It’s no exaggeration to say that the whole world has turned upside down recently. From a small news story of a nasty virus, resulting in a global pandemic which has affected everyone in some way.
Cariad Marketing has always been at the forefront of digital marketing, and it has been interesting to see how things have changed in such a short time. There is a much bigger picture of course and we have yet to see what the wider implications are, but here are the most noticeable changes in marketing we have seen so far:
1. Creativity amidst adversity
We work with a wide range of clients who cover many industries. We are proud of every single one of them due to their creativity amidst times of adversity. Within just a few days, their strategy, business model and marketing requirements changed drastically, and they have had to adapt to these changes rapidly.
Whilst we have supported them with their marketing requirements, we are also sitting back and admiring seeing these great businesses make a U-turn and take things in a slightly different direction.
What this pandemic has taught us is that businesses can, and will thrive. We just need to take a slightly different route. Take food delivery giant Just Eat for example. They went to Twitter during the first #clapforcarers event to boast about how their deliveries went down to ZERO during this time.
This meant taking what should have been a negative for their service, but showing solidarity and compassion whilst their staff took the time to recognise the great work that is being done on the front lines.
2. Websites are changing
Whilst websites have been around for decades, the current situation has really changed the way people think about what is needed. There has never been a more important time to focus on the functionality of your website and how your shop window looks to the outside world.
Page speed, fresh content, user experience and engaging designs are at the forefront. As is security, if you are now taking your business online. Whilst these things have always been important, when your business relies solely on its online presence, these are now essential.
Now could be the time to take Cariad up on a free website audit to check how your website is working for you.
3. Social Media
Social Media was always going to be the leader during this time. Although there will be negativity (we are looking at you Twitter), there has also been lots of good. The winners during this time have been the Fitness industry (step forward Sir Joe Wicks…!).
IGTV, Facebook Live, YouTube have been streaming live workouts, meditation sessions and even informative and useful Q&As to keep the world healthy and active during this time.
Social Media has been used to teach our children, educate the workers with access to free courses and of course provide us with all the latest news. If done well, there is no reason why your Social Media activity can’t be up there with the best. If it’s sharing something funny (TikTok has provided no end of entertainment during lockdown), being educational or just being supportive and encouraging, there is room for every business.
Just make sure your content is relevant to the platform you are using (and remember your etiquette – Social Language and how we communicate on Social Media ). If you are unsure just get in contact. We are here to help.
4. Content U-Turns
The search trends for coronavirus terms make interesting reading (for the Digital Marketing geeks like us anyway). Just looking at the trends in the USA in the past 4 weeks provides some useful information.
Looking at Google Trends we can see that the varied search terms calls for more and more content on the subject, and whilst some will jump on the bandwagon and fill websites with information relating to these, it would be unwise not to acknowledge the pandemic in your blog/website pages.
We have been talking to our clients on a daily basis about the changes in their business, and advising where appropriate, recommending blogs are written on their new processes, or just publishing a simple page or announcement on the website.
Your customers will want to know what you are up to, so it’s important to keep them up to date.
5. With time comes clarity
Many of us are faced with a lot more time on our hands than we are used to. Gone is the daily commute, the school run, the darting between meetings, and the face to face interactions with our colleagues that provide a welcome break from a busy day.
How we choose to fill this time will be down to individual circumstances, and the needs of your business. But what this does do is free up some space in our minds and busy schedules to provide that much needed clarity.
We have seen this time being used creatively, and also to identify new business opportunities in the industry that you work in. We are looking forward to seeing how the markets emerge.
Exploring the changes which have taken place in a very short amount of time gives us much insight into how quickly things can move forward.
No doubt this blog will be slightly dated by the time it reaches your screens, but let’s use this time to embrace the changes as they come.
