“Should you be building a social media audience at this time?” This is the question that many businesses, both large and small are asking at the moment, through the global pandemic and crisis that we are experiencing -is now a good time to be doing online marketing? Our answer to these questions is a most definite ‘yes’!
The people and businesses that show up online, are visible through this crisis, will be the ones who will have a business to hold on to at the end of it all. The businesses that are visible and showing up online are the ones who will be remembered, and will be the ones in the forefront of people’s mind as business and day to day life starts to go back to normal – in whatever form that may be in.
So how should you ensure that you’re doing the right thing when it comes to your online marketing plan? What steps can you take to know that your strategy is pointing in the right direction?
Here’s our six top tips:
Show up and be visible
Don’t go hiding away and making excuses not to be online. NOW is the time to be visible and to produce even more content if possible to let the world know that you still mean business. Keep doing what you’re good at, help your audience to know that you’re still available and let your followers know that you are still there in whatever capacity they need you in. Just the fact that you’re showing up will give customers reason remember you, even if business can’t be as normal, be honest and open with everything that is going on.
Engage
As with any social media strategy, the key to successful results is engagement. Talk to your audience, communicate with them at every opportunity, even if this means setting up new lines of communication – and keep going with it. You’ve probably got more time on your hands than normal, so use the time to engage with your followers. Jump on conversations, ask questions, create feedback, be in their circles. You can spend all the time in the world creating fantastic content but if you’re not being social and engaging your audience in conversations, it’s not going to produce the results you need.
Be supportive
At this time of lockdown and uncertainty, there are many people going through different emotions, hitting challenges and finding themselves in unknown territory. How can you help? Offer your support, be a listening and guiding ear, be the inspiration or motivation that they need to carry on. Show your support in any way that you can, through engaging and communicating with your audience.
Have you got experience that you can share with others?
Have you pain points that you’ve overcome which could help someone else?
Your support could be the bridge someone needs to discover your business and really get to know who you are.
Add value
At this time people don’t want to be bombarded with things that don’t matter. People are realising what’s important in life, what matters most and what things they need to get through in order to create a more fulfilling journey. How can you impact or play a part in that? How can you help or make a difference? It’s not always about giving things away for free or giving all of your time but it’s about creating a balance and line of communication that can open doors and provide value to those you’re trying to reach.
Get creative
As more and more people jump online and their feeds are filled an inundated with content, your business needs to stand out, so what better way than to get creative and showcase what your brand is really about, rather than ordinary content that will get missed and fall into the flow of unwanted traffic? How can you brighten, lighten, lift, portray your brand in a new and creative manner?
We totally recommend Canva for this task, and once you’ve discovered it, you’ll never look back! Hundreds of templates, colours, fonts, images for you to be creative with and to put your own stamp onto. If you’re not used to designing your own social media content, now’s the time to start! Go for eye-catching, positive, uplifting posts that will grab the attention of the reader. However remember to always stay on brand and to keep the true consistency of your values and business in all content that you create.
Be positive
There’s much to be said for a positive attitude and it’s contagious!
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” ~ Willie Nelson
Once you get into the positive mindset that you need in order to carry your business through in times like we’re in right now, you’ll discover the positive impact that your online marketing can have to those looking in. Be positive in all that you produce, all that you say, every conversation that you have – be the light, be the brand that encourages others to keep going and to provide a solution to the problem, whatever that may be.
As business owners there’s much we can be doing during the lockdown period, that can also be carried on until it’s all over and beyond. Your business deserves a marketing strategy that gets results, no matter what the current climate may be. Are you ready to make an impact? Are you ready to see successful results? Are you ready to be online, to stay online and to engage with your audience at every turn? Great! We’re with you on that one. And if you’re still not quite sure how to put a strategy together that will get you through these times, we’d love to chat – just get in touch and let’s talk.
In the meantime, if you’d like to know that you’re ticking off the basics when it comes to your social media marketing, why not download our FREE social media checklist – it’s our gift to you.
