From practicing social distancing to continually washing our hands and now wearing masks, the Coronavirus has caused us all to shift the way we normally operate. For business owners and marketers, this includes adjusting your marketing strategy.
Life as we know it has been flipped upside down. A month or so ago, your ad campaigns were probably humming along. You may have been on your way to a trade show, or attending an in-person meeting with a prospective client.
Since then, a lot has changed. Now is the time to proactively look for new avenues to generate business, while also maintaining relationships with your existing customers.
Here are a few tips to help you navigate this unprecedented time, specifically as it pertains to your digital marketing strategy:
Consumers Spending More Time Online
We’re all stuck at home. With no restaurants to go to, or sporting events to attend, Americans are spending more time online. What does that mean for you as a marketer? Hopefully its pretty clear. Now is the time to put yourself out there. If you’re not running ad campaigns, it’s as good a time as any to jump in.
Many of our clients run pay-per-click ads and the latest trend we are seeing is that paid ads are becoming cheaper. It makes sense because the way these ad networks make money is through an auction system. With less competition to help drive up the cost for ads there isn’t as much competition for the inventory, so the cost per click decreases.
Industry Conferences and Trade Shows
Industry conferences and trade shows were likely a major part of your marketing spend. These events are relied upon, as they are a core part of our business when it comes to generating new business and nurturing relationships with existing clients. Now, most, if not all, of these events have been canceled or postponed for the foreseeable future.
So, what should you do moving forward?
Moving towards virtual events and digital engagement will be a key difference-maker in maintaining growth in the coming months. Another tool to consider – LinkedIn. It’s underrated as a lead generation platform, and for its ability to communicate your value to current customers.
What You Can Do In the Meantime
Sometimes we simply don’t have the time to look at all the things we are doing on a daily or even a weekly basis. We often take the mindset of “set it and forget it.”
While that may have worked for Ron Popiel, that’s never a good strategy to take when it comes to your marketing.
While keeping things in perspective, now is a good time to review and potentially revamp your digital marketing strategy. Maybe you’ve been putting off redoing your website or maybe you haven’t updated the content of your ad campaigns for a few months.
Over these next however many months, most of us won’t be making that daily commute to work each day, or a few days on our calendar have been cleared. Now’s the time to use those extra hours to get a head start.
In a nutshell, it is a perfect time to work on your business, not in it.