The devastating COVID-19 pandemic has left an effect on the world that will be felt for many years to come. While the loss on life has been distressing, the effect on businesses has also proved dire, with extended lockdowns preventing many from opening at all, or only at a limited capacity. Finally, with vaccination numbers growing across Australia, lockdown and border closures are now ending, meaning businesses can finally get back to normal.
So, what can businesses do to not only prepare, but capitalise on this shift in their industry’s landscape? In this article, the Clearwater team provide some digital marketing tips that will hold your business in a good position moving forward.
Ensure Clear, Consistent & Frequent Communication on All Channels
A lot has changed, and changed again, since the pandemic started, with a variety of industries affected to varying degrees, leaving consumers just as confused as business owners about who can offer their goods/services and who cannot. It is therefore important to make it clear you are now open and ready for business. You might ask which channel is best to do this, and the answer is quite simple: every channel you have available!
Post it on social media, send emails, build new targeted ads, write articles and update your landing pages – after such a long time without availability to your brand, you need to ensure your digital marketing strategy covers all basis to make contact and shift audience member’s perception of your brand. And don’t stop with a simple announcement; keep the momentum running. Provide a constant stream of information so both new and existing customers are aware of what products and services are now available, delivery times and areas, any delays that you have now overcome, and so on. This dialogue shows audiences you care and are passionate about restarting business, leaving them with the energy to engage and review your brand.
Boost Your SEO
If you are trying to bring traffic to your website or online store, then search engine optimisation (SEO) was always a favoured digital marketing campaign. Now it is essential. The pandemic has accelerated online usage for shopping and reviewing brands, and we can expect that to continue into the future given the added convenience and ease. To offset the loss in revenue you might have experienced throughout the lockdowns of the pandemic, consider trying to obtain new clients through brand awareness on search engines with targeted keyword searches. You can improve your overall rankings & click-through rate by:
- Improving your content strategy to include new targeted search terms & trending topics
- Updating your Google My Business (GMB) profile to receive better results with local searches
- Boost user experience with better site performance and load speeds
- Monitor performance metrics more closely with tools such as Google Analytics to do more of what is working, and less of what isn’t in terms of return on investment
Utilise Targeted Social Media Advertising
Online usage hasn’t been limited to search engines; social media exploded in usage during lockdown, and businesses have cemented their position on these digital platforms more than ever before, meaning to stay competitive, you need to make the most out of the features available.
Facebook advertising and Instagram advertising, for example, continues to remain affordable with good ROI against well-constructed campaigns. The audience targeting capabilities mean you will not have to waste your limited ad budget on uninterested users. Instead, you can place updates on your products and services in front of the people you know want to see it, based on their demographics, location, hobbies and interest, gender, profession and more.
Ads can be an excellent way to inject an affordable stream of traffic to your website, working alongside your organic posts to build a highly-informative, highly engaging and authoritative space to convert audiences into website visitors.
Market Enticing Exclusives & Offerings
If you are planning on introducing a selection of exclusive specials or new offerings to entice repeat and new customers, this should be leading your digital charge. Many brands are rewarding customer loyalty with discount codes and early access to new releases via email marketing campaigns. End-of-lockdown celebration events are also popular with dedicated social media activity driving traffic towards specially built landing pages, commemorating the return to business with exciting new product lines, reduced prices and even freebies.
With a bit of clever accounting to understand what your business can afford to offer and the desired ROI you need to make it worthwhile, dedicated digital marketing campaigns behind these avenues can prove excellent in generating the chatter and interest in what you offer, now that operations are back to normal.
Learn more about how a tailored digital marketing strategy can benefit your business coming out of lockdown by contacting us today.
