4 ways brands can engage audiences during COVID-19
Fewer cars are driving past billboards. Fewer people are out and about engaging with ads. But one environment continues to expand during the time of the Coronavirus pandemic—social media. Obvious.ly, an influencer marketing service, saw a 76% increase in daily accumulated likes on Instagram posts over the last two weeks and a 27% increase in engagement on TikTok. Any brand communication needs to be thoughtful and sensitive during this time, but when used correctly, social can be a great tool for staying connected during the pandemic. As users continue to navigate this isolating time, here are four ways that brands should use (or continue to use) social media during the Coronavirus pandemic.
There will be questions, comments, concerns. If it hasn’t already, your inbox will likely be flooded. Not every question can be predicted in your organic social posts as we mentioned above. Though likely working from home (still), make sure your community managers are keeping tabs on all social channels, relevant hashtags and using social listening programs to interject conversations that are relevant to your brand. Write up some responses to new commonly asked questions and get these approved ahead of time to streamline the process and provide answers in a more timely fashion. If a brand is flooded and response times are slow, let these customers know you will respond, and be transparent. See how a simple cover photo communicated this for Southwest Airlines.
Remember this is still a developing situation. Today's responses may need to be revised tomorrow. Some industries (like travel) will be impacted more than others, but all companies will be impacted to some degree. For travel brands, remember, these customers are often postponing, not canceling. How you treat them today will impact if they are customers in the future. Issue the full refund, be transparent and be thoughtful.
Scheduled posts? Press pause while you rethink your strategy. Those Instagram posts you wrote early last month will likely not do. Brands and their agencies need to review messaging and creative on a daily basis to make sure they’re sensitive to today’s standard. Consider your brand's role in the crisis. Does it make sense to advertise your product or service during a time of social distancing and isolation? Or, rather than advertise your offerings, consider advertising what your brand is doing to help. If your product is social in nature, how can a little creativity make it work digitally during social distancing? Take Cards Against Humanity, for example. This very social product cranked out an all-online version of their hit card game for users to play with friends while apart.
Regardless, your brand should not go dark during the pandemic. According to Kantar, only 8% of consumers say advertisers should stop advertising, which means the other 92% are fine with brands continuing to post (as long as their message is sensitive). Make sure to review each post through a different lens. Using too much humor may come across as ill-informed or insensitive, constant product posts may come across as too opportunistic. Messaging should be adapted to the ever-changing landscape. Don’t work too far ahead as things can change quickly.
Times are weird. Most non-essential employees are working from home, eating from home, relaxing from home and overall, bored at home. For brands, consider creating some fun, relevant content for your customers. Sure, it may not get you a sale right now, but it will lead to brand affinity later (and retargeting). Then, promote this content on social (paid and organic) to drive more traffic to your website. According to Kantar, 77 percent of respondents to a recent survey expect brands to be helpful in what has become the new everyday life.
This is a time to think of fun, creative content you might have never done before. Consumers don’t have access to the amenities, but they can still have fun. It just requires a little more creativity.
For instance, several fitness brands have created at-home workouts that can be done using everyday items. To help pet owners, Barkbox created a Pug Trainer at-home workout routine that is both fun, on-brand and useful for those in isolation. Men’s grooming leader Wahl has seen a huge increase in how-to traffic as more guys are cutting their hair at home—many for the first time. With a library of different haircuts, Wahl is providing customers with the knowledge they need to achieve a great haircut.
Creating social media plans during a crisis is never easy. Hoffman York has experience working with clients to make the most strategic decisions on social and beyond. Connect with me on LinkedIn or email [email protected]. If you're interested in seeing more, view a gallery of our past work.