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June 30, 2020

Content Consistency - Why Marketing Shouldn't Stop When The World Does



It doesn’t matter who or what your news source is, there is the same bleak message making the rounds. The message you might not be seeing with the same level of saturation, however, is that you shouldn’t be stopping your sales and marketing activity or pausing whatever successful strategies you had in place. As we have seen time and time again, business who remain consistent and become part of the conversation instead of retreating from it will come out on the other end and ready to take advantage of the exponential growth that follows a downturn. Still not convinced? Let’s explore why a sustained approach is the way forward.



Look to the past to see the future growth on the other side

‘Unprecedented’ has been the word on everyone’s lips when trying to explain the impact of COVID-19. The truth is, it’s not an entirely accurate label, as recessions have been endured and conquered in generations past with explosive growth on the other side of the struggle. We’re arguably in a better position to receive this kind of market with the enhanced technologies that can notify and educate us on best practices, also allowing businesses to freely communicate with customers and clients throughout. Digital marketing in a recession is going to be the vehicle that keeps your brand top of mind, especially when this recession has resulted in people increasing their screentime and capacity in which to interact with your brand message.

Some of the biggest household names were born from the ashes of recessions, going on to re-shape the industry and become a pillar of modern society. This includes General Electric who started and persevered during the ‘Panic of 1893’, pressing on when their competitors retracted. General Motors (News - Alert), with the same trajectory, brought a bold idea to the market in the ‘Panic of 1907’, and so did Disney during the ‘Great Depression’. More recently, the 2008 Global Financial saw trailblazing entrepreneurs bring radical ideas to the market, now known as Uber, Airbnb, Pinterest and Slack.

Your audience is captivated, now start serving them relevant content

With many of us now working from home and increased screentime being reported globally, now is not the time to pull your content plan, but rather expand your offering and engage more meaningfully. To those who believe that no one is buying in this social climate, they’re not seeing the value in the ‘awareness phase’ and ‘consideration phase’ being at its peak. In times of uncertainty, your market opens up to receive new content and diverse options, and this is where advocacy can really bloom, resulting in strong conversions when stability returns.

Don’t be afraid to serve long-form content that connects with their current circumstances, but also offers an ‘escape’ to the current circumstances. Perhaps you can engage with your audience on social with a live trivia session, centred around the niche you operate in. You could also publish blogs that come from different angles of your business, humanising your brand and showing how your business has been impacted.  These moments of transparency and honest expression will resonate with your audience.

If your industry is being conservative, take a bolder approach

When it's business as usual, we find ourselves neck and neck with our competitors bidding for that top spot, figuratively and literally. Now that the conservative players are taking a seat to wait out the pandemic, act with confidence knowing that your dollar now goes a little further in an uncrowded market, with opportunities that might not have been available to you now before you. It might also be a time to take a meeting for that partnership opportunity, showing your already empathetic audience that you too are looking out for society through a strategic union with a not-for-profit organisation.

It’s worth reiterating that you shouldn’t take a stock market approach here, buying whatever you can get your hands on when the price is low. You need to stand by your marketing strategy, as it’s all about consistency and staying true to your message. Being bold might even translate to simply continuing your digital activity and sticking to your growth plan.

Start creating the content you haven’t had the time to do before

It would be fair to say that we all have content ideas that go in the proverbial bottom drawer, neglected in favour of reactive tasks and competing priorities. Now is the time to activate these content ideas, especially now that you have the time and captured audience who are ready to receive it. Perhaps the video interview with your founders or the emotive ‘About Us’ story never fit quite well in your fast-paced sales and marketing mix, but now you can re-introduce yourself and a new style of content that will strengthen loyalty. You might even now establish your newsletter template and dust off that contact list that hasn’t been leveraged until now. If you have some new concepts of service offerings that you haven’t totally committed to yet, why not do some test campaigns to see if there is interest and enough evidence to pursue a new stream?

Now that you are thinking laterally and have an exciting mix of quality content ready to push out, why not engage your audience directly and ask them what they want to see more of? You can do this through an informal Q&A on socials, you can host a live event or webinar that educates customers on best practises, or you can ask them to complete a quick survey. This audience has chosen to follow your trajectory and hear what you have to say and will relish the opportunity to be part of the future story and have a say in what they see. Don’t fear your customers, learn from them and ask them frankly.

The takeaway message here is that a recession can spell a businesses fate, but you have control over which fate you choose. Don’t abandon your content in this critical time, as consistency is going to be relied upon by your captivated market. Try new things and engage more meaningfully, and you will come out on the other side of this stronger and more connected than ever.



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