The world has been dealt a major blow due to the effects of COVID-19, and the economy itself is in an extreme state of crisis.
Social distancing has evolved from a voluntary measure to a mandated order for many parts of the globe.
As a result, certain industries—including travel and hospitality—are taking a major hit. We know-how concerning this can be for small business owners like you. Just know that we are all in this together.
Marketing During the Coronavirus
Small businesses are panicking and unsure of what the future holds. And quite honestly, it wouldn’t surprise us if your competitors are doing the same. Whatever you do, don’t fall into this trap.
It’s human nature to expect the worst when it feels like everything is in a state of uncertainty. However, this isn’t our country’s first rodeo.
Considering that we’ve bounced back from worst situations in the past, history has proven that our resilience is stronger than our shortcomings.
COVID-19 is merely a setback for small businesses. Authorities are aiming to “flatten the curve” of this pandemic as we speak, and they’re doing so in an attempt to lower the number of cases.
Although a mandated shelter-in-place may be an inconvenience to your business, it was implemented for our own safety. The sooner we contain this virus, the sooner we can get back to business as usual.
There is no doubt in our minds that we will overcome this crisis. When the economy recovers, you’ll want to be well-prepared.
That’s why now is the time to be proactive so that you can set your business up for a post-recovery comeback.
Smart business owners are doing just that. They are looking beyond our present reality and working towards solutions that can solidify their long-term success.
Your to-do list is probably filled to the brim with marketing tasks you wanted to tackle ages ago. The good news for you? You now have the bandwidth to play catch up (among other things).
Alternatively, you can also knock these crucial items off your list.
Increase your online visibility with SEO.
There’s been an uptick in online activity as more people are ordered to work and retreat at home. With limitations on the places we can go and the things we can do, the internet has become our primary source for entertainment, information, and communication.
We rely on it more than we ever have before. For some people, their eyes are practically glued to their devices to avoid the fear of missing out.
Search engines have also seen a large rise in traffic. Do you know what this means? It’s your time to shine and maximize your ability to be seen.
SEO is a proven, low-cost marketing strategy for small businesses. If done correctly, SEO can get you more traffic and exposure on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
In the SEO world, there is no better achievement than the first-page ranking on Google. This is the ultimate stamp of approval that not only makes you look good, but it also helps you stand out from your competition.
By having a high-ranking position in the search engines, it gives users the impression that there’s something special about your company that your competitors may lack. Websites that are buried on the second, third, and fourth page of search results don’t get much attention.
The only way to increase your rankings is to strengthen your SEO strategy.
With all that’s going on, we’re almost certain that a few of your competitors will neglect SEO. They’re too busy panicking and thinking of ways to achieve instant gratification with their marketing efforts to care.
This is an opportunity for you to boost your relevance in the search engines. While your competitors are wasting their time with get-rich-quick marketing schemes, you can yield an even higher return on investment by keeping at the long game.
SEO requires a lot of patience (in case you didn’t know by now), as it takes time to see results from your efforts. There are also multiple working parts of a solid SEO strategy. If you’re unsure of where to begin, Rocket Pilots can help steer your strategy in the right direction.
Stay connected with your audience on social media.
Companies (big and small) have done a great job of keeping their customers in the loop during this crisis.
To ensure that their customers are informed of any major updates, companies have been actively communicating through their social media feeds and email marketing channels.
Although your customers are dealing with enough already, they don’t want to be left in the dark about the products or services you’re providing to them. In fact, they want comfort and assurance that your company will be there for them every step of the way.
Generosity goes a long way in times of crisis. Whether you choose to offer a freebie or suspend their next payment, paying it forward is a surefire way to build customer loyalty. Your customers will remember you’re good deeds the next time they have to choose between you and your competitors.
There’s a fine line between showing support and overtly capitalizing off of fear. Your customers don’t want to be sold to right now. They want to know that your brand is in touch with reality and sensitive to their needs.
Online and offline, we’re stronger together. This crisis is an opportune time to establish deeper connections with your social media audience.
