Covid-19: Lessons Every Content Marketer and Brand Should Learn to Keep Customers Engaged

Believe it or not, but the global pandemic, which is continuing to devastate the lives of millions, has taught all, including businesses a lesson. Success for brands now lies in leveraging them to usher in content marketing opportunities. This is quite challenging because businesses shall now have to shift to an entirely new content strategy and discern themselves from others. After all, in a business landscape, where almost all brands are coming up with identical messaging, don't you think it's tough to stand out from the rest, given the crisis that's common among all? Of course, it is but success will knock the doors of those who deliver the same message in a different tone and recognise the marketing opportunities in time. Has this revelation tickled your curiosity? Well then, keep reading for we have enlisted four key takeaways from our own experience while interacting with our clients.

Here Goes The List of Lessons For Every Content Marketer and Entrepreneur.

• How Should You Communicate With Customers Now?

The global pandemic has had its impact not just on the health of people but also on their minds.People, nowadays, have turned cynical and no longer believe the sugar-coated words of promotional content. Rather, trust those which extend support to customers to deal with the crisis or simply continue with the way they served them in the past i.e. before the outbreak. So, always avoid promising something that you know will never be of any value.

Another thing to note is that people are no longer focusing on short-term goals, rather concentrating on long-term ones. This shift can only be supported by providing target audiences with educational content. So, keep this in mind that your promotional content need not be always around the product solutions offered to customers, rather be the other way around so that it enlightens them on new arenas.

• How to Strike The Right Balance Between Sensitivity and Optimism?

It's a tad complex to comprehend this but not impossible. The notion is to adopt a middle of the road management by not dwelling on negativities nor ignoring the reality. While the prior will block the entry of customers to your doorstep post-pandemic, the latter will make your customers lose trust in you when they encounter a divergence between what you conveyed and what they experienced in reality. Rather, the right tone of your marketing message can only be learned from the experiences of your customers or your employees, who are suffering from the health and economic impacts of the global pandemic. So, talk to them in person but of course, virtually because social distancing should not be violated, no matter how worse the situation gets.

Also, your strategy and consequent communication on social media might receive a bad reaction or a situation might occur when your marketing tone might accidentally earn a negative response. In that case, the wisest thing to do is accept the mistake and seek apology to customers. However, be careful because any kind of wrong messaging might cause a fatal blow to your brand. The smartest move will be to discuss your content strategy in prior with your organisational members to desist yourself from making a mistake.

• How to Recognise Opportunities in Content Marketing During This Pandemic?

By opportunity, we suggest taking the time to understand what's in demand at the moment. It can either be products or solutions during the pandemic, but if your enterprise caters to none of them directly then go for infotainment in your digital content. As people have minimized time spent on commuting to the office and mostly work remotely, you can fill in the time saved by them with something relevant to your business as well as high in entertainment quotient. Yes, we agree this will not contribute directly to your ROI but it will work on your brand's goodwill as people will remember you mostly for the positive experiences you ensured to them during the challenging times. The idea is to identify a pain point in your audience and alleviate it through relevant content mostly the ones relating to "do-it-yourself"

• Is Relying on The Same KPIs a Wise Thing To Do?

KPIs may shift, especially during a crisis and it's not a big deal, until and unless you keep it to yourself. So, the wisest thing is to communicate whatever you recognise both internally and externally. For instance, question yourself – what's the purpose of marketing content, and what KPIs should I assign to it? Once decided, convey it to both your clients and employees to keep them all on the same page. Such an approach will not just improve the odds of success but also clarify to your stakeholders whatever you are trying to achieve. Also, it's better not to rely solely on quantitative data but also qualitative data while working on content to make it more engaging.

Covid-19 shall stay for a long time and people shall experience its repercussions for many years to come. This is indeed unfortunate, but as a content marketer or a brand, the least that you can do is ensure the safety and wellbeing of your customers through support. If that is channeled through value generated content then stay at ease, as that will never go out of style. And of course, keep the key lessons in mind to deal with situations, no matter how adverse it gets. As of help is concerned, Plus Promotions in Ireland is there to cater to your content marketing needs. So, do not shy away from asking questions and involving professional content writers for the creation of engaging content. Lastly, adapt to whatever situation life throws at your business and always try to keep the positive tone in your content alive.