develop appropriate content for your brand. As always, we will use our data and expertise to help you make the most of your digital marketing.

Stay Safe

In the meantime, please stay safe! The most important ways you can help yourself and your community are through social distancing and hyper hygiene. Feel free to contact us to discuss how we can help you during this challenging time. Know that we are here for you.