Leveraging Marketing Strategies For Your Business During The COVID-19 Pandemic
This year we all forcibly took part in a historic pandemic that reached around the globe. And while total lockdown restrictions are slowly starting to be lifted, social distancing is here to stay for the foreseeable future while the virus persists. People are entering a somewhat stressful period where they adjust to a “new normal” that balances the reopening with the community with observing health and safety guidelines to keep the COVID-19 spread to a minimum. That means that businesses need to change what they offer and how they market themselves in order to meet consumer demand during these strange and uncertain times.
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The great news is, you can use online marketing tactics to help minimize the economic impact the coronavirus has on your business. Read on to learn more about marketing during a pandemic and the effect video marketing could have on our advertising using a professional videographer and some targeted ads.
Important Online Marketing Tips During COVID-19
If your sales up until now have depended on face to face transactions or a brick and mortar store, then it’s time to find a way to embrace e-commerce. Almost all types of businesses will be affected by social distancing guidelines and a population of disease-weary consumers. It could be a year or more before COVID-19 is fully behind us, and there will be long-reaching effects on the psyche of consumers over cleanliness and disease spread. That means that e-commerce, delivery, and contactless solutions to meeting in person will become the norm across as many industries as possible. This will put online digital marketing at the forefront of every company’s income and growth strategy.
The truth is, online marketing is nothing new. Some businesses have been doing it for the last 20 years. The interesting thing about digital marketing is that it evolves quickly and often. If you want to grow your business, especially in the middle of a pandemic, you’ll want to focus on the latest trends in online marketing. Here are some important tips from creative video agency LV PRODUCTION that will help improve your online marketing right now:
#1. Use Social Media To Connect With Your Customers
Right now, many people are still under some form of quarantine restrictions. As these restrictions ease in phases, social distancing will be encouraged. That means that we will all still be spending more time at home than usual and more time online looking at social media. Any good marketing professional will tell you that you need to put your message in front of your customers, meaning meet them where they already are. If your customer base hangs out on Facebook a lot then be sure to post your video content to Facebook. If you sell to a younger crowd maybe it’s time to embrace TikTok. Since you can’t be face-to-face, you can still connect using video content in a unique and engaging way.
#2. Focus Your Marketing On What Sets You Apart
If at all possible, highlight ways your business can solve problems that are a result of the current pandemic. They can be directly or indirectly related, but find a way to connect what you do with what people who are enduring a lot of change to their routine need.
#3. Use Live Video To Communicate Important Pandemic-Related Updates
In addition to video, people love interactive content. Most social platforms now offer live video streaming which you can use to communicate directly with consumers even if your business isn’t open to the public. You can take comments and questions in real-time and start a true conversation.
#4. Create Engaging Video Content With Viral Potential
Besides anxiety, one thing people all over the world are feeling is boredom. If you can entertain them and take them away from their troubles for a minute or two then they will watch and share your content. Pay attention to viral trends you can use to create your own version. Shareable content is exciting, endearing, funny, education, or relatable in some way.
#5. Increase The Impact Of Advertising With Creative Video
As you increase your ad spend on social media, consider using creative commercial video rather than static photos and text. Video vastly outperforms images or text-based ads and a higher conversion rate will bring your ad spend down to a more manageable amount. You can also accomplish better email marketing by including a video with your email. The videos are more likely to be opened and viewed than a length text-based message.
Video Ads Outperform Other Forms Of Marketing On Social Media
Let’s talk about one of the most popular places to run digital ads on social media, and that’s Facebook. Facebook has over 2 billion monthly users which is around a quarter of the entire population. Research done by AdEspresso showed that Facebook users watched close to 3 billion hours of video on the platform each and every day! So by running video ads rather than static image ads, you are giving the people what they want. Video captures attention more easily than non-moving images which are easier to scroll past. An extra pro-tip for Facebook video, make sure to upload the video directly to Facebook rather than sharing it from YouTube or your website. Facebook will give you far better reach in their algorithm this way. You should still upload video content to your website and to platforms like Youtube, but be smart about how you use that same content on Facebook or Instagram.
A Hubspot study showed that consumers were over 80% more likely to make a purchase after viewing a video ad. Video ads are not only more likely to be watched but also more likely to be shared. Videos also enjoy 135% more organic reach than text or photos. This includes video ads on social media, youtube, websites, and more. For example, you can increase conversion on your website by 80% by including a brand video. So, as you can see, there is no limit to how far you can go with video promotions.
Creating Effective Video Content That Considers The Challenges Of A Pandemic
Rather than launching into business-as-usual video marketing, you might want to take this time to focus on topics related to the pandemic. Videos you can use to help market your business during these uncertain times:
- A Brand Video With An Extra Message
All companies can benefit from a brand video that introduces who you are and explains what you do and even why you do it. Right now you have the opportunity to create a new temporary brand video that highlights changes you’ve made during the crisis or ways your business can help during social distancing.
- Video From Leadership About How You’re Dealing With Pandemic
Think of this as your own mini state of the union addresses to the public. You can talk about how your business has made changes to keep consumers safe, or how your business model or products have changed to help the consumers with that they need most. Also, don’t forget that many brands are going to have “make or break” moments over how they’ve treated employees during downtimes. If you’ve had creative solutions that helped keep employees safe or working during the pandemic, your customers would love to hear about it.
- Feel Good Videos That Are Relatable or Shareable
Your video content can also come in on the lighter side of things and show how we are all getting along and coping with these strange times. Sometimes a funny and relatable video can go viral because it’s simply entertaining. Right now people are stuck at home and looking for ways to overcome boredom using their phones and tablets to make the hours speed by. A lot of that time will be spent watching video content.
- Videos That Show Your Product Or Service As A Solution To Current Problems
Another important use of video is to educate. Film products or services in-use to increase conversion rates. You can also film unboxing videos, customer reviews, testimonials, and DIY videos related to the things you offer.
Hiring A Professional Videographer To Take Your Digital Marketing Further
In order to make your video marketing dreams a reality, you’re going to want to hire a professional videographer. This is someone who can help you develop engaging concepts, film them with high-quality equipment, edit them with the latest software, and help you strategically use your videos within a marketing plan. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the perfect video content partner for you is LV Production. Hire a full-time videographer that has the education and experience to help you launch your video marketing campaigns. Aside from making stunning videos, LV Production has plenty of marketing know-how to help you get the most sales and leads from each piece of video content so your business can continue to grow.