4 ways to adapt your marketing during lockdown
The coronavirus lockdown has brought about huge changes to the way we live, work and socialise. But it’s also driving a transformation within the marketing industry, as businesses take the opportunity to ensure their strategies align with the world in which we now find ourselves.
If you’ve not yet considered how to adapt your marketing strategy both during the lockdown and beyond, now is very much the time to do it. Just follow these top tips and you’ll be sure to maximise your opportunities – and ensure your results are worth the spend.
Stay in contact
Whether your business is operating at full tilt or not, you should try to keep at the forefront of your customers’ minds – and where better to do that than on social media? Creative, informative and well-timed posts can keep your business connected to the outside world. It means that when customers need the product or service you offer, they know exactly where to head.
Now is an opportune time, with Brits staying in and therefore spending an increasing amount of time on their devices. An eMarketer survey put the increase in digital media consumption at 9.3% – or 26 minutes per day; more than three extra hours a week.
Your audience is there and ready to be reached, so don’t miss out.
Improve your SEO and use PPC
Many of us have spent at least some part of this lockdown finally getting around to those jobs around the house that we’ve been meaning to do for ages. Now, it’s time to take that same approach with your website – to give it the attention it requires to rank well with the search engines.
With organic traffic accounting for more than half of web visits, it’s worthwhile ensuring your SEO (search engine optimisation) is up to scratch. Test your site regularly to see where there could be small wins, such as improving page load times or removing broken links. It’s also essential to check the site works across all devices, since mobile traffic still outstrips that from desktops.
Now is also a good time to try PPC – pay per click – if you’ve not done so already. These ads, which appear at the top of the search engine results, can place you right in front of the best customers, who are already searching for businesses like yours. If you’ve already got a PPC account, take some time to ensure it’s working as efficiently as possible and you’re achieving the best cost per click you can.
Be nimble and adjust where necessary
Is your current messaging looking a little incongruous due to the current climate? If your business is promoting foreign holidays, selling houses or running a gym, you’ll certainly need to rethink your message to fit with the times.
Indeed, some businesses have pivoted entirely, not just with their marketing but by adapting their entire product offering. Car manufacturers, for example, have used their engineers and machinery to create much-needed personal protective equipment for people working on the front line. Distillers, meanwhile, have turned from gin to gel – as they’re able to put their equipment to use making hand sanitisers. If you’re able to follow suit it’ll be more than just a new avenue to explore, but also provide a helpful boost to your company’s perception among the general public.
Plan ahead
With our lives so fundamentally changed, it’s highly unlikely we’ll simply bounce back to how things were before. Businesses are already gearing up for more remote working, and many forecasters anticipate social distancing will play some role in our everyday lives for some time to come.
But just because the future is uncertain, it doesn’t mean you can’t plan for it, so take time to consider how your marketing will look post-lockdown. This may mean preparing for how you can achieve decent ongoing results on a much lower budget, if the axe has to fall.
Creating a bank of content to sit in the background will help when things begin to return to their ‘new normal’ and you find yourself incredibly busy once more. Then, when the time comes, this can be pushed out across your website and social channels with ease.
Remember, the current situation affords you the time to reflect, plan and prepare – so don’t pass it up.
If you have questions on any of the subjects raised in this blog or would like to discuss your own marketing requirements with our experts, please call Cyan Marketing on 01268 778555.
