Digital Marketing During COVID-19 Aftermath - What Services Should You Focus On

As we continue to live through the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re beginning to fully understand the devastating impact that this crisis has had not just socially, but economically - and no industry is immune.

However, thanks to the focus and rigor of both government and society, we’re embarking on our way back to normality, or at least a newer version of normality.

So, what does this mean for digital marketing?

When the coronavirus first hit, many businesses across the globe put a stop to their marketing efforts, because of financial uncertainty. However, if you want to remain in business, you can’t stay idle for long.

In fact, studies have shown that the right approach during economic uncertainty is to increase your marketing spend. Marketing during these days will be different from before. Now, it requires much sensitivity and agility in order to fit in with people’s “new normal,” and keep up with swift changes that are still bound to occur.

With that in mind, we’ve gathered the top marketing services you should focus on during the COVID-19 aftermath.

SEO

As we’re all under lockdown, more and more people have turned to the internet to work, connect, search for information, engage with others, and more. This, in turn, has increased search traffic significantly and will continue to do so as long as we're battling COVID-19.

Meaning now is not the time to be hiding in the shadows. So, utilize SEO tactics to climb to the top of Google’s results pages. After all, you want to ensure your business is easily found by audiences. And, don’t forget your competition, most likely, will also adjust their strategy, so you shouldn’t stop yours.

Keep in mind the coronavirus has brought to light never-before-experienced pain points to your audience. Therefore, long-tail keywords that may have ranked high in the past may not be as relevant today.

So, be sure to expand your keyword research, discover what your audience is looking for, and realign your strategy to fit in with the “new normal.”

PPC

When the coronavirus first hit, 70-80% of worldwide paid campaigns were shut down almost immediately by businesses who were looking to save some cash. But, as PPC works to improve brand exposure along the whole customer journey, boost traffic, and provide businesses with valuable insights into their audience, it's worth the investment.

Currently, the drop in ads experienced at the beginning of the pandemic has led to cost-per-clicks (CPC) decreasing across all verticals. As a result, paid ads are producing a much higher ROI than pre-COVID-19.

With that in mind, online traffic is up. This intensified traffic volume should be leveraged by running ads, and with the decreased CPC, it’s well worth your bucks.

So, if you haven’t tried paid ads yet, now it’s a good time. And if you already have, then ramp it up a bit. Remember, when this crisis is over, and businesses begin running paid ads once more, the CPC will significantly increase. So start now, it’ll boost your standing in the COVID-19 aftermath.

Content Marketing

Take a look at the current landscape of your industry, can you honestly say that it is the same as, let’s say, six months ago? We don’t think so. It’s undeniable that COVID-19 has drastically shifted consumer behavior, pain points, and expectations. Meaning, if you’re still creating and promoting pre-coronavirus related content, your business may fall.

The wave of uncertainty sweeping across the globe has made people hungry for information - information that will help them ease their minds, stay on top, and in control.

So, provide your audience with a sense of control, by creating content that meets new needs, and the changing landscape. These days, all businesses are in the same boat, meaning, you must do all that you can to stay top-of-mind with your audience - and you can do this by beefing up your content, and creating blog posts with useful information, tips, tricks, and solutions for your customers. In other words, stay relevant by creating quality content that fits in with the “new normal.”

The more you can assure your audience that you’re reliable, trustworthy, informed, and relevant to their current struggles, the more attractive you’ll become, and the more likely you’ll be able to expand your reach, foster brand loyalty, and increase conversions.

Social Media

One thing we’ve learned about the coronavirus is that things change at lightning speed. And luckily for digital marketers, we know a thing or two about working in a fast-paced environment. This is a huge advantage when it comes to protecting your business from the impact of COVID-19.

During and in the aftermath of this crisis, it’s crucial you keep up communications with your audience, especially as new developments, that have to do with your business or industry emerge - and social media is the perfect platform for this.

Updates aside, posting regularly on social media, be it engaging content or empathizing posts will show your audience that you identify with them. In turn, this will help humanize your brand and encourage audience engagement, which are both things that you will be able to build upon in the COVID-19 aftermath.

Wrapping Up

Regardless of how long COVID-19 will actually last, one thing is for sure; the crisis has forever changed consumer behavior. Meaning, after this comes to pass, businesses can’t look to their old game plan for help.

Once we emerge into the “new normal” post-COVID-19, personas, messaging, and even your product or service strategy may need to change to adapt to the new landscape.

Right now, it’s important to consider the many fears and uncertainties that surround COVID-19, but don’t fall victim to them. When it comes to marketing, you must tread carefully.

So, encourage your team to get to know the ins and outs of your customers and their new pain points. Gather insights into new customer behavior, use it to navigate your way through the crisis, and propel yourself forward in the aftermath. If you're not sure how to do this right Ranky is one platform that can help.