4 minute read
Social media has become the primary form of entertainment for many people during the coronavirus outbreak. Many people are stuck at home, unemployed or both. As a result, those people are spending much of their time on social media platforms talking about Tiger King and Carol Baskins, or planning that annoying drive-by birthday procession.
For this reason, social media marketing has become more valuable than ever before.
Maintaining a strong, positive, engaging social media presence will go a long way in promoting your brand and laying the foundation for getting more sales once the economy has stabilized.
4 Ways To Beef Up Your Social Media Performance During The Coronavirus
1. Ramp Up Your Social Activity
Remaining active on your brand’s social media profiles should always be a part of your marketing strategy. However, it is more important than ever right now. Increase your activity two or three-fold.
- Post news updates about your industry.
- Share free tools that could help your audience.
- Conduct surveys about issues that concern your target audience.
- Show off your staff and company culture to relate on a more human level.
2. Spark More Social Engagement
This is not the time to bury your followers under an avalanche of self-promotional posts. People who are struggling financially are likely to tune you out. Instead, engage with your audience. The following ideas are excellent for driving engagement:
- Share popular memes to begin conversations.
- Encourage your followers to share pleasurable personal information about themselves like pictures of their pets or the Netflix show they are binge-watching.
- Seek your audience’s input on initiatives you can implement at your business like social distancing practices.
- Talk about industry problems and solutions they are facing and that you may be able to help with.
3. Be Responsive To Engagement
It is imperative to let your target audience know they can trust you and that you care about their satisfaction. You can do this partly by responding to every single comment they make on your social media profiles or you find in your inbox, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Neglecting to respond to your followers online could prove fatal in the long run.
Make it a point to respond professionally and warmly to every single comment. Do not be a doormat or yield to the temptation to publicly offer them something free. Instead, be firm yet courteous in your responses. If the situation warrants giving them a replacement, refund or something free, get their contact information and follow up with them privately. This way, you are not broadcasting the offer and inviting everyone else to demand it, as well.
4. Take A Hard Look At Your Previously Scheduled Posts
The ability to schedule social media posts in advance is a fantastic way to save time. However, under the current circumstances, there are certain types of posts that simply are not appropriate and/or that may alienate your followers.
As we mentioned above, you should not promote your products or services nearly as much now. General rule of thumb before COVID-19 was 10 to 1 sales posts to non sales, now it is probably 20-30 to 1.
Other posts you should take off the table are those that promote any activities deemed high-risk during the coronavirus outbreak and those with a humorous slant that could be seen as offensive during this time. Imagine what the strip club industry is going through. If they can creatively think outside the box, so can you.
Even the timing of when the posts were scheduled requires a shift in perception. After all, many are working from home and thousands of people have been laid off. The typical Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. workday no longer applies. People who work from home and have children must also contend with the closure of schools, which mean they must look after their children themselves all day long.
You should withhold from blasting your followers with social media posts in the middle of the day, when they may have to dedicate their time and energy to childcare. Instead, reschedule your posts to 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Your audience is more likely to be online working at these times.
You Don’t Have To Be A Meat Eater To Agree With This
In order to get the juicy engagement your business needs right now, you must serve up succulent social media profiles by doing the following:
- Substantially increase the activity on each profile by posting regularly
- Engage with your audience to spark, and retain, their interest – and keep them coming back for more
- Respond in a courteous, professional way to every comment posted in your feed
- Analyze previously scheduled posts and revise or eliminate those that are inappropriate right now
Tag Marketing wants to help in any way we can. So, if managing your social media accounts is leaving you hungry for results, our FREE ebook can help! It contains tips on marketing during and following the coronavirus pandemic.
