From our resident social media and SEO expert Nicolas Pustilnick, of Pulse Agency, we bring you everything you need to know about marketing in the age of corona virus.

The Corona virus pandemic is reshaping society as we speak. The major world crisis we are facing has already changed the way we travel, buy, work or interact with the others. And, with no clear time-frame for getting back to “normal”, the only thing we can do is adapt to a “new normal“.

After more than one-quarter of the world’s population has been confined at home as an unprecedented measure to stop the spread of the disease, many economies are facing the biggest economic contraction on record.

The Australian Market

Since the beginning of the Coronavirus crisis, the Australian economy has been through some of the most significant changes in the last 100 years. The economic environment had never changed so rapidly before, which brought a lot of pressure on business owners and marketing specialists.

We are now forced to proactively review marketing campaigns and make constant adjustments to stay afloat. No-one knows where we will be in three months, so we have to be mentally prepared to respond to the changes in a continually fluctuating market quickly.

Carefully Analyze Data and Adapt to the New Situation

In these challenging times, business owners and marketing professionals need to understand how people’s needs, wants, expectations and buying habits have changed, to find the best marketing solutions that enable brands to survive and make the most of the crisis. New marketing and advertising strategies need to be taken into consideration to align with the current climate.
Communicate with your audience  

If you have been thinking about new ways of communicating with your targeted audience, now is the perfect time to act. Start that podcast, use that social media channel, start blogging, send those email newsletters; do whatever it takes to connect with your customers. You may also contact existing (or potential) customers on the phone, on Zoom, on FaceTime, Skype, or any other form of digital communication. 

Video is no longer optional

If you have delayed using videos in your marketing campaigns, now you must do it. The amazing growth of Zoom marks a definite shift in people’s desire to consume video content. 

Update Your Messages 

However, in times like these, when promoting products and services, you want to be extremely careful to the tone of voice and your choice of words, as the public has become very sensitive to the way businesses are promoted. People are in a different mindset than a couple of months ago. This means marketing specialists need to show more empathy and offer clients useful content that helps them solve their issues, without shamelessly exploiting the crisis.

Reinvent Yourself

You can continue to make sales if you reinvent your marketing strategy, offering people solutions to their current situation, without inducing fear and without looking opportunistic.  

Use Google trends to understand what people are searching for, what they are mainly interested in, what they are worried about and what you can do to help them. If you look around, you will notice that most businesses have already adapted to the situation. Companies with a robust online presence changed their promotional messages, and analog businesses became digitized overnight to avoid bankruptcy.

Offer Your Products/Services in a Safer/ Contactless Way 

If you haven’t done this already, it is time to get creative and find a way to offer your products/services to your public in a safer way. Many psychologists started to provide online consultations, most retail companies are delivering their offerings at home, restaurants are making home deliveries, and attorneys offer legal advice via Skype/Zoom meetings. Of course, this doesn’t work for all businesses, but if there is a way for you to get to your customers, you need to find it. 

Analyze your content and further develop it

Your website is the backbone of your business, as it gives consumers a clear idea about your brand, its values, its story, actions and behaviour. All the services and products you sell are presented through your website. Now it is the best time to look at your company’s website, to detect its strength and its weaknesses, and see what improvements can be done to make sure it reflects who you are and what you offer to the public.

It’s time to create new content, to provide better quality images and double-check all internal links. Your online presence is essential for your business’ success; therefore, your website must look sharper than ever. You can publish new content more often. Right now, there’s a vast demand for informative, entertaining content that connects people and promotes wellness.

Blogging is one of the best ways to create search engine friendly content and keep your readers engaged and informed with your recent activity. Focus on educating your consumer to position your brand when people are searching for products/services within your industry.  

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