The business environment during the COVID-19 situation is in a constant state of evolution. On any typical day, communicating with your audience requires care, tact, and strategies. But when you are in the middle of a major crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic; the pressure skyrockets.
This is the time when people are working from home and spending a lot of their time on social media websites. What should your brand convey when the future and the facts are uncertain? Staying connected is more vital than ever, with people and brands relying on social media to stay in touch.
Quite impressively, prominent social media platforms have witnessed a significant spike in their overall popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, just because people are spending more time on social media doesn’t simply business as usual.
As a customer-centric brand, you have to curate your brand communication strategy to make your audiences listen. So how should you utilize social media to communicate during these challenging times? Let’s take a glance at the top social media tips during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ways To Use Social Media During The Lockdown
It is pretty normal to think about what you should be posting on social media during this crisis. Always remember that you cannot afford to stop marketing which requires posting on social media. Also, your audiences are spending more time online.
In simple words, this is the perfect opportunity to foster a great relationship with your audiences. If you post regularly, you would be able to increase brand affinity among your audiences. But at the same time, promoting your brand and its services blindly would create a negative impression on your audiences.
Your brand promotions should seem that they are compassionate and possess a human approach. Ensure that your brand’s social media posts are witty and humorous so that they keep your audiences interested.
Related: What Should Be Your Social Media Strategy For The New Normal Times?
Keep Posting Consistently
As mentioned earlier, your followers are spending more time online. This is the ideal time to stay connected and build a great relationship with your users. It is also a commonly observed fact that many brands are unable to sell their products at this moment.
If that is the case, focus on sharing content that aligns with your organization’s value. It is imperative to get creative so that you can capture the attention of your users quickly. Moreover, social media is not a place to share company updates.
It is an ideal platform to share compassionate messages. No doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic is taking a toll on everyone. Hence, adopting a human approach to your social media campaigns would help your audience to feel a little less alone. Refrain from posting anything which your audience would perceive as negative.
Related: When Is The Right Time To Post On Social Media Currently (COVID-19 Outbreak)
Get Innovative & Creative
You can put your creative hat on when it comes to social media posting. As people are spending more time online, getting exposed to various brands is normal.
That’s why you should rely on creativity to beat the competition around you. Organizations belonging to the travel and tourism industry have been affected heavily in these challenging times. They are reinventing their communication tactics to connect with their audiences.
On the other hand, deploying creative marketing strategies could help promote your brand over competitors. You have to rely on creating memorable and unique social media content which your audiences would remember.
And when everything gets normal, people would select your brand as they would remember your content. But always remember to be sensible while creating and posting content. As already mentioned, adopting a human approach is of utmost significance.
Find Effective Ways to Help Users
The COVID-19 pandemic is the right time to self-introspect. Find out how your business can help in easing the woes of people.
Even if you are not donating, there are various ways to make your brand seem responsible during these challenging times. Big-margin discounts, easy refunds, etc., are some of the ways through which your brand can give back during a crisis.
On the other hand, making people aware of social distancing and closing your physical stores can work too. Post messages that are succinct and actionable on social media platforms.
Focus On Online Activities
With lockdown and social distancing measures in place, it is crucial to focus more on online activities. Your store or office might not be operational in its physical location. That’s why it is the best time to focus on online strategies and drive growth.
There is no denying the fact that since the beginning of lockdowns, e-commerce has been witnessing good growth. And if you happen to own an ecommerce store, then this is the right time to increase its popularity.
Encourage your audiences through social media posts to use your ecommerce store frequently. Promote your store or services through social media posts to help them gain more exposure.
Create Organic Value
Convert your social media handles into a valuable resource for your audiences. Note that you should focus on engagement first instead of driving traffic. One of the best ways to boost engagement is by posting educational videos about COVID-19.
You can also post captions or real-time updates to drive engagement. If you have an active account on Instagram, use it to provide value-based awareness. Another method to deliver value is by altering your overall content strategy.
Address the most common issues that are prevalent now. Create new hashtags on Instagram which would provide audiences with value-based content. You can also provide stay-at-home lifestyle content and tips to your audiences to influence them positively in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Be More Empathetic, It Is Important!
COVID-19 is affecting everyone across the world in various ways. Hence, it is imperative to think outside of your situation. As a customer-centric brand, you should be empathetic towards your users and followers.
Also, think twice before posting any memes which would hurt your followers. Note that it is not imperative to mention COVID-19 in the content you are posting. However, considering your tone would be helpful for your brand and its followers.
People are going through a hard time and being aware of their emotions is important. Hence, compassion is the key to your social media communication during these challenging times.
Cite The Credible Sources
As a responsible brand, your primary objective should be to resist misinformation emanating from various platforms. Moreover, in a crisis, misinformation can be dangerous. That’s why you should have a fact-checking protocol to arrest the spread of misinformation.
Citing credible sources while sharing information and updates is an excellent way to stay relevant among users. Even if you are in a real hurry to share information, cite them so that audiences can rely on you.
Share Your Story
If you are struggling amidst this COVID-19 pandemic, ask for help immediately. Always remember that it is good to put your trust in the community during challenging times. You can share your story with your audience.
Communicate clearly how the followers should help you or support your business. If you are facing specific issues, always communicate with your audiences. Share your story so that others would know what kind of help you want.
Avoid Posting Updates That Neglect Current Health Advices
The key to social media communication is depicting your brand as responsible. Hence, it would be best if you refrain from posting updates that neglect the current health advice. Also, avoid posting content that would encourage people to go outside.
People are having a tough time staying indoors with economic losses looming large. You can recommend constructive ideas which your users can practice while staying indoors. This would also help in driving the customer engagement rate.
Avoid Tragic Tones
In these challenging times, always avoid communicating in tragic tones. Note that this is the appropriate time to share a positive atmosphere through social media platforms. Communicating in tragic tones can demotivate users.
Also, too much negativity would spoil the image of your brand. You have to be careful with your words and the illustrations that you are posting online. In simple words, there should be a coherency between your current situation and the things you post.
Get More Social
If your brand is in a strong position, remember that this is the right time to open social media channels. Create content with the sole aim to spread awareness. Start a YouTube channel or an IGTV series to boost engagement.
As a customer-centric brand, your primary objective should be to make the audiences aware. As video consumption is increasing across all platforms, this strategy would make your brand quite popular.
So as you can see, there exist various ways through which you can communicate on social media during a crisis. This is the time when you have to motivate people along with promoting your brand. Be thoughtful in what you post if your posts are encouraging and interesting, they will get noticed and they will get the right attention.
