The world has rapidly changed since the onset of coronavirus – with consumer behaviour up in the air across the board. However, one unsurprising consequence of lockdown has been a boost in social media use.
Niki Lancaster, Head of Social at Search Laboratory, gives her top tips for marketers looking to adapt their social strategy at this challenging time when adaptability and responsiveness are vital.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique set of challenges to marketers. Online time is up, yet in many verticals, sales and conversions are down. Consumers are looking to brands to provide everything from reassurance to entertainment during these uncertain times, and with social media being a primary mode of communication for many, it’s never been more important to make sure your social strategy is solid.
From health fears to losing their financial security, this is a difficult time for people, and it’s crucial for brands to adapt their messaging to reflect these very real concerns. Being insensitive to your customer’s issues, or even appearing to cash in on coronavirus, can damage your brand reputation and see you lose customers.
Cut back on over-promotional sales and marketing messaging and look at where you can provide value to your audience. For businesses who are experiencing a dip in sales, focus on upper funnel messaging; for example, travel companies who are unlikely to experience high volumes of bookings might benefit from sharing destination guides which will help those who are researching where to book once the pandemic is over.
You should also identify what unique problems your customer is facing because of the pandemic and create engaging content to help with this. For fashion retailers, this might look like a live Q&A with a stylist on how to dress for video conference calls – for restaurants, releasing the recipes for popular dishes so customers can recreate the experience at home. Providing access to usually paid-for content, such as free courses or downloads, will also encourage engagement while capturing data.
Over-communicate
In the recent GWI Coronavirus report, 59% of Britons said they expect to see marketing and advertising to carry on as usual. Maintaining your online presence is key, and you should be constantly communicating with your followers and customers in order to let them know you’re still there.
Your messaging around product availability, lead times and current shipping information needs to be as clear and as up-to-date as possible so as to manage customer expectations and reduce customer frustration. Providing clarity on how these and any policies have changed during the pandemic is extremely important, so ensure you are regularly communicating this information on your website and social channels.
Pinning links to important pages or adding them into your bio saves consumers time and makes the customer journey easier for them, making it more likely they will buy from you instead of going to a competitor.
Put community first
Communities across the country have been coming together to support more vulnerable members of society and show solidarity with key workers during this time. This is a great way for brands to give back to their customers and show their brand values at a time when they are needed most.
Use this time to consider how you can give back to those in need in a way that is on-brand. For those in food and catering, providing free meals or discounts to NHS workers is a great way of showing solidarity in a brand-aligned way. For manufacturers, turning your lines into PPE production facilities is a significant way of helping the UK out where it is needed most.
Regardless of your business model, there will be ways to add value to the broader community. From offering free shipping, to extending your returns policy, to acting as a drop off point for vital supplies, identify how you can ease the lives of your customers and the wider community during this period.
