After COVID-19 hit, the first thing businesses did was cut costs everywhere possible without shutting down. Unfortunately, some are shrinking budgets in areas that’ll cause more harm than good.
This is especially true when it comes to digital marketing.
Is this something you’re considering forgoing to help save money (and your business)?
If so, then you may want to think again.
Here’s why.
People Are Searching for & Consuming Tons of Online Content
But is this really a surprise when you have millions of people on lockdown? What else is there to do in the home other than shop, search, and watch online video?
And it’s exactly what the numbers are saying about millennials and Gen Z in the US and UK. They’re consuming more:
- Online videos: 44% and 51% more
- Podcasts: 20% and 11% more
- Livestreams: 30% and 17% more
- Online press: 36% and 21% more
- Online TV/streaming: 41% and 38% more
Then worldwide, 36% more people are spending more time on their computers, and 44% are spending longer periods on social media.
This alone should have your digital marketing creative juices flowing. If not, then let’s dive into how you can make use of this trend to keep your business relevant during COVID-19.
Why Suspending Your Digital Marketing Will Hurt Your Long-Term
Not only will taking a hiatus on your digital marketing create a missed opportunity to connect with the “stay-at-home” consumers. But it’ll also hurt your rankings in the long run.
Any efforts you put into your SEO and content marketing will go to waste if you allow your campaigns to come to an end.
If you noticed your traffic has stifled a bit, it’s likely due to fewer people searching for the terms you’re using. But this will likely bounce back after things return to normal, and people begin searching for your products/services once again.
The question now is:
Why continue SEO if no one is searching for me?
Again, this will allow you to maintain and improve your search rankings for when things return to normal. However, you do want to refocus your content marketing strategy to cater to today’s market.
You have major brands that have taken heed by canceling and rehashing their digital marketing campaigns. For example, Ford canceled its announcement of a new vehicle. And KFC pulled a campaign that revolved around “finger-licking-good,” which is obviously not a good idea when everyone’s worried about hygiene.
So it’s critical to analyze your content to ensure it meets your customers’ needs and expectations today.
Here are a few ideas.
How to Keep Your Digital Marketing Afloat (Affordably)
The first thing you want to do for your digital marketing campaign is to determine if the message is relevant and isn’t offensive. The next step is to consider the topics and messaging you should focus on in your campaigns (both paid and organic).
Chances are, your audience is at home, bored, and are shopping online. So it’s an excellent time to focus on building your brand visibility.
The best way to pull this off is to be wherever your audience is hanging out. And from what stats show, they’re on:
- Blogs
- Podcasts
- Social Media
- YouTube
Several options you have are to:
- Create ads for social media
- Invest in social media marketing (posting)
- Publish ads on YouTube
- Create content for YouTube
- Write blog content
- Write guest blog posts
- Start a podcast (or advertise on one or be a guest)
This may sound time-consuming and outside of your budget to achieve. But this isn’t true when you’re using freelancers.
On Fiverr, you can hire a team of pros to help you with your projects on a freelance basis. This includes video editors, writers, digital marketers, and audio experts.
Maintain Your Relevance Throughout COVID-19
Now’s not the time to put your digital marketing on lockdown. If anything, you need to find ways to unleash it to continue attracting and growing your audience.
Don’t forget to show empathy and think twice about what you publish and promote. Brands that make it to the top today will be those that keep their customers and their needs at the forefront of their campaigns.
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