How the Covid-19 Crisis Can Help Position Our Brand
The coronavirus has influenced consumers and customers when it comes to interacting with brands. Social tools take weight, it is also a good time for the digital transformation of businesses and companies.
Immersed as we are in the second wave of the health alert for the Covid-19 pandemic, it is time to rethink business needs to face these difficult times.
Undoubtedly, we are facing a global crisis and uneasiness overflows since no one seems to be clear about how long it will last or how it will be solved. Many freelancers and small and medium-sized companies find themselves in the dilemma of whether it is worth betting on dedicating resources to marketing and communication campaigns with so much uncertainty.
If we look at the short term, unease may invade this group, but our advice is that we look at the medium term and all the effort made now will be rewarded in the future.
Let’s be optimistic since Covid-19 currently has a lower mortality rate at the beginning of the crisis and medical treatments seem to have improved, and the good news about vaccines helps to have a better face. And according to some experts, large tourism companies are preparing for 2021.
CONSUMERS, THE KEY TO GET OUT OF THIS
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Of course, consumers are the real engine to get out of the crisis, but it must be borne in mind that their buying habits are changing since the spring lockdown.
Studies have found that most consumers believe that brands have increased and fostered communication with customers.
There are also reports that consumers prefer that brands contact them through social media rather than by email, SMS or other tools.
And a very important fact, the group of consumers between 50 and 60 years of age is increasing, they are not afraid of the Internet and they handle themselves better and better. We have to take that into account when designing Social Media campaigns.
CONSEQUENCES OF COVID-19 FOR COMPANIES
1: Increase in teleworking and less mobility. Confinement was the driving force behind all this, today many companies have confirmed the benefits of teleworking at the productive level and continue to promote it.
2: This situation has resulted in the promotion of new technologies, the implementation of Big Data or Artificial Intelligence. Sectors that have seen their influence and business increase.
3: The digital transformation is here, companies have no choice but to move towards it if they want to overcome this crisis with some success.
4: Boom of video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Skype, Teams, etc. that have been one of the great discoveries of the coronavirus crisis. We have used them for work meetings, webminars or conference calls . They have been widely used by clients and employees of the firms, as well as private use for family gatherings.
5: The same has happened with streaming tools like YouTube, TikTok or Twicht. Large amounts of content have reached consumers through these platforms. The habit of going to them is there.
6: We can predict that there will be further growth in social media, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence.
7: Brands are becoming convinced that a good digital strategy is essential to successfully reach their customers.
8: If we talk about the primary sector, we will come to the conclusion that they had no choice but to sell their products through the web, social networks or specialized platforms in electronic commerce, and in many cases running out of stocks.
HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE COVID CRISIS IN A SMALL OR MEDIUM-SIZED COMPANY
First of all we believe that there is no fulminating the digital marketing strategy in these months of health crisis, it would mean disappearing. All the work done on this matter cannot be thrown away for a long time.
In some way we must be visible and accessible to our consumers and report if something has changed as a result of Covid 19 that influences the relationship with customers. And something that is always vital, let’s not forget to listen to users.
1: It is time to position yourself on the Internet, undertake the optimization of the web and the SEO strategy .
2: As we have already mentioned, consumers, increasingly older, have more knowledge about the Internet and have become more digitized. That means there are fewer impediments to reaching them through social tools. The client is closer to us. For example, there are many users who access a search engine to confirm the opening hours of a business.
3: We have to be willing to answer consumer questions and concerns through social media or WhatsApp. Needless to say, with a good attitude and with education.
4: Come to the conclusion that our business offers attractive products and services and that we are not afraid to tell about it on social media.
5: Strengthen content marketing. It is time to position yourself as experts by informing users of quality content. We will be able to strengthen the brand, we will have greater visibility, we will retain customers and obtain new ones. We advise great doses of imagination for this.
6: Experiment with paid advertising on the Internet. A large investment is not necessary and it is easy to verify the effectiveness of these promotional actions. On many occasions it is profitable. Let’s not be afraid of it.
7: Request advice from professional experts in these fields, they can help us with all the above. Worth.
AND A GOOD CONTENT MARKETING CAMPAIGN TO ACHIEVE MASS VACCINATION?
At the beginning of the article we alluded to the fact that it seems that good news is coming from pharmaceutical companies in the implementation of an effective vaccine against Covid-19. The media reports daily on the achievements of, for example, Pfizer, Moderna or Janssen, which show an effectiveness of more than 95%, not to mention a few brands that continue to investigate and that in a short period of time also they will report its effectiveness.
Therefore, it is time to make the population aware that when the time comes, they will have to be vaccinated, but according to the latest CIS study, 44% of the Spanish population is reluctant to vaccinate against the coronavirus. A figure that contrasts with the implementation of vaccines in Spain that reaches 90% of the population, one of the highest in the world.
When the time comes, the government says it will launch massive communication campaigns to eliminate this reluctance.
Social networks, specialized websites, blogs have already entered the fray in this vital issue, and for the moment, the balance leans towards distrust or denial that has found its ideal tools in social networks.
Therefore, the institutions will have to enable good marketing campaigns so that the acceptance of the anti-Covid-19 vaccine will reach the population massively.
Hence the good implementation of a marketing campaign with interesting content, told in a simple and instructive way, that attracts people to go to get vaccinated. Contents supported by experts and communicated by personalities with influence among sectors of the population, from the world of music to sports, including prestigious elements in various fields.
The objective is to attract the population to pro-vaccine theses, because anti-vaccines are very skilled with social tools and many times, to their delight, they jump from there to generalist media such as television with the approval of prime time gurus .
If we look at the short term, unease may invade this group, but our advice is that we look at the medium term and all the effort made now will be rewarded in the future.
Priority groups
A positive issue is that the European Union has ruled which groups are a priority when it comes to being vaccinated against Covid-19 if necessary, and there are people where acceptance is very large and can act as a driving force for the rest of the population. population. Are these:
· Healthcare professionals
· People over 60 years old
· People who are at special risk due to their health status
· Essential workers outside the health sector
· Workers who cannot socially distance themselves
· Vulnerable socioeconomic groups and other groups at higher risk
According to the CIS, this is the target to work on:
Men are those who are more in favor of immediate vaccination (45.6%), women (28.5%).
People aged 55 to 64 years are the most predisposed to inoculate the remedy (43.3%)
. 18 to 25 years (42.6%)
Over 65 (41.5%).
Between 45 and 54 years (34.4%)
From 35 to 44 years (30.2%)
From 25 to 34 years (29.9%)
Much work to be done in this field, sure that expert communication companies can help the different administrations in this task.
