What’s Happening with Content Marketing in the Time of COVID-19?

A great majority of digital marketing experts had never faced a situation like the one that occurred when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and chances are they had never studied such a scenario at any of the courses they’ve attended. That means they had to rely on their experience and recognise similarities between this situation and some other ones that had traits that resembled these we’re experiencing now.

The most striking fact is that brands have found themselves in a position where rethinking their customers’ priorities is vital, so that the right messages could be communicated. However, this is easier said than done, especially when we still don’t know what kind of consequences this pandemic will leave on the society. Still, we need to work with what we have and what we know, which is why we’ve prepared a short list of things most marketers agree on at the time being.

How to communicate?

It’s clear that many social promotions and product launched have been delayed, mostly because this is now a whole new world we’re marketing and selling in and this fact needs to be reflected in the way we communicate. Also, there is a noticeable trend among customers to focus more on longer-term goals, such as education. This suggest that content marketing should focus, more than ever, on conveying messages that provide some kind of value, especially in terms of educating the public.

We could also conclude that the best response has been achieved by those companies who have actively demonstrated empathy and support. A lot of companies have issued messages of support, but not all of them have actually done something to help the communities around the world. Those that have, on the other hand, managed to build their customer trust and an audience. So, we should communicate messages of empathy and support, but accompany them with actions.

Balancing optimism and sensitivity

The worst thing to do right now is to behave as if nothing extraordinary was happening. Your customers are experiencing drastic changes and if you are oblivious to that, they won’t trust you any more. We all know that both industries and customers will never be the same again, but we should also avoid focusing on the negatives. Also, there will be a lot of messages that will prove completely out of place or simply wrong. The key here is to apologise for them and move forward.

Finally, the way we construct our messages is now more important than ever. Customers will pay more attention to both what is said and how it’s said. That means that the language used has to be impeccable, which is why companies will hire people who have honed their skills at reputable institutions and completed courses such as one of many practical Monkey Tree ESL courses in Hong Kong.

What are the opportunities?

As always, the skill of identifying opportunities is of paramount importance. Every change brings about a shift in demand. In the case of COVID-19, we’ve witnessed how certain types of products and solutions have become the most popular, but that doesn’t mean that companies offering products or services that seem to be less sought should give up. Instead, they need to take into account the fact that many people are now working from home, which means they don’t waste time commuting.

What most of them do is spend more time online in search of entertainment. So, if you can create content that is contextually relevant to your brand, but at the same time entertaining, you’ll probably hit the jackpot. The result may not come overnight, but audiences are bound to remember the positive experiences that particular brands provided them in the time of crisis.

If it’s not really possible to provide such type of “infotainment”, companies need to look into the thoughts, emotions and challenges their customers are probably facing right now and respond to them. To do that, businesses need to have channels of communication with their customers constantly open and listen carefully to what their clients have to say. Being able to provide a right response is now more valuable than ever.

There are still many things we don’t know about what the world will look like after the pandemic. What we can say, though, with great certainty, is that COVID-19 is here to stay for a while and that it will continue to have profound effects on our lives. No matter how long it is exposed to the virus, content marketing will never become immune to it, but would have to learn how to live with it.

Diana Smith

Diana Smith is a full time mom of two beautiful girls and a passionate blogger. In her free time she enjoys exercising and preparing healthy meals for her family.