Digital transformation due to global viral outbreak

Working from home, zoom chats and remote project management are the new norm. While there is less traffic on the roads, sea and air, there is more traffic on the information superhighway. Brands are spending less on outdoor media, events, and press but simply stopping your campaigns is not the smartest way for a brand to go during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brands that stay calm, focus, and strategise will have a better chance of adapting to the way things are and coming out fighting. For many, a good idea is to look at how campaign budgets can be re-allocated to digital channels.

1) Don’t panic, your competitors won’t.

If you pause everything you’re doing and your competitors won’t who will come out on top when this is all over? The COVID-19 pandemic has hit brands hard, but panicking won’t help. Bring your team together and figure out the best way to optimise your resources, budgets and campaigns.

2) Take it online

There hasn’t been a more crucial time to take your offline campaigns online. Remember a digital marketing campaign take about 2-4 weeks to really take effect think of the long term impact this can have on your brand. There will be an eventual bounce back once the situation is over and you want your brand to be positioned to succeed once this happens.

3) Adapt to current search trends

People are stuck at home and they’re spending time online. Not only that, when goods are scarce people search and when they can’t find what they need they search for alternatives. This applies for certain search terms like groceries. “Google Trends data for the keyword “groceries” shows an annual high for the week ending on March 21 — an increase of 446% compared to the same period in 2019.” (Google Trends, 2020). Research search terms related to your brand run that SEO or PPC campaign you’ve been holding out on.

4) Re-think visuals and language in your digital content

Thinking of activating a display campaign maybe don’t use that picture of a large group to communicate your new product. “We work hand in hand with you”, might not be the best headline option considering social distancing. Look at your current web presence and look at areas to optimise visual and language on your digital presence to avoid any potentially bad PR to your brand resulting from perceived insensitive communication.

5) Keep tracking and optimising

It’s crucial to ensure your digital presence and campaigns are working harder than ever. Ensure you’re accurately tracking the effectiveness of your online activities and optimising frequently to ensure you stay relevant and ahead of your competition. This could be more frequent A/B testing, adjusting your tar-getting, or changing how you approach your market segments. You need to make sure every dinar you’re spending is working hard to get your brand in front of customers with a relevant message.