Navigating social media marketing in the age of isolation

Australia is starting to feel the brunt of the unfolding COVID-19 crisis. So - how do we as marketers navigate these unprecedented times? What does this mean for brands and advertisers? And what are some tangible steps we should be taking?

We tapped the brains of our expert strategists at We The People for three principles brands should be keeping top of mind over the coming weeks and months…

Continue to communicate

It may be tempting as ad budgets get pulled or re-allocated to later in the year for your brand to go quiet. But – resist the urge!

Time has shown that brands who continue to communicate with their customers in challenging times and back up those words with action, can win during a crisis. Don’t just say, but show how you’re helping your people and customers adapt to these changing conditions. Communicate this loud and clear both through COVID-19 specific updates, but also your other in-market content.

This might mean a shift in the tone of your content to be more respectful to vital practices of social distancing and self-isolation.

Continue to be loud.

Personalised, engaging social experiences

As more people spend more time at home, they’ll also be spending more and more time on social. This presents a great opportunity for brands to leverage an increase in attention and provide more personalised experiences to consumers.

Consider what could be done if your brand re-allocates some budget from other channels across to social. What could you do to engage a new audience, that might not usually be paying much attention?

A great example is Lululemon, who have adapted their content strategy to introduce a daily live stream to promote an active lifestyle at home. Lululemon is live-streaming yoga classes, Q&A sessions with health experts and re-purposing existing content for ‘at home’ training scenarios.

What could your brand do to leverage this new attention?

Take advantage of changing habits

Consider how your brand or product can deliver value during these new living and working conditions? At a functional level – maybe this is a new use for your product. At a messaging level – this is an opportunity to be creative and communicate your brand/mission/values/purpose in a completely new way.

Tactically, this could mean shifting your attention (and budget) up the funnel. If purchases and conversions begin to slow as consumer behaviour shifts, maybe focus on sharing your brand story and growing awareness with more people.

Observe behavioural shifts and align your marketing activities in response.

It’s business as usual on our end.

Our team at We The People are now working from home – apart from that; it’s business as usual. We’re continuing our support of our people, clients and community through these challenging times.

We’ve even increased our social media community and customer service resource capacity to help our clients communicate with their customers. Across the board, companies have seen a sharp increase in queries through social as a result of the COVID-19 panic.

This new frontline community management resource is available to support brands immediately. If you’re looking for an extra pair of hands (or three) to help manage your customer on social media, please reach out.

We’re ready to go and here to help!