How to Stay Connected to Customers in the Age of Coronavirus
By: Nicole Reisberg, Founder & President, Social Haven Marketing
1. Don’t pause your online advertisements, just shift to a brand awareness objective.
There are more eyes on social media than ever before. Everyone is turning to digital, not only for national and local news, but to stay connected to their family and friends. The opportunity for your ads to reach more people is at an all-time high. Though, don’t hit people with a hard sell. Focus on brand awareness and educational resources. Capture their attention now in a real way, and you’ll have the trusted opportunity to sell to them in the future.
**NEWS: Google just pledged $340 million in Google Ad credits to small businesses, as part of its pandemic relief package. Click here to learn more about taking advantage of this credit.
2. Use email marketing for an added connection point.
Email marketing tools like MailChimp make it easier than ever to connect with your audience through their email boxes. A few things to keep in mind when it comes to marketing via email:
- Always give recipients the option to opt-out, or unsubscribe, from your email communications.
- Educate and build relationships, rather than focusing on a sales angle. Recipients will appreciate an educational or entertaining blog teaser, much more than a hard sell.
- Offer exclusive opportunities, like discounts or deals just for your email subscribers.
- Make it easy for people to subscribe to your email list. Add a form to sign up for your newsletter or email communications, in a prime space on your website.
- Establish your goal open and click-through rates, then monitor your results and adjust as necessary.
3. Reach out to your customers or clients to offer your support.
If you have the ability to contact your clients directly, do so. Let them know that you are here for them during this time, without selling them anything. A quick call, or card in the mail to show your appreciation, can go a long way when it comes to the client making follow-on buying decisions later on.
4. Make sure all of the online elements of your business are up to date.
As stated above, there are more people turning to the web than ever before. Take this time to check in on all of your business’ online platforms to be sure they are up to date. This includes:
- Your website, including all copy, graphics, videos, etc.… Also be sure to check on your meta tags and SEO information on the back end of your site. People often forget to keep this area update, which can negatively affect your placement in search results.
- Check the mobile view of your website to be sure everything looks correct.
- Your company social media profiles: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google My Business, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram etc.…
- Your personal social media profiles, and those of your employees (especially LinkedIn!)
- Be sure your hours of operation and contact info is up to date on all profiles.
5. Keep creating content and pushing it out to your audience.
Now is not the time to go dark. If you aren’t blogging already, it’s time to start. Your blog is the primary space to offer educational content, and with all the right SEO elements included, blogs can be a major driver of visits to your website.
So, start with creating a list of blog topics that your audience would find interesting, educational or entertaining. You can even poll your clients to ask what they want you to write about! Then, create a schedule to put out new blogs bi-weekly, weekly or even more often. Remember, don’t just post the blog and leave it. Use your email and social media channels to let your audience know that a new blog is live. This will drive traffic to your site, resulting in increased brand awareness and position you as a thought leader in your industry.
P.S. Are you a business owner looking for tips on how to maximize your profitability and increase revenue? Take a moment to download our free e-booklet at the link below.
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