Staying afloat during the global COVID-19 crises can be daunting for businesses. Still, with the ability to access the internet and a few key digital marketing trends, business owners can minimise the impact of COVID-19 and future-proof their operations.
Digital marketing trends: Tips on shifting your focus during COVID-19
Create opportunities to interact
With a lot of people spending more time at home and the entire business world slowing down (if not stopping entirely for specific industries), your audience may have more time to consume your content, but only if it’s produced correctly. You need to shift your focus to creating content that enables your audience to interact with your business and the content itself.
Create opportunities for your audience to provide feedback through polls and quizzes, make your product posts shoppable, introduce video messages to your feeds and make use of AR/VR technology to stand out from the competition. Keep an eye on incoming engagement so you can reply in time to build your reputation among consumers. If you provide shoppable posts, give your customers a clear indication of what they can expect in terms of production and delivery timelines (before they hit the “checkout” button).
Use SEO smartly
The rapidly changing environment is creating a lot of change in SEO trends. Although this might be hard for brands that usually rank well, it is good news for brands that offer products and services which were typically reserved for smaller markets. No one could predict the upswing in searches for toilet paper and face masks a year ago, but good digital marketers can innovate and use SEO smartly to come out on top of the SERP.
The new favourite shopping destination: Social media
While addressing trends, we cannot forget about the uptake in online shopping. Due to the restriction of movement (and rules for gathering), businesses are offering services and products online. If you have a product-based business, or you can provide your services online, now is an excellent opportunity to sell on social media.
Investigate the different platforms and options for selling online, and engage your audience where they are hanging out on social media. It is vital to remember that good social media marketing means more than pushing your products onto a social media platform. You’ll need to understand how people search for and shop on social media.
Addressing Google Ads
In 2019, Google announced improvements in bidding goals to help marketers reach to improve their performance. While these improvements helped to optimise ad bids and improve conversion, some industries are now seeing a decline in their pay per click results. It is essential to keep a close eye on your Google Ads performance and make strategic changes to ensure that your budget is spent in the most effective way possible.
For help with your digital marketing efforts, including pay per click campaigns, and social selling strategy, contact WSI for more information.