Social Marketing in the Times of Covid-19-Remember, This Too Shall Pass
Things may seem bleak what with the Covid-19 pandemic, the total lockdowns across the world, and the human and social cost of these uncertain times. Yet, as the Persian adage goes, this too shall pass, which brings us to a very important question.
What would you and your brand have gained at the end of all this? The biggest issue that every social marketer had was the challenge of breaking through the clutter and establishing a connect with an ever-distracted audience.
Well, the tables and turned and marketers are now struggling to cater to what can only be described, literally, as a captive audience.
Time to Look beyond Marketing and Selling
There’s a time to sell and then there’s a time to build relationships, and the lockdown caused by the pandemic certainly falls in the latter category.
Nothing can seem more crass than trying to profit from a human and economic disaster like the Covid-19 pandemic. Brands that thought they could fool the audience by simply pretending to care quickly got called out on social media.
So, go beyond transactions and focusing on establishing a connect and building a bond with your audience. The good thing, at least for social marketers, is that your audience, probably for the first time ever, is sitting idle and bored at home and is just waiting for somebody to entertain them.
Interact, Interact, Interact
How to determine whether your social marketing strategy is working or not? Here is a simple trick that you can use. Is your brand talking to its audience or is it interacting with them?
Talking is a one-way process. Interacting is all about exchange and give and take. From quirky ideas you tried out during the pandemic lockdown to stuff you want to do once all this passes-the first step towards creating a real relationship is to interact and find common areas of interest.
Be Imaginative, Be Bold!
How did the pandemic change your world-will your brand find a mention in your audience’s answer? The opportunity is there for the taking. You just have to know when to go beyond your routine hunt for likes, retweets, plays, views, and shares. Simply buy these metrics and boost your numbers so that you are free to focus on the bigger picture.
The shutdown is, literally, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s never going to happen again, which mean you just have one shot to get it right and to transform your social base forever.
