In times of anxiety and fear of the unknown, it is more important than ever to re-evaluate marketing strategies and shift efforts to adapting to the new normal – regardless if this a temporary moment in history or if it’s defining our future as we know it. Whether its re-thinking launches, strengthening our strategic marketing muscles or preparing for what might be to come, here are some insights on how to prioritize your marketing efforts in times of crisis.
Re-Evaluate Campaigns
As crushing as it may be, putting a hold on or adjusting the campaign or product launch you’ve been planning for months may be necessary. Many brands have suspended or shifted campaigns in response to the coronavirus crisis. KFC had to pull “finger-licking good” campaigns out of what some found insensitive to the hygiene pleas from health organizations. Guinness adjusted St. Patrick’s Day ads as signs of encouragement to those practicing self-isolation. Nike and others reimagined their slogans and logos to encourage the masses to practices social distancing. Reconsidering the tone of brand messaging and critically assess whether or not your services/products are needed at this time is crucial to business outcomes during and after the pandemic.
Re-evaluate your campaigns. Put a hold on anything that does not add value to the situation. Reconsider the posting cadence of your social calendar. What can you offer to your audience at a time where stress and anxieties are so high?
Prioritize Foundational Work
Focus this “downtime” to prioritize foundational work that often falls down the to-do list but is important for long-term success. More than organizing your ongoing document storage strategy or cleaning up your email (that has definitely been on your to-do list for months, it’s okay we’ve all been there), now is the time to focus your efforts on the bread and butter of your digital marketing strategies – your website.
You know that page on your website with the super outdated pictures or the odd “contact” button that you said you were going to update but you just haven’t? Well, now it’s time! Perform a top-level content audit across your site. Do you have landing pages that need updating? Content that needs a refresh? Copy that could use some more love?
Dive in deeper into the depths of your website by examining UX to find other areas of improvement on your site. When was the last time you checked your site-speed score or thought about top-level navigation and other UX roadmap projects?
Prioritizing foundational work will make the transition back to our usual “every day” not only a more efficient process but one that is more successful. Check out these resources:
SEO & Just When You Think You’re Done, More SEO
With more people at home using the internet, whether it be for entertainment, education or work, you need to make sure your website is seen.
You may not be creating new content but that doesn’t mean you can’t optimize dated or evergreen content. Utilize SEO tools like SEM Rush to perform an analysis on your website to see which pages are ranking on search engines and the specific keywords they are ranking for. Optimize the content on these pages with tools like MarketMuse. Go a step further and optimize chosen visuals and add internal links. These small actions will drive traffic to your site and improve your overall website rankings.
Get technical. Perform a technical SEO audit. This will show you what pages are 4XX’ing, what redirects need to be made, where schema mark-up may be missing and much, much more. Technical SEO is essential to allowing search engine crawlers a smoother journey when crawling your site – which equates into better chances of your site showing up in search.
Think local. Local SEO, especially in times of crisis, is arguably more important than any other form of SEO. Does your business offer products that are of value in a time of crisis? Make it easy for customers to find you. Update your information on Google My Business, Yelp or any other directories applicable to your business. Just make sure this information is the same across all channels.
Dive into these SEO resources:
- The Complete SEO Glossary for Beginners
- SEO Metadata Best Practices & On-Page Optimization
- SEMrush, MarketMuse, Moz
Prepare for the End of the Crisis
This too shall pass. And when it does, you need to be prepared. When we begin going back to our “normal” every day, how will your brand stand out? Can you adjust the campaigns you put on pause with a different approach? Think about revisiting messaging around core value propositions. Refresh landing pages and plan for new gated assets for lead acquisition, mid-funnel retargeting, etc. Lucky for you, you focused on your foundation. Leveling up your SEO strategy has made it easier for customers to find you.
Pandemic or no pandemic, times of crisis really highlight the importance of making your audience number one in any marketing strategy. As always, communication should be open and your strategy adjusted to fit their needs. To learn more about how we can help you, contact us today.
