Today we are witnessing a tragic pandemic that has spread rapidly to several countries. We know that during this time it’s important for brands to still tell stories & think that digital storytelling is the most straightforward way to do it during this time. With production shoots & live events cancelled, influencer marketing & digital communities are critical for brands to continue telling their stories. (We at Chtrbox are fully up & running from home and happy to help)
As Elijah Whaley, a CMO out of China who has seen COVID impacts play out in China noted in this Pymnts article that there has been an overall trend towards informational & community building activities instead of brand-building & conversion activities so that “when they [consumers] start spending again, they are going to spend with you.”
Sharing with you a few COVID – related observations below:
1. Brands are creating COVID-specific content on awareness and their actions to help the problem
This is something that equally affects all of us. Therefore, if you are looking for creating campaigns during this period it would be a great time to build your audience’s emotional connection with your brand.
For example, we can see home delivery brands like Zomato and Swiggy have taken this opportunity to introduce contactless home delivery. This shows their concern for their customers and their delivery teams as they continue to service customers when other options are shuttering.
We encourage creating engaging & positive content during these trying times, such as a fun contest that people can participate in from home.
2. Social media usage will be at an all-time high
Influencers are now more important than ever because they are a major external outlet for thousands of people stuck at home. For specific industries, we recommend considering leveraging this boost in online time to create digital awareness This is because since more people are staying at home or working from home they are spending more time on social media too, therefore, increasing the influencer’s numbers.
3. Misinformation is rampant
The WHO Director-General said “We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic.” Social media has enabled news and updates about a situation to be spread rapidly and efficiently however, this has also given rise to a new problem – misinformation. Social media and messaging applications are filled with rampant misinformation.
This has led people to stock up on masks making it difficult for medical professionals to get masks. This is the care even though WHO stated in an article that -“If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with
Algorithms are trying to keep up with it by directing people to trustworthy websites however, it is almost as if social media platform is fighting its own core. It is supposed to give everyone a platform to speak and at its core, it will do that. However, the effort is great and will surely help several people.
Conclusion
So, what can you do?
In all, as a marketer, you should continue building your communities online as this is the time your audience viewership will increase and people will spend more time at home and on social media.
These are some things that we believe every marketer should know about. What do you think? Share it with us in a comment below!
Credits
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash