When the Coronavirus pandemic started in 2020, many businesses faced the challenge of reaching their customers differently since there was a lack of face-to-face business or networking.
Many businesses have become more reliant on their digital marketing strategies to build customer relationships and to increase sales. This post explores how important digital marketing is during the Covid-19 pandemic and what digital channels marketers are using to reach out to their audience.
There are three important things that businesses have learned since we were struck by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic has shown us how important it is for businesses to have an online presence.
Many businesses struggled or were forced to shut down because many of their customers were either working from home, shielding or self-isolating during the pandemic. Many of these businesses, mostly small businesses, did not have a website or did not exist on the internet.
Big retailers like Primark in the UK lost millions of pounds during the pandemic because they did not have an online store. This huge loss in revenue has shown the retailer how important it is to have a website so that their customers will be able to shop online. Their business would not have suffered as much if they had an online store in place.
The pandemic has made us realise how important it is for businesses to change direction when current products and services are not meeting the needs of their customers.
Before the pandemic, customers were able to book an appointment by telephone and have a face-to-face consultation. They were also able to try on clothes, collect items and return items in-store. Unfortunately, the pandemic changed all that. People were waiting for hours to talk to a customer adviser, all face-to-face appointments stopped, and clothing retailers closed their fitting rooms.
Because of the pandemic, businesses had to change direction to meet the needs of their customers. Doctor surgeries offered online consultations and patients were able to book telephone appointments via an online form. Businesses offered live chat on their websites so that consumers could get immediate assistance instead of waiting hours on the phone to speak to a company rep.
Stores changed their return policies to give consumers more time to return items and also set up collection points where consumers could return items instead of going directly to the store. The pandemic has caused many businesses to become more adaptable to change.
The pandemic has made us realise how important it is to know who our audience is and what their needs are so that we can help them find what they are searching for.
As more and more consumers are doing most of their shopping online, businesses have become more reliant on Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and other web traffic analysis websites to find out who visits their website, where they’re from, and what they are from searching for.
These businesses are using these tools to engage with their target audience more effectively and find out what they are interested in and what they are looking for.
Now that we understand the importance of digital marketing during the Covid-19 pandemic, we will now explore what digital channels marketers are using to reach out to their audience.
1. Creating Social Media Posts
According to the website Backlinko.com, there were 3.96 billion in the world who were actively using social media networks. Social media is one of the digital channels that businesses can use to increase their online presence and reach out to their audience.
First, you need to know where your customers hang out on social media. Do they frequently use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn? Next, think about what your customers want and create content and posts that are relevant to the needs of your customers.
Add links to your social media channels on your website. Make short videos to post on your social media channel. These videos can be educational, entertaining, or informational.
You can also use social media to start conversations with your customers and to allow them to give feedback on your business and your products and services. Additionally, you can add more images, audio, and infographics to your social media channels to make them more interesting to your target audience.
2. Writing Blog Articles
Most people use their mobile devices to check their email, do an online search for items, and visit websites. If you’re going to be writing blog articles, then you have to make sure that mobile users can easily access and view your blog.
You must have a mobile-friendly blog. WordPress is a great tool to use to create mobile-friendly blogs. Writing a blog article should not be a chore. Make sure that you choose a topic that interests you and that is relevant to your customers.
Writing blog articles helps to increase traffic to your website and convert visitors into customers.
3. Including Contact Details on Social Media and Website
During the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been a real headache trying to find the contact details of a business. It has also been a nightmare trying to access businesses when they have changed their opening and closing times, call centers have closed or their staff has been reduced due to Covid-19, or the address and telephone number of the company is hidden from the view of the public.
If you want to lose customers fast, don’t provide a way for them to contact you. If, however, you want to keep your customers and gain new ones, you need to include your contact details on your website as well as on social media with instructions on the best way your customers can contact you.
It also helps if you have a page for Frequently Asked Questions that you can direct your customers too so that you reduce the number of calls and email messages coming through.
Managing your business in the face of a pandemic can be very challenging, but it helps if you change your marketing strategy, adjust your current products and services to meet the needs of your target audience, and can adapt your business in rapidly changing situations.
We have learned during the Coronavirus pandemic how important it is to have an online presence to engage effectively with online users. Therefore, we must include digital marketing in our strategy to build customer relationships and to increase sales.
