The global pandemic has wreaked havoc across the globe and turned our lives upside down. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 3.42 million are infected. 1.09 million have recovered, and 244,000 have succumbed to the disease.
Businesses are recording a sharp drop in sales to the extent that some have to close their shops. Some of the digital marketing strategies used to mark a high ROI (Return on Investment) are not as effective in generating leads as before.
Source: Neilpatel.com
However, digital marketing remains one of the most effective ways of reaching out to the target customers. Instead of abolishing all campaigns, we recommend to adapt and restructure your marketing strategies so that your business can stay afloat during this period.
Here are expert tips on how to adapt your digital marketing strategies to the pandemic. We’ve also gathered the 16 Best Marketing Strategies for you.
Market and Traffic Sources Diversification
The epidemic is a global pandemic, but some countries are worst hit than others. A good example is South Korea that has managed to control the spread of this deadly virus better than most countries such as Italy and the United States.
Market and traffic sources diversification can promote the sustainability of your business.
What does that mean? Simply put, consider diversifying the regions that you get website traffic from instead of relying only on the existing regions/countries. Investing more in international search engine optimisation strategies can help you achieve this goal. More transit means more potential customers and less reliance on the economy of a few countries.
In the report below by Neil Patel, it shows a drop in SEO traffic in the United States over the last couple of months. Neil reveals that the traffic is not as low as when the pandemic first struck in the US, but it’s yet to normalise.
Source: Neilpatel.com
On the other hand, traffic in Brazil has been skyrocketing. The company did not change its strategy or used any algorithm. Instead of producing more content, Neil Patel translated the content for other regions that were previously not targeted.
Source: Neilpatel.com
The site is also recording an increase in traffic from India.
Source: Neilpatel.com
The three graphs are clear proof that you need to come up with a global SEO strategy that resonates with your brand and objectives.
Provide Education Based Training
With the number of unemployment at an all-time high in most parts of the world, more people are shifting their focus to new opportunities to put food on the table. Most of the opportunities are in fields that rely on advanced technologies. Since most people cannot fathom the idea of going back to school to study the required courses, they are resulting in online classes. Also, you can learn more applicable knowledge on platforms such as YouTube than sitting in class for 3-4 years (at least for more professions).
If you are looking for an opportunity to generate revenue during this period, consider offering educational based courses online. You may have to restructure your site or create a new one – it all depends on your niche. The sessions should provide accurate information that can be implemented in the said niches.
People are looking for help and are willing to spend on quality courses that will empower them with knowledge and skills that they can use to start their businesses or seek employment. Online guides on how to sell courses online will come in handy when marketing the courses.
Be Willing to Offer Help Selflessly
As mentioned above, people are desperately looking for help on how to survive during this pandemic. Renowned companies that offer online products and services have recorded a massive drop in sales in the last couple of months. Instead of giving up or laying off some of the employees, they have resulted in offering help selflessly to their target audience by offering premium features for free.
Ubersuggest is a good example; it is currently offering some of its premium features for free. Even though it will take the company some time to break even, that is something they are not worried about right now.
The move not only increased the number of free-trial signups but also helped enhance the brand image. Note that customers gravitate towards a business that shows they genuinely care about their wellbeing and are willing to help them when going through a rough patch.
A large percentage of free-trial users do not even convert into buying customers. Nonetheless, the more trials you get, the more paid customers you will eventually get in the future. This is based on the fact that most new customers subscribe to the free trial to test the product or service before buying.
Digital Marketing Trends to Embrace During this Pandemic
Content marketing, Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and Social Media Marketing (SMM) breathe life to the digital marketing landscape. The four are the core pillars of the industry and helps businesses scale up in terms of leads and revenue, both online and offline.
Here are five primary digital marketing trends that you can apply during this Pandemic and beyond to stay ahead of the curve.
Interactive Content
Interactive content spurs engagement by giving customers a chance to connect with your brand at a deeper level before, during, and even after purchasing your product or service. A recent report shows that 93% of digital marketers firmly believe that interactive content is effective in educating prospects than static content. Every piece of interactive content that you publish on your website or distribute on social media is a call-to-action in itself and is shareable.
Some of the best forms of interactive content that you can use to increase brand awareness during this period include:
- 360-degrees videos
- Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence
- Shoppable Posts
- Quizzes
- Polls
New-Breed/Generation SEO
On average, the new generation SEO strategies record a conversion rate of 14.6% compared to a 1.7% conversion rate for traditional outbound methods. During this period, it is imperative to embrace these strategies to get ahead of your competition.
Google and other search engines regularly change and update their algorithm, thereby affecting the user’s search results. Some of the SEO hacks you used to get your landing pages listed on the first page last year may be out-dated and could negatively affect your website ranking or, worse, attract a Google penalty. Stay abreast of all algorithm changes and adjust your SEO strategies accordingly.
Smart Bidding in Google Ads
Smart bidding is also referred to as action-time bidding. Simply put, it refers to the use of machine learning by Google Ads to optimise bids for conversion. It was introduced during the Google Marketing Live 2019 event, and so far, it has tremendously changed the PPC landscape. PPC account managers are now able to choose conversion actions at specific campaign levels and periods.
Leverage this technology to enhance the performance of your Google Ads and get the utmost ROI from the campaign.
Social Ecommerce
The most successful digital marketers have come up with smart ways of combining eCommerce and social media. The two avenues make social commerce the norm, and thousands of businesses from all across the globe are closely following suit.
Don’t allow the pandemic to ruin your plans and plunge your business in a financial turmoil, use social media platforms to sell your products and services by:
- Creating ingenious shoppable posts and stories
- Creating social media ads with CTAs to your eCommerce site(s)
- Leverage social commerce apps and plugins
Immersive Technologies
It is projected by 2022, 70% of businesses across the globe will be experimenting and testing the impact and potential of immersive technologies – VR and AR. The latter improves the visual effect of sales presentations by creating three-dimensional thinking.
Spring into action ahead of most of your competitors and start implementing the two technologies to boost your brand awareness efforts and increases sales. Note that customers are inclined to buying from companies that use new technologies to convey information.
Whether you decide to tweak the existing digital marketing strategies or create new ones, these top 5 trends will undoubtedly give you an upper hand in the market. Run A/B tests regularly to know which strategies are ideal for your brand and invest in them.
Every digital marketing decision that you make during this pandemic should be based on accurate data.
Final Thoughts
As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Businesses that thrive for decades embrace new technologies and are not afraid to adapt quickly to changes in the market. Don’t give up or lose hope in your business. You can achieve more if you apply the above digital marketing strategies. Get to know more about the 42 Digital Marketing Trends You Can’t Ignore in 2020.