The digital world is currently dominated by the global COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and brands are now faced with heightening their online presence and digital campaigns. The need to adapt marketing efforts across social media is vital, as the uptake in social distancing across nations result in a change with consumer behaviour.

With this new “way of living”, the demand for products and services is evolving and there are heavy delays in the supply-chain process. Social Media presents itself as the ideal platform to bolster communication and support for your customers, amidst the chaos.

There are a plethora of best practices to channel consumer empathy through social media at this time. These are some highly-recommended ones:

Provide Consistent Updates

Consumers are using social media to find information and guidance on what they need to do. Use all your accounts to let them know of any changes to your service, such as products currently out of stock, closure, time changes, etc.

Your company can also use this opportunity to link to or share articles from trusted and credible sources that are disseminating information about COVID-19, e.g. a local news provider or the World Health Organization’s website.

Do a Content Audit

Be prepared and open to removing scheduled posts that may come across as distasteful to consumers at this time. For example, avoid articles or content related to travel or dining. Also, avoid using brand hashtags when speaking of COVID-19 and stick to #coronavirus and #COVID19.

Create a Special Social Media Team

Put in place a social media team to help manage constant mentions, questions or concerns from clients and the general public. A time like this requires attention and speedy responses. 

Encourage followers to send direct messages, as some communication may require privacy. This will also help lessen wait time, as your telephone operators may be bombarded with calls. You also need to look into utilizing social media listening tools to ramp up your efficiency and to get a broader understanding of the discussions in your industry during this period.

Facilitate Group Discussions with Customers

Now is the best time to get closer to your customers, especially if you have a large customer base. If you haven’t utilised the Facebook and LinkedIn groups feature as yet, now is as good a time as any to start. Your brand page might become a little convoluted if you were to answer every concern and question. The groups provide an opportunity to segment customers and serve them content relevant to them, as well as start conversations and provide materials for ongoing updates and queries.

Another key element in social media marketing during a crisis, is paying attention to paid spend during times of uncertainty. In the case of COVID-19, there’s an increase in remote working and a reduction in online shopping, as people are now turning to purchase essential items and making emergency spends.  Therefore, a few paid spend practices to consider include:

• Ensure social media campaigns are targeting specific keywords and actions that are relevant to what’s happening now and how your product/service is positioned to help. You also need to take a flexible approach to your KPI’s, as now is a downtime for businesses.

• Make sure your advertising (AD) copies are not tone deaf and aligns with your channels of promotion.

• Optimize budgets on the right promotions. If you had an ongoing promotion that may not sit well with consumer experience now, you can pause those and do a re-evaluation.

• Double check your call-to-action. Most companies are now adjusting to remote work and may need some time to have the available resources for all queries. Perhaps, update your messages to say “We will get in touch in a week”, versus “A rep will be with you right now”.

This is a challenging time for business owners, but the power of social media presents endless opportunities to connect with your clients and followers. Keep calm and get started with marketing that matters.