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The current COVID-19 crisis has pushed businesses to reconsider their digital marketing strategies. With the world under quarantine, the changes in online activity are unprecedented.

According to Amanda Betsold, VP of Programmatic at iCrossing, media consumption has gone up significantly. Data shows that 46% of consumers are using social media more than the week before March 27th. Also, organic search is up by 33% as information is on the rise.

So, as behavior shifts, how can your business adapt to these new trends? Below are some tips for adapting your strategy. 

The Key to Build Your Marketing Campaigns 

The research comes first. This will come in many different forms, but together, it will allow you to build purposeful strategies. 

Digital marketing is highly volatile these days. Therefore, keeping an eye on what consumers are searching online is quite necessary. 

Also, following your competitors will give you an idea of how they are responding to the current market needs.

Do not limit your searches to trends in your industry. Indeed, the COVID-19 situation is going to see a great deal of cross over in topics. 

One example is the increase in organic searches for labor laws. As a result, lawyers can include relevant keywords to labor law consultation services within their digital marketing campaigns. 

Tip! Between the fourth week of February and the first week of April, organic searches reveal: 

• Searches for Nursing home abuse attorneys increased by 1150%
• Searches for Wrongful termination lawyers increased by 67.99%

Additionally, look into how other industries are responding. At the moment, everyone has to adjust to similar limitations. You should keep an eye on other industries to re-apply any strategy that can work for you.

Furthermore, organic searches include keywords such as “at home,” “delivery,” and “shipping.” As a restaurant owner, adding delivery services would help your business.

On the other hand, if you are a furniture store owner, people who are working at home may be searching for home office furniture. Consequently, this is your chance to inform them of brands, styles, or promotions.

To add, the dental industry shows areas of opportunities in digital marketing. Searches for emergency dental services have increased by 96% in the past weeks and continue to rise.

Think Outside The Box

Though the current conditions have never occurred, analyzing past challenges might provide direction on how to combat the situation. Altogether, consumers and markets may mimic specific trends. 

We know that when Brexit was announced, shippers filled their warehouse spaces with inventory stockpiles to get ahead of slowdowns. Moreover, Amazon is looking to hire more employees to meet current demands. Supply managers may reconsider optimal inventory levels and storage locations. As a result, there may be an opportunity for freight and warehouse suppliers to provide their services in a time of need.

Similarly, though many transportation options have come to a halt, delivery services for food, medicine, or any other goods the community may require are highly valuable these days.

Adjust your Digital Marketing Strategy 

Cooped up and bored, people are active on social media and search engines such as YouTube, Google, and Bing to stay informed about the coronavirus. Therefore, being present where your consumers are is more important than ever for days to come. 

Businesses will need to adjust their digital marketing efforts. If there is a budget assigned to traditional marketing, it should be redirected to build or increase online presence. To illustrate, social and engaging content such as carousels, 3D images, and videos can help brands connect with potential customers. Also, these strategies can strengthen relationships with current clients.

Furthermore, adding paid social media will help generate leads and increase website traffic. 

As you begin to strengthen your digital marketing strategy, double-check platforms that state your business’s information. This includes your website, Google My Business, and Bing Places. Each should be updated with the following:

• Changes in hours of operation
• FAQs or addressing concerns regarding preventative measures
• Shifts in your phone number, in case you are operating from home or another location
• Client reviews to promote word of mouth recommendations
• Modifications in services or products to meet current demand
• Chatbot integration for easier interaction. Click here to learn more about how to use chatbot technology

Revise Your PPC Strategy

Revisions will start with your strategy and progress to your PPC campaigns. Moreover, you can start with keywords and ad copy strategies. In short, you should provide relevant information and let people know how you have adapted.

For example, you can include keywords such as  “special promotion,” delivery services,” “online consultations,” among others. Also, it will be essential to update your negative keywords lists to avoid unwanted traffic.

Your ads should remain highly visible and engaging through ad extensions. These will allow you to provide the right information. Also, they will give the audience a chance to take action directly from your ad. To illustrate; you can use promotion extensions, price extensions, site link extensions, and location extensions. 

While you should be already tracking your digital marketing efforts in Google Analytics, we recommend that you go over your current goals. Perhaps there is room for improvement. Make sure you are: 

• Tracking your visitors’ activity thoroughly: If you haven’t done it, establish a minimum amount of time they should spend on your website or a minimum amount of pages they should visit. 
• Reconnect with your past website visitors through remarketing campaigns: Let them know how you can help them during these circumstances.

Cover all the different angles of your digital marketing efforts. Paid search will put you in front of new and returning visitors. Separately, tools such as Google My Business, Bing Places, and SEO will help you own the organic search results. To clarify, these will allow you to display your business through relevant content while strengthening your digital marketing strategy.

 Leverage Tips From Our Strategists

Below are some of the reminders that our strategists thought essential for your business’ campaigns: 

• Work on your brand awareness through display ads and local YouTube campaigns
• Use call-only campaigns to encourage customers to contact you by simply clicking or tapping your ad. You can learn more about campaign types by signing up for our Academy Course on Call Only Campaigns!
• Microsoft Advertising can target your ideal audience with a high purchasing power at a lower price. This product offers features such as Linkedin Profile Targeting to reach customers filtered by company, job position, work industry. White Shark Media is offering a $250 coupon for new accounts that Microsoft adds to its digital marketing mix! So if you would like to know how we can help you with your marketing strategy, let us know!

Plan for the Future

Each of the sections mentioned above will help you navigate the current SARS-CoV-2 situation. However, your team should also begin to plan for what’s to come. As a business owner, you need to think about your post-COVID-19 efforts. 

If your business is naturally in a low season, continue working on brand awareness to prepare for the high season. 

On the other hand, if overall consumer purchases decrease during your industry’s high season due to the current crisis, sales competition may be tougher. 

However, if your business is completely affected and has no chance to adapt to the current market needs, you may consider removing your marketing altogether. Don’t.

Marketing is a long term investment. Even though you may not see it right away, ROI will reach if you stick to a purposeful digital marketing strategy. If this moment is not ideal for generating sales and leads, focus your efforts on increasing or building your email marketing lists. 

Google recently announced a $340 million support for small and medium-sized businesses to continue advertising. Get acquainted with all the requirements and specifications of Google Ads’ Credits here.

Though people are hesitant to purchase, they are still showing interest through research and queries. They are staying in the upper and middle funnel. They are just not ready to pull the trigger, but when they do, you want to be there.

A Few Last Words

Do you need help with your current digital marketing efforts? We provide everything from one-pagers on how specific verticals (automotive, dental, cosmetic surgery, warehouse, food services, legal, eCommerce, & furniture!) can adapt their campaigns to expert advice on building your marketing strategy.