How Digital Marketing Can Help Businesses Adapt in the New Normal
The severe impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has paved the way for the so-called new normal. For consumers, it means consuming content and making transactions mostly through online means. The goal is to keep people healthy, productive, and safe in the comforts of their homes, away from public spaces.
For your company, the new normal entails that you review your business plan. If you have yet to build a business presence online, now may be an opportune time to do so. With people spending more time at home with their devices, it will be a costly mistake not to have a digital marketing strategy for your business.
Digital marketing allows you to reach your target market in widely-used platforms like social media, although limiting yourself to social media marketing isn’t the single best way to connect with your audience, either.
For example, you can expand your reach with PPC. PPC or pay-per-click, as the name suggests, is when you pay a fee each time someone clicks on your ad. PPC is the opposite of attracting visitors to your site organically via unpaid search results, which is attainable through SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
With PPC, you’re relying on buying—instead of earning—visits to your site, so it’s important that you do it correctly. Even if you pay $1–$2 for every click, there’s a good chance that what you spend in your PPC campaigns will be offset if you can get people to buy your product or service.
Other digital marketing strategies can help you ensure business continuity even in critical times like the COVID-19 pandemic. Use the succeeding sections to know the different disciplines of digital marketing as well as tips to better align your campaigns with how consumers are behaving based on the new normal.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO refers to the process of optimizing your website so that it meets the standards of search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing in giving people a positive user experience through quality and relevant information.
Here are some COVID-19-specific ideas for optimizing your website:
- Continue improving the quality of your website, even if there are fewer search activities these days. Know that other businesses may be taking a less aggressive approach in marketing because they may have other priorities to keep their business afloat, so beefing up your SEO efforts puts you steps ahead of the competition.
- Find out what types of questions people are asking these days and try to incorporate relevant into your content the keywords based on the most popular searches.
- Update your website to let people know any changes in your operations. For example, you may have shortened your business hours or added cashless payment options in compliance with health and safety protocols in your area.
- Optimize for mobile users. The user experience should be suited to the type of device that visitors use, including smartphones and tablets. Consumers more connected to their devices nowadays, so make sure that your website interface is both attractive and functional. Buttons, images, and other similar elements should help people to find what they’re looking for easily.
Read More:
Mobile App Marketing
Part of your digital marketing strategy can also include building apps for your business. Mobile apps are popular because they help create a seamless experience in the buyer’s journey, which is an added convenience that’s very important for customers.
Follow these tips as you launch your mobile app:
- Simplify the registration process. Avoid asking users to provide personal information other than their mobile number and email address to encourage them to sign up.
- Use push notifications to inform your customers of sales events, new product arrivals, payment reminders, and so on.
Content Marketing
Content marketing involves creating and distributing educational, highly valuable content for consumers. In content marketing, you use blog articles, social media posts, infographics, eBooks, and so on to showcase not only your brand authority but also to build trust with your audience, as you help them solve their problems through the information you provide.
Consider these current best practices in content marketing:
Create content that people will actually want to consume.
Content that’s too sales-y won’t make the cut because you don’t want to make people feel that you’re only after their business, especially in these trying times. Try giving them something entertaining or inspirational instead to help them cope with the emotional distress caused by the pandemic.
Include videos in your content assets
Include videos in your content assets to let people know how to use your product or service in an educational yet engaging manner.
For example, if you’re offering homeschooling services, you can capture on video the methods that you’ll be using to conduct online classes with students to help parents decide if the program will work for their children.
Social Media Marketing
As a digital marketer, social media marketing can be a powerful mechanism for your team. A lot of people now get their content on this platform, and this trend is likely to continue as people remain isolated at home.
Keep these things in mind as you use social media to achieve your marketing and other business goals:
Invest in paid ads on social
As mentioned, other businesses may be doing less digital marketing these days, so there’s less competition in the social advertising space. On the other hand, more and more consumers who are in-home quarantine are shopping online both for essentials and non-essentials. This makes social ads one of the most cost-effective and results-oriented techniques you can use right now.
Leverage social to improve your brand of customer service
If your office or brick-and-mortar store remains closed or operates in limited capacities, you can use social to help resolve customer concerns through instant messaging or the comments section in your social media account. Keeping your customers satisfied helps set your brand apart and conveys a message that you truly care about your customers, with or without the pandemic.
Digital Marketing in the Age of the New Normal
Customers’ needs and shopping behaviour are continuously changing, especially in light of the new normal. This makes it necessary for your business to update your marketing strategies. Serving the right content at the right time and on the right channels can be a good starting point for your digital marketing team.