How to handle Social Media during COVID-19!

The world is under lockdown. There’s panic, there’s unrest and of course a lot of free time. You visit your favourite social media platform and are bombarded with posts that start with ‘in these uncertain times’ and end with ‘we are all in this together.

Suddenly, social media looks monotonous. It’s filled with false information, quarantine memes and brands trying their best to sound empathetic.

If you’re a business owner or a digital marketing consultant in Mumbai you need to do something to stand out. You must figure out your place in the chaos to connect with your audience that will eventually help your business.

But first, let’s start with the why of it!

Why you need to revamp your social media?

Facebook saw a 70% increase in usage of all of its apps in March. People are turning to these apps to keep them entertained, connected, and informed while they’re spending more time at home.

People are turning to different channels for different content. For instance, TikTok and Snapchat have been sources of fun, entertaining distraction during this time. While Instagram has become the platform to showcase old memories, new skills and of course memes.

This sudden influx of social media users presents ample opportunities for businesses to further strengthen their social media presence. Your audience is hanging out on social media more than ever, it’s time you join them – but not merely as a brand.

Now let’s see how you can do that…

Rediscover your audience

This is always crucial for any kind of marketing at any time, but it’s most critical during times of crisis like this. Marketing relies heavily on empathy, which in turn relies on an understanding of the people you’re trying to talk to.

If you’ve been marketing your brand for a while, you might be tempted to skip this step. You already know your customer, right? Maybe, but do you know them in their current state? Are there additional audience opportunities that you haven’t assessed that you could test now?

It doesn’t matter who you are — now is an excellent time to take a step back and re-acquaint yourself with your ideal customers.

You need to figure out what you’re customer is thinking and feeling now. Do some research and do what you need to do to put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Are they now dealing with working from home? Are they trying to keep kids busy now that schools are closed? Are they trying to stay fit and healthy while in quarantine?

This in-depth knowledge of your customers will set the tone for everything you do during a crisis like this and even beyond.

Don’t sell, but engage

You are a business owner and it’s a given that you’re here to sell your products and grow your business but you must also keep in mind that timing is everything.

It’s best to reshape your primary KPIs to win over your audience. Don’t discard them altogether, but it’s in your best interest to assess what success looks like now versus what it looked like before.

ROI is important, but engagement metrics like clicks, likes, shares, comments, etc. are better gauges right now as people might not be as willing to buy your products. But you will have their attention and that’s a win for you

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The ultimate goal right now is to build and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with new and current customers. People may not be in the right position or mood to buy right now (depending on your product), but they will be again eventually.

Hold contests, do fun activities, give shout-outs; Try some of the functionality that platforms have introduced for engagement like polls on Instagram or Facebook. You can use them to benefit you by gain product feedback directly, or you can use them purely to entertain your audience. Social media is a place to have fun, now’s the time to leverage it for its true purpose.

Try new things

If you have wanted to expand your strategy to Twitter, now is the time to dig in and go for it. If you’re not sure how to use Instagram stories, but you think it might resonate, now is the time to try.

If you’re not looking for new channels, but you’re curious to see how your customers would react to different kinds of content, more frequent posting, or other creative engagement methods, go for it!

Now is the time to look for all ways to build relationships with your customers. Get a second opinion, choose from an array of digital marketing consultancyservices and figure out what works for you and what does not!

Experiment with new types of content like video. It doesn’t need to be professionally produced, but a video from an internal expert or influencer showing a hands-on demo of your product could go a long way.

If your feed seems to be filled with straight-forward and bland content, go for memes that relate to your products and services or even your brand. This way your feed not only becomes entertaining but also turns more relatable to your users.

We know that this crisis will end eventually, and we know that right now, at least, there’s a lot of uncertainty on a variety of fronts. But, if your organization or the digital marketing consultant in Mumbai that’s handling your marketing strategy is already working to tackle all sorts of challenges with a customer-centric approach, congratulations! You’re in a good position. If not, now is a good time to start.

The role of social media in our day-to-day lives has never been so crucial. So what are you waiting for? Get social now!