The short answer is… sort of. This is a very uncertain time right now for everyone trying to do business. Every business has been negatively effected by the COVID-19 outbreak, except for the toilet paper industry, that is!
That does not mean we have to stop all business and day to day endeavors outright due to the outbreak. Here is some food for thought regarding Digital Marketing in these sure to be unusual days ahead:
Quarantine
That might sound horrifying and perhaps you are picturing your favorite zombie apocalypse movie right now. But it does not have to be from a marketing perspective.
With everyone cooped up in their homes all day that means everyone (and I mean everyone) is on the internet all day! So if you are worrying how to keep your company “top of mind” while everyone is at home stocking TP then look no further than digital marketing. With a captive audience, now it the time to up your social media game with more engaging content, ads and promoted posts.
You want to be the first company consumers want to reach out to when we can climb out of our bunkers stocked with paper goods. Paid advertising efforts will also play strongly here too. From video ads before that latest news report or websites telling you how to flatten the curve, marketing will be vitally important in this time when the only way to get to consumers is from their computers, phones and televisions.
Ad Spend Limiting Is Not Smart
This one seems pretty self explanatory for a couple of guys who follow a brass goose with hopes of total digital marketing domination (which translates to: “we need people to keep advertising so our business can continue”). This is not a self-serving warning, but a prediction of the uphill battle you could be up against by stopping ad spend due to this uncertain pandemic. This could take you out of the race for staying “top of mind” to consumers. That could mean a long slog getting back to where you were before dropping out of the market race that happens every day in online advertising efforts.
For all companies, advertising is the way they keep the money coming in. Without advertising, people forget about you and money you need to run your business can dry up pretty quickly. It might seem smart to just slow down your advertising efforts and wait for COVID-19 to pass, but that could be catastrophic for your business.
Some companies are actually planning a 7.1% increase in digital marketing budget efforts as competition increases due to COVID-19 and the use of other forms of advertising make less sense (like billboards).
Uncertainty is Scary
We get it. This is scary for us too. And if you are in an industry like travel, COVID-19 is a real kick in the beak! But while it might seem scary and jittery to carry on, it is the best thing to do. Utilizing digital ads to show your organizations value in a time as scary as this can go along way. Show people value of your business while keeping at the “top of mind” when people are given the green light to leave their homes and get out there again! Go into this uncertainty with confidence and knowledge that this too shall pass. Continuing business as usual as best as possible is the best path forward as we navigate our lives and businesses on a day to day basis.
At Golden Goose Digital Marketing we just want to help. We do that through helping companies get themselves out there. We want our readers and companies to know we are here for you and will do anything we can to help in a safe and practical manner. And since I promised Joshua this blog post would not be as long as my last I will end it here. Stay positive, stay healthy, stay hopeful, don’t panic.
