When it comes to successful marketing, context makes a huge difference. So as we continue to face the dramatic cultural changes brought on by COVID-19, it’s more important than ever for businesses to carefully adjust their marketing campaigns and communications to thoughtfully connect with their audience, and not alienate them. To help you create more mindful marketing, here are some tips to help during a crisis:
Step 1: Review Current Campaigns
It’s best to begin with what you already have in the hopper. Certainly from a financial standpoint, before you spend on creating new content, review your current schedule and campaigns. Some plans will need to be put on hold until life returns to normal, but hopefully they won’t have to be dismissed completely. You’ll want to consider if anything can be revised or adjusted to have a more appropriate message. If you find you’re having to put most of your plans on hold, there is one positive to remember: Hopefully the content will still be relevant once the outbreak subsides and you’ll have a schedule that is full and ready to go.
Step 2: Consider Your Messaging
Then going forward, you’ll want to consider all your wording and imagery with appropriateness in mind—whether it’s from your current campaign or newly-created content. It’s important to think about what message you’re sending your audience. For example, when selecting images and graphics, stay away from anything that implies touching or groups of people gathering. Businesses should also be careful with their language, staying clear of anything that implies touching, gathering or getting together. Remember: Words are powerful, and images are even more so.
Step 3: Stay in Your Lane
In a world where misinformation in flying around daily and the situation is ever-changing, people are hungry for the latest update. Even if you have information that you’re confident is accurate, be sure that it makes sense that you would be the one with the credibility to provide it. For instance, finding out about how to enter transactions relating to one of the SBA loan programs into QuickBooks makes sense coming from a bookkeeper, not a dentist.
Step 4: Tone Makes All the Difference
During these stressful times, a positive outlook and honest communications can make a huge difference. You’ll want to keep your consumers informed and communicate what you and your employees are doing to keep safe, as well as how you plan to protect your customers. But be cautious: You don’t want to create more worry than is already out there. Make sure to keep the tone positive, while at the same time, it’s important to be honest with how your business is handling the situation. Just keep in mind that we’re all human and going through this together. If you keep your messaging genuine and not tone deaf, you’ll connect.
Step 5: Can You Help?
Lastly, if there is any product or service you can offer to help your audience, it’s important to communicate that—in a way that is helpful, not bragging. Again, consider your tone, and let people know you’re here to help them in any way you can.
Though we don’t know when life will return to “normal,” there will come a day when it will. By keeping your marketing messaging thoughtful during these trying times, it’s your best chance to help your customers and continue to connect with them. If you are struggling to set the right tone in your content or have further questions, we are here to help!
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