The wheels of business have effectively stopped turning all over the world at the moment. We live in strange and dangerous times, and people are stuck at home rather than in their places of work. Entire industries have had to bring the shutters down and go home until all this is over. Millions of people have no idea whether they’ll have a job to go back to when everything is said and done, and that makes them cautious about spending the money they have left.
Because the patterns of regular life have been disrupted and people aren’t engaging with products or services in the way that they otherwise would, marketing has become a minefield. Campaigns that you’ve spent weeks or months preparing for may no longer be relevant. Product launches might have been put on hold. In some cases it’s too late to make changes, and your advertising campaigns are already up and running and making you look out-of-step with the current crisis. Several major brands were caught off-guard by sudden closures. Even McDonald’s were still advertising on television after their restaurants were closed down because the commercials had been made, and the time slots had been paid for. If the major players can make mistakes, then so can you.
There are certain industries that haven’t been affected by all this, and may even benefit from it. The takeaways that have remained open - Dominos, for example - are making huge profits. Online slot websites have seen a huge upswing in visitors and custom in the past few weeks. With nothing to do and nowhere to go to spend their money, it seems people have turned to UK casino games as a new form of entertainment. If you happen to own a takeaway or an online slots website, you’ve struck lucky. For everyone else, you might need to make some major revisions to your marketing strategy for the next few weeks or months. Here’s some advice to bear in mind.
Don’t Shy Away From The Problem
The whole world knows what COVID-19 is and what it does. If your commercials and marketing materials don't recognize this, you're going to look out-of-touch. Pause all of your usual adverts for now - including those on social media - and come up with something new that directly mentions the crisis. Make it clear that you're affected by this and aware of this just as much as everyone else is. Reassure people that you're still there for them during this difficult time, and you can still get your products or services to people who want them. If you're temporarily unable to do that, reassure people that you'll be there when the crisis comes to an end. Be timely and be relevant.
Be One Of The Good Guys
Tiny things can make a big difference at the moment, and you want to make sure you’re seen as being on the right side of history when the history books come to be written. Unless you can possibly avoid it, don’t become a business that lays its staff off and stops paying its suppliers. Continue paying as normal, and use your marketing budget to let people know that you’re still paying. If you can go further than that, do some good for the community. Health and care workers need as much help as they can get at the moment. If you can give away something to them for free, make sure they know it’s available by making it the focus of any new promotional campaigns you come up with.
Make Interactive Content
The people who are lucky enough not to be seriously ill at the moment are very bored. They can’t go out of the house for any unapproved reason, they have no new films to watch, and they have no concerts to go to. They can’t even go to their favorite bar or cafe. They want something to do with their time, and the best way for you to make headway with them from a marketing point of view is to provide them with a distraction. Become more interactive than you normally are on social media. See if you can use a hashtag to start a conversation, or to invent a game. Partner with a local musician or performer to sponsor and promote live-stream performances. Run competitions where people can win your products or services, or even design or name your next product or service. Engage with customers when they don’t need you, and they’re more likely to remember you when they do.
Focus On Social Media
Social media is where the attention of the whole world is focused right now. For many people, it's their primary source of both news and entertainment. They're using it to find out how their friends and family are coping during the lockdown, and also to see what's going on in the wider world. Because social media is so busy, social media should be the focus of any marketing activity you choose to undertake. Pull back from any other form of advertising you might usually do, and pour all of your efforts into Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch. If you've never heard of TikTok before, this is the right time to find out what it is and what you can do with it commercially. A short homemade viral video on TikTok might do wonders for your brand.
Go For The Shabby Chic Look
Check out the most recent COVID-19 specific pieces of marketing from any of the major firms, and you'll notice a theme. Glossy big-budget production is out. The homemade look is in. As companies, actors, and producers can't get out to studios to shoot their content, they're making simple promotions and videos at home, and these videos are gaining traction because they're in keeping with the way people are living right now. Everyone's indoors. Everyone's wearing their coziest outfit and taking part in video chats with friends. The more your content looks like the world that your audience is becoming used to seeing, the more it will resonate with them. Get on their level, and ditch the expensive flair. Save the big spending for when the world has gone back to normal after the coronavirus pandemic has faded away.
Market Smarter During Pandemics
Advertising does its best work when it reflects the world of the people that it’s there to advertise to. This is a hard time to market anything during the coronavirus pandemic, but if you can get into the same world as your audience and engage them on their level, you can still do it successfully.