Keep building your SEO content library.
If you’re not consistent with your SEO efforts, your search rankings will either drop or remain in stagnation.
Search engines respond well to content that is optimized for their platforms. As you add more content to your website with different keywords, it leaves room for your website to appear for a variety of different search queries. More hits to your website translate to higher rankings and increased traffic, which is a win-win for you and Google.
SEO content serves multiple different purposes. Aside from getting you found in the search engines, it can also position you as an authority.
Your website is like your own personal platform, and having ownership of a platform makes it easier to build credibility as an industry thought leader.
More likely than not, your competitors are spewing the same information through their marketing content. The good thing about creating your own content is that you can communicate your own unique perspective.
There are many ways that a library of content can benefit your bottom line. For starters, quality content entices your users to stay longer on your site.
Content marketing is the new brochure. Unlike newspapers and magazines, you can track the data of your online content. It’s also one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies out there. It costs nothing to write a blog post or film a marketing video.
Focus on known and proven tactics.
The coronavirus pandemic came out of nowhere. As a result, small businesses are scrambling to keep their operations afloat. This is not the time to make knee-jerk decisions. Smart moves are your only option.
One wrong pivot could drain your marketing budget. That’s why it’s important to stick to what you know.
The marketing data you’ve accumulated over the years is there for a reason. You’ll be better off by leaning on it for strategic guidance.
Spend your time wisely.
SEO is an ongoing process. It’s one thing to make it to the top, but it’s another to stay there. You have to keep working at your strategy in order to maintain those high rankings.
This requires some daily upkeep on your part (or your marketing agency’s part)—more specifically, daily website optimization and SEO content creation. Failure to stay the course may result in less search engine visibility, which you don’t want.
SEO is an organic marketing strategy. Although you can purchase ads in the search engines (by way of search engine marketing), you can earn a high ranking without paying for it. The fact that Google doesn’t charge us for organic traffic is a huge deal.
According to Search Engine Land, Google receives more than 2 trillion search queries a year. That’s a lot of free traffic that your business can benefit from. On the other hand, Forbes reported that 67.6% of that traffic goes to the first page of results.
Website traffic often converts into leads and depending on the effectiveness of your strategy, those leads can turn into paying customers.
This alone proves that a neglected SEO strategy can cost you thousands of dollars, especially if it contributes to a bulk of your website traffic.
It’s important to make time for SEO. Either that, or you can keep passing it off to someone else. Keep working at it little by little, because a little bit of effort can go a long way in the long run.
Just look at it this way: If you continue to put your pedal to the metal while your competitors take their feet off the gas, you could easily surpass them.
This would also be a great time to update your content strategy, develop more client case studies, or even work on your video strategy.
Measure, measure, measure.
Your marketing efforts are useless if you can’t measure the results. Without data to evaluate the success of your campaigns, how else can you improve them? Unless you have extra money to throw out the window, it would serve you best to put every penny to good use.
The last thing you want right now is to waste your hard-earned marketing dollars. With reliable data, you can intercept at any time to reallocate your ad spend to initiatives that are more cost-effective. Metrics should be your benchmark for what works with your strategy and what doesn’t.
You need key performance indicators to compare with the traffic, leads, and revenue that you’re getting. Establishing them is less of a hassle when you set them up in the very beginning.
Use empathetic messaging in your marketing materials.
Your customers are really feeling the effects of this crisis right now. Their jobs are on the line, their health might be at risk, and their sense of reality is in question. That’s a lot for one person to take in.
You owe it to them to be there through the good times and the bad. Rather than bombard them with sales and collection emails, you might want to express empathy through your messaging.
By doing this, your updates could be the very thing that brightens their day when it seems like all hope is lost.
Empathy is the key to building genuine connections with your customers. If you want them to stick around, keep nurturing those long-lasting relationships with them.
Here for You When You Need Us
Rocket Pilots is committed to helping you succeed in every way possible. Please know that you’re not alone. If there’s anything our marketing experts can help you with, don’t hesitate to let us know.
