As lockdown restrictions begin to ease – with some of the country back at work and others still juggling home schooling with trying to work from home – it’s time to plan your digital marketing strategy through the next phase of social distancing restrictions and beyond.
None of us quite know what the UK will look like over the next few months, and this may leave you as a business owner unsure as to how to implement an effective online marketing strategy. Whilst we don’t hold the answers as to what a post-coronavirus landscape looks like, we have got some key questions that you can ask yourself about your business, to ensure your digital marketing is well equipped to stay relevant however the restrictions are eased and if, like Leicester, we have local lockdowns.
What channels should you focus on?
Lockdown has made everyone more digitally savvy, from the grannies who now Zoom with their grandchildren to the parents who have uploaded their TikTok dances. Have your customers migrated channels and what does this mean for your digital marketing?
- Assess whether the current social media platforms your business uses are still relevant: It is unlikely that your client base will have completely deserted Facebook for TikTok, however, if you notice that a growing proportion of your ideal client avatar are choosing to go on the new platform regularly, it is worthwhile considering how you could access this platform to promote your brand.
- How can this new platform be best optimised? Different sites work vastly differently; there is no point just regurgitating your Facebook posts on Instagram, as they will probably miss the mark. Adapting your posts to suit the different platforms will help you get the most from each.
- If your ideal clients are still using the same platform, are they still using it in the same way? Routines were thoroughly uprooted during lockdown, so don’t just assume that your customers still use social media at the same times and in the same ways. For example, the stay-at-home Dad who might have been most active on Pinterest during the working day, may now be home schooling his kids and therefore using the platform predominantly before 8am and after 8pm; this might prompt you to start posting more regularly during these hours.
These changes are all subtle but will help ensure that your online marketing is actually reaching potential customers.
What are your customers feeling?
What do your customers want to hear? Is this homogenous, or do our different lockdown experiences and the staggering of the phasing out of lockdown mean the need to create different messages and strategies for different customer profiles?
If your customers’ feelings are diverse, you may need to think about targeting specific messaging at the different groups. You may also find that the contrasting opinions are reflected by the media outlets these people choose to use more often, making it easier for you to alter your tone across each platform.
Can you find new opportunities?
The easing of restrictions may even bring you a whole new potential client base. For example, most people have had their summer holiday plans cancelled, leaving them stuck in the UK across the summer. Anecdotally, some people are spending more on luxury items they can enjoy in the UK because they’re not going to be spending on a foreign holiday this year. If you have products that people can enjoy in their homes or that people can use to make their summer at home more fun, you may have a great opportunity to reach more customers. For example, if you sell luxury wine you may find a new client base of people usually priced out of your products, but who this year have a bit more money to spend after being refunded for a cancelled holiday.
This was the case for our client Kin Kan Do, who provide property care services across Kent, Sussex and Surrey. While adapting to social distancing has created challenges – such as only being able to have one person in a van at the time, consequently doubling how long it takes to complete jobs – there has been an uptake in demand from people who have had more time than normal at home.
“We’re receiving increased enquires from homeowners who want to enjoy their enforced summer at home as much as possible. They’re not going to be buying Sangrias on the beach this year, so some of them are redirecting that budget to making their house look as good as possible, for example, by having us clean their exterior walls, patios, driveways and fascia’s,” explains director James Davies.
Growing unemployment and what that means for your online strategies
Unfortunately, some of your customers may have less money because of the past few months, so it’s also worthwhile addressing the following questions when considering your digital marketing strategy:
- Do my clients have the same spending power as before? If you are B2C, are your clients people whose jobs might have been effected by COVID-19? If you are B2B, have your clients lost customers or turnover or had to restrict their operations?
- What messages are they going to need to hear to persuade them to continue to buy from you if their purses are now smaller? Is it the return on investment that they will get for taking up your services? Is it that your products last a long time? Can you afford to offer a discount over a certain amount of product? With a decreased disposable income, your customers will need increasingly to be convinced as to why they should buy your product or take up your services.
It’s essential to evaluate regularly how your customers are feeling, what channels they’re on and what messages they need to hear to ensure your digital marketing both reaches them and resonates with them. This is especially important now, as the world has shifted a great deal over the past few months. Keeping your online marketing relevant will enable you to retain your customer base and perhaps create new opportunities for business.
We can plan and implement online digital strategies, quickly and effectively - contact one of the Eonic team today!