The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the speed at which companies and businesses are “going digital”. This new reliance on technology is not new to many businesses, they have taken short term advantages of the digital marketing tools in the past. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has taught businesses that the traditional route for marketing their products and services is no longer something that will sustain their long-term business goals.
Traditional marketing channels have been on a pause since the pandemic hit in the first half of 2020. Many might see it as a challenge, but digital first strategy has turned into an opportunity for many businesses.
How The Pandemic Fast-Tracked Digital Transformation?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have been forced to rethink their operations and focus on their digital strategy. This was a good time to re-allocate their marketing budgets and that majority share of it, from traditional marketing matrix to the digital side. This has been reflected in the following ways:
- Increased ability to work from home
- Increased access to e-commerce services
- Exclusive use of remote learning
- Most meetings and events are going virtual
- Rise of technology and tools that support team collaboration and cloud meetings
Why Go Digital?
Business around the world took a major hit as soon as the pandemic started. With countries and provinces enforcing strict guidelines on requiring citizens only to leave their homes when it is necessary, citizens have been left with no option apart from being on the web or social media feeds to either entertain themselves or run errands.
The web usage statistics reflect this new reality – the mobile data usage has spiked and so has the user traffic to popular websites and social media platforms. Business and companies who were quick to notice an opportunity of this changing trend among users launched their new e-commerce channels, created or updated their websites, developed targeted online campaigns through social media, leveraged the best SEO practices to grab more eyeballs and utilised the power of influencers to reach new audiences.
That being said, it’s never too late to do digital with your business. This is the best time to embrace this new normal and some of the best digital marketing techniques to boost and grow your business. There are various digital marketing channels available for you to capture new customers and also convert the existing set of customers into your brand lovers.
Digital Marketing is Important for Your Business “NOW” More Than Ever
If your business has no previous experience in digital marketing, getting started might seem complicated mainly due to many jargons thrown around by digital marketers. However, it’s not rocket science, and if you have experience with traditional marketing, understanding digital marketing tactics will not take a lot of time. However, there are a few terms that you need to be familiar with.
SEO & Content Marketing
More than 90% of all online experiences start with a search engine. A business can boost its ranking so that it’s discovered by a potential customer on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and increase visibility by performing Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Remember that SEO combined with content marketing is the most effective strategy that a business can have.
Rome was not built in a day, so don’t expect instantaneous results with SEO optimization and content marketing, but it’s consistent and log-term impact on your business is enormous.
Paid Search
This is a digital marketing tool that one can use to appear on the SERP by bidding on keywords that your target audience tends to use in their search query. With paid search marketing, businesses can achieve predictable results. It’s a scalable option as well depending on your budget, however, we suggest that you don’t go overboard with it.
Social Media
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter are some of the most popular social media destinations on the web. Businesses should use these social platforms to share interesting content and engage with their customers to keep their spirits up, talk about upcoming campaigns and any discounts that your business might be offering. This will help you create a stronger connection within your social media community and allow you to develop a brand personality for your business.
Email Marketing
Many might think of this as spam marketing, however done in a customized way for existing customers, it is one of the most effective digital marketing channels for a business. This tool helps you connect directly with your loyal customer base and keeps them updated on your businesses latest offerings.
Understanding Your Customer
The key to any successful business is how well they understand their customers. Just like that, you need to pick and choose your digital marketing channels. What you need to do is to have the right mix of these channels by understanding what your target audience expects from your business during and after the pandemic.
Some of the things you need to watch out for include:
- A helpful, optimistic, and inspirational tone for your content will work the best.
- Focus on providing value to your community. It’s a time to be empathetic towards your loyal consumer base.
- The global economy is in a standstill, and will recover at a slow pace so there is no reason to say you can provide products and services as quickly as you usually do. Only commit if you can deliver.
Things That a Business Should Also Keep in Mind
Put some time into developing your online reputation as a business. Contact your past customers, show them gratitude, ask for reviews and testimonials and highlight some of the best customer experiences across your social media channels.
As a business this is also good time to learn about social selling. This is a great way to build relationships with your customers, prospects, and get insights.
Yes, the world is more optimistic today, since we have already spent more than a year dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it will take time to recover from the economic offsets done by this pandemic.
Businesses have and will continue to not only evolve but also thrive online. The time to get your digital marketing strategy in place is “NOW”.
Author Bio:
Cindy Williams is a blogger in Canada. She is working as an outreach coordinator for the web design and development company in Toronto – Web Sharx. She graduated with honors from University of British Columbia with a dual degree in Business Administration and Creative Writing.
