Don't Quarantine Your Marketing

There’s no question these are uncertain times. But how we as businesses and leaders react to situations and proactively prepare for the future will set us apart.

We are also in unprecedented times with social distancing. Yet quarantine or self-isolation doesn’t mean we’re cut off from all contact with one another. Technology is allowing people to carry on in many areas of their work and lives. It also presents new opportunities for businesses to engage with their audience and consumers.

The question for many remains how to adjust creatively now to survive — while also preparing for a future “normal” in which something like this could happen again.

Time will tell how serious the pandemic really is, and how it will impact our daily lives. But instead of playing victim you should prepared and have the best marketing system in place to handle this crisis.

Coronavirus Impact on Marketing

At the time of writing, conferences and any gatherings of more than 10 are being avoided or outright canceled.

Working from home and self-isolation are the new norms until further notice. So, there is less traffic on the road, in the air, and walking into businesses.

Companies that invest marketing and advertising budget into things like signage, billboards or airplane magazines will find they’re getting less visibility than ever before. And organizations that rely on events and gatherings to generate new business and revenue may struggle to make up the difference.

It is entirely possible that radio and TV advertising spend will go up. It’s also likely that companies will hold on to cash, including marketing budgets, to brace for impact.

Is there a silver lining for search marketers?

Yes, but we have to look for it.

We can assume that the more people are working from home, the more flexible the “workday” becomes.This means that people may be doing personal or business types of searches at any hour of the day or evening.

And of course, search behavior will vary by industry and query. For example, coronavirus is dominating searches on top news and social channels as of late. And the query “toilet paper” has gained popularity since the beginning of March.

What does this mean to search marketing? For some industries, some marketing budgets and certain queries, the need for SEO and PPC will be greater than ever.

 

Don’t Quarantine Your Marketing

As with any crisis, how an organization responds is key. Are you calm and taking action, or panicked and paralyzed? Two things people should not be doing right now: hoarding toilet paper and hoarding marketing budget.

 How a business treats marketing can make or break them after the crisis. The answer in these times is to not stop marketing. For many though, it may be a good idea to reallocate the existing marketing budget (like the budget for events or billboards) to different digital channels.  

 10 tips for the Current Crisis

1. Know search trends.

To be more relevant for short-term SEO and PPC campaigns, be aware of what’s being searched for now (I suggest using Google Trends). As a retailer, you might have huge gains from your SEM campaigns if you have the products people are searching for. On the other hand, if you know what type of search results are showing up for a query right now (remember: query deserves freshness), you can create relevant content to answer it.

2. Create timely and relevant content.

What does your audience or consumer want to know from you right now? Take this opportunity to communicate and give branded, unique insights on the situation. Make sure you have a good mix of content that’s both “business as usual” and relevant to the crisis so that you don’t look tone-deaf.

3. Ramp up your digital content.

Consider setting up your business now to produce more digital content like podcasts and webinars in both the short and long term. If you are a business with a lot of in-person consulting or training, now is the time to explore online training. By 2025, research estimates the e-learning sector will be valued at about $158 billion, so it’s not a bad time to get in on it. Lessons learned now about these strategies will prove useful should you need to continue to make them a part of your business.

4. Shift offline to online or modify.

If you are a local business or retailer, you’re going to have to think long term. Is it possible to shift a portion of your business online or change your business model? Can you shift in-store experiences to virtual or in-store shopping to delivery? 

5. Optimize your content.

If you are creating content about the coronavirus or anything that’s trending, you want to ramp up your optimization efforts so that it can be found in the search results when your audience is looking for them

6. Use search marketing for branding and crisis communications.

Even if the sale of your products and services is slowing down, you can use search engine marketing for branding purposes. For example, ads could point to landing pages with key information on them.

7. Use search marketing for reputation management and trust.

Corona beer, for example, may need to do this based on people’s perception of its relation to the coronavirus. You also should monitor how online sentiment may be impacting your trust signals during this time.

8. Stay ahead of your competition.

If you pause your search marketing campaigns, and your competition doesn’t, who will be set up for success when this whole thing passes? Which brands will people follow through all of this — those that stay in contact, or those that shut down?

9. Remember that SEO is a long-term strategy.

Unless it’s critical, you should not divert your SEO budget. You should keep calm and carry on because Google’s algorithms are not taking a break during a crisis. In fact, this slower period may be just the opportunity you need to do the back-burner projects (such as new content creation or server improvements) that can position you for SEO wins down the road.

10. Don’t buy cheap SEO.

When budgets are tight, the tendency might be to go with cheaper SEO programs or buy bundled marketing services instead of using experts that specialize. In times like these, companies cannot afford to implement anything less than expert SEO. After the dust settles, they will be dealing with another crisis: no rankings, no targeted traffic, and possibly Google penalties.

 

For create short-term solutions we are developing and future-oriented strategies our clients.

We need to be creative with our products, services and communications. We need to send the right message: that we can carry on in the face of a crisis.

In the eye of the storm, it can be hard to see anything but chaos. The best defense is to do what is necessary to still be standing after the storm.

At the end of the day, HJ Designs search marketing professionals, are no strangers to reinventing themselves at the mercy of rapid changes (like algorithms).

Now is the time for you to use this “down time” and position your business to be a leader when this crisis is over and the flood gates open.