12 Real-Time Marketing Strategies During Crunch Time
By Kelsey Linden
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has left humanity reliant on technology, which has sent a global shockwave across the internet, with people doing whatever they can to adapt into the virtual space and stay connected. And if it were not already practical for businesses to embrace digital as a means to reach the public, it has now become the only means for connection, and therefore, survival.
This is a critical time for any business owner, but historically, the companies that thrived during economic tragedies, are those who creatively reevaluated their strategies. It is not about reinventing the wheel, but finding a smoother road to travel in order to keep moving.
With that said, the essence of the ‘moving wheel’ is traction within the brand and marketing execution of the company to continuously drive customer engagement and business relations.
Contrary to popular belief, marketing does not have to cost a lot of money, and there are many free strategies businesses can implement today to build that traction, and not just stay afloat, but thrive.
1. Reconnect with your WHY.
It can be challenging at a time like this to even remember why you started your business, but now more than ever, it is THE motivation that will help carry you through the storm and inspire you to think creatively about the value your brand brings to the world as well as your vision for its future. While it is important to comment on the state of the world, do not get lost in making your business solely about COVID-19 to the point where you forget to drive the value of why your business exists. How can you channel that “WHY” in every digital campaign you publish? How can you think about your consumer and find ways to appeal to their situation? How can your business help them NOW?
2. Create a Mini-Mantra.
Consider your business a vehicle to add value and your mini-mantra the words that summarize your personal position of what you stand to create for the world during this time. Instead of leaning into dread and fear, choose to be a beacon hope. Lead from the front and see the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity for your business to impact change. What feelings do you to elicit from the public? How do want to show up? What can you do to inspire others to do the same?
3. Reengage Your Network.
Think of all the people who have ever taken the time to invest their time or money into your business, whether it be colleagues, customers, followers or fans of the brand, endorsers, investors. These are all people who have willingly given to you because they saw value in what you were doing. Now is the time to reengage, to catch up and see how you can nurture that initial interest with what you are choosing to do now. A word of caution: Basic outreach that is inwardly focused and not personalized will yield little fruit. Take the time to think about the receiving party and how you can add value or offer to help them while still promoting your business. Any time you reach out to your network, do the little extras to stand out and make a bigger impact.
4. Offer Incentives and Promotions.
Promotions and incentives are quick sales drivers for businesses, but are only sustainable for a limited time and ought not to be overused. Instead of running the same offers, how can you be more creative with your campaigns to not only generate sales, but also referrals? Consider the value of what you can offer the public. Maybe there is an educational video you can promote or a commitment-based incentive you can give in exchange for referrals? Additionally, how can you give back to other local businesses with gift-card promotions? The most successful promotions oftentimes are less about the money and more about the cause. The aim is to unite and help each other thrive through the value shared.
5. Share Your Good News.
What has been happening with your business? Any exciting new ventures or work? If you have Some Good News (thank you John Krasinski), now is the time to share it. Considering the COVID-19 crisis is a communal reality that has never been experienced before, people are genuinely curious to hear how others are adapting to these changes. It is a great way to relate to people level and show vulnerability (thank you Brené Brown), but at the same time, share a bit about what your company is doing to thrive during this time. Put together a ‘Some Good News’ campaign for the public to catch people up. Any charitable acts to share or local businesses that need support? Your voice is more powerful that you think, so take the time to share your good news and thoughts (maybe even your WHY or your mini-mantra) with the world.
6. Optimize Your Messaging.
Lean on the work you have already done with your WHY and mini-mantra to optimize your messaging across all your digital channels, i.e. Website, Social, Video, etc. Think about your user experience and how can you frame the language to achieve your desired result. It is important that the messaging be succinct, but also impactful. If it does not add value, or veers away from your WHY, or creates even the slightest bit of confusion about your brand, do yourself a favor and omit it. This is an opportunity for you to translate what you personally feel about your brand into words, and the goal of that messaging is to create unity around a common feeling to drive engagement.
7. Reevaluate Your Content.
Similar to the messaging, your visual content says just as much about your brand and what you are trying to create. Apply the same thought metrics from your WHY and mini-mantra to create cohesive content designs that not only fit the industry of your brand, but also the ideal consumer you are trying to engage. How can you create content that supports the messaging for any new campaigns surrounding the cause? Use your platform as a digital spotlight for others to grow and receive value from your brand.
8. Ask for Feedback.
With taking the time to reevaluate brand messaging and content strategy, utilize the expertise of those in the industry to get feedback on your work. There has never been a better time to centralize your marketing efforts, and part of that is testing the market to see how people respond. You may think you have a clear concept or idea, but if someone is confused, it is likely others will be too. Feedback is more often a free service that yields invaluable results and can potentially save you thousands overtime. It is about identifying the blind spots you cannot see yourself and making small shifts to ensure the greatest impact.
9. Building Partnerships.
COVID-19 is not just threatening individual businesses, but industries, and that means thinking about the greater long-term picture. During this time, choose to think of your competitors as allies and explore ways to collaborate with complimentary companies who are in support of your same customer type. Which companies do you admire or respect? If you have an idea to help the public that is specific to your industry, why not share it with like-minded individuals who can add value? Consider offering an educational workshop across your industry and invite different leaders to speak and share their unique perspectives. You might be surprised what partnerships and friendships you can create out of this crisis, but ultimately, uniting with your fellow colleagues will help your business grow and lead you to generate more impact in the public sphere.
10. Value-Add Education.
Education is a value that you can freely give, which often stems from your particular level of expertise in your related field. Your company has a considerable amount of talent at its disposal. How can you utilize that talent to create a value-add position in the market? What do you or your team members know that others do not? What advice can you offer in your industry? How can you turn a one-way conversation into an interactive educational video? Most businesses do not fully realize how much unique value they can offer until they take the time to evaluate what makes their organization great. Take a moment to cultivate a list of strengths and skills you have, and then ask yourself: “How can this be shared?”
11. Turn to Your Creatives.
When the COVID-19 crisis struck, the world was forced to harness imagination and original ideas to adapt their very physical lives into a virtual reality. Creativity is the birthplace of new, and therefore, an outlet for businesses who are faced with economic uncertainty. Sometimes it takes a tragedy to foster new ideas, but the companies that thrived during the past recessions were those that creatively molded their business models to the adjusting climate, such as Netflix, Amazon, Groupon, and Dominos. Again, it is not about reinventing the wheel, but finding a smoother path for the wheel to ride for the long haul. Embrace the adventure of finding your smoother path and give yourself the creative permission to explore it.
12. Focus on Giving.
Nobody is unaffected by this crisis, and instead of adopting a toilet-paper hoarding mentality, choose to give to the world in whatever way you can. This is less about money and more about thought and time. Take the time to invest in people in everything you do, whether it be a new marketing campaign or a simple tweet. The world does not stop, but everyone will be forever changed from this event in history. Think about your individual role. Think about the role of your business. How did you leave an impact? How did you give to humanity? What shifts did you make to create positive change? These might be the most important questions you ask yourself and your team members over these next few months, but the time is now to decide how you and your business will show up.
In the spirit of giving, Silicon Drive has launched a limited time initiative to help early stage companies with FREE personalized 1-hour marketing strategy calls, which involve a deep dive into the individual company’s current marketing strategy and targeted feedback around what creative strategies to employ based on brand, industry, and budget. For inquiries, please contact Silicon Drive at info@1silicondrive.com.
