The beginning of 2020 is time for big changes for all businesses and all industries. Some businesses feel growth in demand for their products and services, but some businesses had to stop their operations. That doesn't mean that marketing processes should stop. On the opposite, it is time to change strategy and act fast and smart.
PPC and Social Media Advertising
Attracting new customers is something that most businesses cannot exist without.
Since the beginning of March 2020, there has been a noticeable decrease in the volume of paid advertising purchased by advertisers. Obviously, these marketing channels that usually give instant returns are now becoming unprofitable. Although it will become noticeably cheaper in the near future, paid advertising in social media is unlikely to be profitable in the short term. There will be a lot of traffic and few purchases. Content Marketing and COVID-19 We believe that those companies that continue to implement their digital strategy especially in terms of content, improving conversion and SEO as a channel of attraction will be able to recover much faster and more efficiently when it all ends. Creating new content is like making an investment that will not be paid back immediately.
It does not matter that there is no demand right now. The demand will eventually return, but contact with your customer needs to be maintained continuously.
It is a good time to make your website content audit and update it, or maybe consider redesigning you website. Here are few good recommendations for your content marketing inspired by Google:
Take into account the local context of current events while creating new content.
Keep in mind that everything changes quickly and you might need to adapt and change your content accordingly
Be creative but with caution, especially when it comes to mentioning COVID-19
Keep help people in these situations as a priority
Coronavirus SEO
Investments in SEO will have an affect in 3-4 months when the peak of the crisis is behind us and we will have to do our best to catch up. Those who do not take advantage of the current moment to do SEO properly will lose a lot.
What's next?
Any crisis is a time when the strong become stronger and the weak die. The economy will need several years to recover. What can be assumed from analysis of previous global economic crises:
An increase in bankruptcy and a reduction in marketing budgets will lead to a marked decrease in competition. The problem is that the "surviving" companies will fight with each other for the consumer, who has become poorer.
Therefore, a reasonable strategy is to reduce the cost of current active advertising and redistribute them in favor of long-term marketing investments, such as SEO and social media.
In any entrepreneur's mind, it must be unreasonable to just “sit out” the crisis without changing anything. It is hard to survive with the same marketing tools that you had in February 2020, and you will not return to the same markets as before.
Summary
After the crisis, there will be an unusual and non-seasonal demand, for which you need to prepare
Companies all over the world are switching to Digital. Reduce PPC costs by leaving only the most effective campaigns.
Start to invest in SEO: this will give you an advantage in 3-4 months when it becomes easier.