Everyone is online now. Maybe this will be a permanent thing where people continue to socially distance themselves and stay online as much as possible, or things will go back to normal afterwards. But businesses have to adjust to this new normal as soon as possible, which means better online marketing.
But you do not have to spend huge amounts of money or talk to professional consultants in order to do online marketing. Social media marketing can be effective and reasonably priced if you take the right steps. Whether you are looking into social media for franchises or a business, here are a few things which you can consider that will help you get the social media marketing during this pandemic.
Focus on Appeal and Attention, not Sales
The ideal social media scenario is that you set up some social media content, get users to go to your websites, and they will buy enough online to keep your business functioning as well as it did before this pandemic. But this is highly unlikely, and it is better for new businesses to think small.
The first step should be to focus on drawing attention as Dr. Hal N. Arnold prosthodontist with his site. People know when they are being sold to, and right now people really do not want to be sold to. They want to hear that someone is supporting them during these times when it feels like no one is.
Work on crafting an appealing message that shows how your business is helping, and worry about how that will translate to revenue later.
Consider Working with Influencers
You may feel that your business does not have the time to organically grow a strong social media base. An alternative is to co-opt an influencer’s user base. Small Business Trends notes some of the benefits of using influencers right now, such as the fact that influencers are more used to providing content and that pricing could be flexible as influencers have to adapt to the coronavirus world as well.
If you choose to work with an influencer, note that crafting the right message becomes even more important. Some influencers have made bad decisions and received backlash for appearing out of touch and privileged. Any message with an influencer needs to be highly empathetic and carefully crafted.
Provide Helpful Home Tips
How much of your business’s services could a person do at home? Depending on the answer, you should advertise DIY tips that can inform customers on what they can do at home. If you run a barbershop, share tips on cutting hair at home on social media. If you run a restaurant, talk about cooking and storing food like Shake Shack is doing.
Some business owners may feel reluctant to share such information out of fears that they will become redundant. But homeowners should not be able to do such services nearly as well as you can, and could eventually turn towards using professional services once the quarantine ends. People who may have never considered using your services beforehand may be interested in what you have to offer, and will look for a professional to handle things eventually.
Do Not Focus Too Much on the Virus
You are not the CDC, or the WHO, and no one is going to your website to hear about the coronavirus. And while the coronavirus colors just about everything we say these days, that does not mean that we must give it exclusive attention.
Focus on what your business can do, and what stories it can tell. Every company is doing online marketing right now, and so it is important to focus on what makes your business unique. While you have to provide updates on how your business is handling the virus, post regularly about other things which show how your business is empathetic and working through all of this.
