We know that we are currently living in unprecedented times during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Small businesses that normally depended on interpersonal interactions for profit and sales are now seeing themselves faced with many challenges. We all know the old adage however, that challenging times carry hidden opportunities to thrive. Just because you were forced to shut down, it does not mean you can’t find creative and out of the box ways to grow your business, reach your audience, and thrive in the long term.
Update your website
Now is the perfect time to work on internal business tools and platforms such as your website. Identify what processes can become automated. Can your product or services become available online or become delivered? If so, build that eCommerce you have been thinking about. Make your goods and services be known and easily purchased. If your goods or services depend on interpersonal interactions, then make gift cards and certificates available on your website so people can invest in your services once the stay-at-home order has been lifted.
Branding: Is your website and brand in line with your business in 2020? Do you have pictures or content to update? Is your last blog post from 2016? Use this time to fix that!
SEO
This is the time to optimize your website. Dive into the SEO realm and find out what has changed and how you can improve your ranking. Take time to research what the competition is doing, find new keywords, industry updates, and changes. If you need help with SEO, just ask us!
Localization and Globalization
Once your eCommerce is built, expand your reach, and conquer new markets! Translate and adapt your website content to fit the new intended markets. Then revise all your marketing material; brochures, flyers, commercials, taglines, etc. Remember that language plays an important role in purchasing as most people are more comfortable shopping on websites in their own language.
Adjust Scheduled Content Timelines and Marketing Campaigns
Get ahead and produce written content for the rest of the year. Write your monthly blogs in advance, draft your newsletters, etc. Take time to audit what is currently running or in the pipeline, including pre-scheduled content that is set to launch soon. During this audit, consider the following:
Determine what to put on hold right now
Consider what to prioritize
Prepare for the upcoming post-quarantine era and figure out what content will be most impactful and relevant then.
Social Media
Your audience needs you now more than ever. You can reach out to them without seeming salesy or pushy. Use your platforms to interact with your sphere and clients in a new and innovative way. Offering perks to First Responders? Doing a Facebook Live session? If you work in the finance industry, use Facebook Live to explain what forbearance really is. If you work in Human Resources, why not do a video on LinkedIn Live on available job opportunities? Spread positivity and uplifting messages. Why not locate people doing great things in the neighborhood, and ask to interview them? Do you work in real estate? Some realtors, like this one in Palm Springs, are now doing virtual Open Houses via Instagram and Facebook. Yoga instructors are now offering virtual yoga classes online on Zoom or other multi-user channels. You can also use this time to try a new social media platform such as TikTok or Snapchat.
Videos & Photos
Right now, Video is King. Sending messages to your clients and audience via a video is the right way to connect. This is also a great way to check in on your clients individually and make sure they are okay. There are apps like Marco Polo, where you can send only quick video messages. Zoom allows you to record your meetings and webinar, and you can repurpose them onto your YouTube channel, Instagram, or Facebook. Also, take a look at your inventory. Now is a good time to take new photos of your products, get your online catalog going, film your vlog, etc.
This COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of the importance of being accessible to everyone, at all times: this is the digital era.
You MUST be online. In the coming months, businesses are going to become more reliant than ever on their digital strategy. By doing so, not only do you protect your company from unexpected limitations (coronavirus, forced temporary closures, etc.), you also open it up to the global market as the internet doesn’t have borders. In addition, you give your local community the important and crucial right now, the option of connecting digitally. As long as you approach the shift to digital marketing strategically, there’s no reason why it should just serve as an emergency pivot. You can carry on providing long-term value and thrive when the world eventually gets back to whatever normal will be.
If you want to come out stronger after this crisis, now is the time to invest in your digital and online marketing.
Contact us for a complimentary phone consultation to discuss possibilities for your business to get ahead during this time.
As seen on Kivo Daily