Whoever thought that one man alone can’t change the world, has never eaten an undercooked bat. 

Jokes aside, we’re going through unprecedented times. Our generation hasn’t faced anything like this before. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing a huge change in lifestyle and consumer behaviour all around us.

And I believe this will pave the way for massive disruption and digital transformation all over the world.

If you’re worried about your business being adversely affected by the current situation or if you just want to see better results on your marketing campaigns, let’s talk. We’d love to help you out. Talk to us here.

What’s changing?

Let’s first look at what’s changing. Now, according to experts, the following are the main areas that we must closely observe:

• Change in human behaviour.
• Competence and utility of available technology.
• Rise of new needs and demands that didn’t exist earlier.
• And finally, the changing definition of essential and non-essential.

Countries all over the world are on lockdown. People have been self quarantined for weeks now. Nobody is travelling internationally. People want lesser direct interactions with other people. Introverts all over the world finally have their dreams come true.

In the midst of all this, people use the technology available to them to make their lives easier. Need groceries? Get them delivered to your home. Everything from paying bills, to watching movies, you can do it on your phone.

Many businesses have shut down. Those who can, are working from home. Office meetings that once required people to be physically present are now being conducted via video conference calls.

Video conferencing services like Zoom and Hangouts Meet are experiencing a massive surge in daily usage. As of March 31, the cumulative daily meeting minutes on Hangouts Meet surpassed 2 billion minutes per day.

We’ve experienced an immediate change in consumer behaviour as well. With local shops shut down, people are looking for new ways to get what they need.

As the pandemic causes these changes in consumer behaviour, businesses all over the world will have to come up with innovative ways to meet their demands and to keep up with the competition.

• Swiggy and Zomato have partnered up with grocery stores to get groceries delivered to people.
• People see pharmacies as disease hotspots now. And since more people want medicines delivered to them, local pharmacies have started home delivery services as well.
• Even big names like BMW are seizing this opportunity and making the best of it. You can buy a BMW car while sitting at home. Customize the car, speak to a sales executive via video call, send them the necessary documents and make an online payment. They’ll even sanitize the car for you.

How does this affect Digital Marketing?

As a digital marketer, I feel like this will impact the industry positively. With more people using the internet, brands have responded by shifting ad spend from offline to online media.

Companies are willing to invest in Digital Marketing now more than ever. Especially B2B companies.

These months will indeed be a challenging time for any kind of business who isn’t ready and aware of how to make up for their lost business opportunities. One thing is for sure. Now is the time to define your digital opportunity, set your strategy and take action to implement your plan.

In the coming months, businesses are going to rely more than ever on digital marketing. After going through the economic slowdown during these past few weeks, what they do with their digital marketing could be a matter of survival.

Industries that have depended on word of mouth to get more revenue will suffer the most. B2B companies that have usually relied on trade shows, events and expos, are now planning on investing in digital marketing. Check out this infographic by Marketing Charts.

Everyone from small businesses to large businesses have lost a ton of money during these past months. To make up for this, more and more companies are predicted to invest in digital advertising. Companies that do not even have an online presence will be looking into social media marketing, content marketing, SEO and influencer marketing. 

More companies want to launch or revamp their websites, start digital campaigns and launch new e-commerce channels. They are willing to spend as much as they would normally spend on events. They do not want to miss out on the possibilities that going digital has to offer. 

According to eMarketer’s data, the best use of ad spend right now is PPC, followed by email marketing.

Let’s now talk about some effective marketing strategies you can implement during these weeks.

Facebook Marketing

• According to a recent announcement, due to staffing changes, reviewing new ads might take longer than usual. Facebook is relying on automated systems to review new ads. If you cannot afford to wait, instead of creating new ads, it may be better to extend an already well-performing ad.
• With more people spending time on social media, it’s a great time to put out engaging content that spreads brand/product awareness. Talk to your audience, and let them know how they will benefit from your services. Recently I came across this ad on Instagram from a clothing brand popular among youngsters. It was a video of a woman talking about how the pandemic was affecting their sales. To make up for the losses, they were having a sale. You can order anything from their app, and get a flat 30% off on all their products. This offer is only valid for a week or so. After the lockdown has been relaxed, the orders will be delivered.
• You can also have a Facebook lead ad campaign, and build up your email list for your email marketing campaigns. Couple your ad campaign with an interesting offer or a challenge. Since more people are going to be on social media to beat boredom, gamification is also a good strategy. Keep in mind, your lead forms should be simple. The more information you ask, the fewer interest people will have.
• Test out Engagement Custom Audiences to target users that have engaged with your content over Facebook’s family of apps. 

If you’d like to create killer Facebook Ad campaigns for your business, our team of experts are glad to help. Visit our page here to learn more.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is cheap. And it is super effective! A simple email can go a long way. It could be a message to your customers that your shop still exists. As mentioned above, you could run a lead generation campaign and build up your mailing list contacts. You can also use emails to re-target people who have visited your website.

Our team can help you build effective email lists and run successful email campaigns that convert. Have a look at how we can help.

Google Ads

You should still focus on Google Ads campaigns if you hope to keep your business afloat. This does not only apply to essential services like food and medicine. You have a better chance of reaching and impacting your target audience during this time because the competition is lesser than before. This could be a chance to overcome your competition if you strategize your campaigns well. You can use Google Ads campaigns to spread brand awareness, for lead generation, and a lot more.

Oh and here’s a pro tip. With more people spending time on YouTube for news and entertainment, video ads are an excellent investment right now. Check out our article on the different types of YouTube ads for more information. While we’re talking about YouTube, we’ve also got an article that goes in-depth into how you can promote your YouTube channel.

If you’d like to run Google Ad campaigns for your business that convert, our team of experts are glad to help. Visit our page here to learn more.

SEO

People might not be searching for your business right now. But that does not mean you should stop working on your search engine optimization. If you stop optimising your page now when the dust has settled and when demand comes back, your website’s organic rankings will suffer. This will affect your business even worse than the current situation you’re in. It’s highly important to maintain your SEO efforts right now.

With the world reeling from the effects of this pandemic, we’re seeing a change in human behaviour and more consumers are going online. Companies can capitalise on this only if they put themselves out there to be found by customers.

The message is clear, get with the times. Go digital to keep up with the competition, or lose. With the entire world undergoing a digital transformation, trust me, you don’t want to be late to the game. If you need to talk about marketing strategies, we’ve got experts here at Vividreal you can talk to. 

In case you need help with SEO for your website, do give us a try; we would be more than happy to help you out.