Elevator Within a week our lives have shifted. A pandemic has hit the world. Schools, public spaces, restaurants, stores are closing down globally…Now is the time for all of us to be helpful, useful, informative and most importantly caring to one another.
Marketers and communicators are crucial to getting messaging across as well as keeping brands alive, as the world is practicing social distancing and bricks and mortar are closing down.
In this time of incertitude and anxiety, consumers have higher expectations from brands to offer security and guidance. COVID-19 is having an impact on how we shop and consume. We are now at a time where marketers need to rethink how to communicate with their customers in meaningful ways.
There are fewer channels at brands’ disposal, as we are relying more than ever on e-commerce and digital methods of communications. Messaging and creativity are essential. It’s all about finding the right balance between staying top-of-mind and not being opportunists taking advantage of a global health crisis.
During these uncertain times, at ELEVATOR, we believe there’s a serious need to get our clients’ message out there, clearer and faster with precision and conviction to tell a captive audience something they care about, something that will stick. We’ve put together a list of messaging tips to help businesses navigate during a global outbreak:
- Always Stay Relevant to Your Audience: As your consumers are getting more anxious by the minute … Now is the time to focus on how you can make a difference in their lives. Look for ways to put them in first place by addressing their needs and concerns. Create content that is aligned with actuality, while at the same time giving their mind a break from all of the negative information in the media.
- Focus on Your Online Community: Look for ways to divert your customers and brighten up their days. Ask your community what they want to hear more of right now. Only craft pertinent content that speaks to their needs, while keeping your brand top-of-mind. Spice up your content by doing live Instagram and Facebook videos to engage with your audience, take their minds off the news as we all need some positive diversion during these uncertain times, and remind them why they love your brand so much or why they should!
- Make the Difference through Meaningful Storytelling: Ask yourself how your business can make the difference to help your community and those who are on the front line of this global catastrophe. Everyday thousands of people are trying to save lives, put food on our tables, support the less fortunates… Now is the time to give back to society through random acts of kindness more than ever. It’s the right thing to do during these stressful times, your audience will definitely be grateful for these thoughts.
- Back Burner Projects: Start working on those projects that have been on hold for when things slow down and make use of this “down time” by planning for the aftermath. Now is the time to build thorough marketing and PR strategies, work on your brand messaging, create that podcast you always had in the back of your mind but have always been too busy to put pen to paper. Whatever it may be, now is the time to get working on it.
- Think about the Future: The show must go on, they say… Do not lose track of your yearly objectives and goals; it’s crucial to the long-term health of a brand. It’s utterly important to not focus on today (yup we know it’s hard!). Think about the future. Concentrate on how you want your brand to be perceived when the world starts to return to some kind of “normal”.