Lessons learned in digital marketing as we approach lockdown 2

It’s the inevitable news we’ve all been dreading, but a second national lockdown has been announced for England to curb the rapid spread of coronavirus throughout the country. 

Having no choice but to close physical stores and offices had a devastating impact for so many industries the first time round. They had to adapt to the drastic change in lifestyle, cut costs where possible, and essentially try to weather the storm. As we approach round 2 and the uncertainty sets in again, here are some of the lessons we learned last time when it comes to digital marketing.

Digital is more important than ever

Back in March, we saw businesses with physical locations come up with some innovative ways to engage their customers and sell online. 

It’s likely that companies are now much more confident in ways they can adapt during this second lockdown, and consumers will almost expect their favourite places to still be available in some capacity, be it virtual classes, ecommerce stores, online deliveries… If you’re not embracing digital, now is definitely the time to get on board. 

Adjust marketing budgets accordingly

Lockdown will inevitably leave businesses with some difficult financial decisions to make, and marketing may be an obvious spend to cut. 

What we found the first time round was that digital marketing became a key resource for some clients. For those relying purely on digital adaptations to get through a tough few months, the likes of social media advertising and PPC were important to spread the word.

On the other hand, some clients found that reducing or even pausing their advertising spend was the logical way to go. The beauty of these channels is that they can be switched on and off in a second, and when you’re ready to resume, you can pick it back up in an instant. It really depends on how much you’re able to continue selling during lockdown. 

SEO however is one to consider more carefully – although it’s not a channel that provides instant results, its long term effects can really come into their own during lockdown – especially if you’ve had no other choice but to pause other marketing avenues for the time being. If you’ve previously invested in building up your organic presence, you’re one step ahead of those who relied purely on advertising. 

Completely pausing your SEO resource is not recommended – it could end up having a detrimental effect and undo all the hard work you’ve put in previously. Rankings could start to drop and unlike PPC, when you’re ready to go again, you may have to start again from scratch. During lockdown, keeping some budget on SEO will ensure you stay present. Have a look into what your audience is searching for and adapt your strategy accordingly.

Organic social is a cost effective way of staying connected with your audience (which we’ll come on to next), so keep up your presence on these networks. Email marketing is another relatively cheap way to keep people up to date with your business’s plans and ask for their support. 

Stay connected

During lockdowns, social media is one of the key ways people consume information and keep in contact with others. 43% of people even admitted to spending longer on social channels back in the spring. This is why it’s so important for businesses – operating or not – to stay connected to their audience.

Just make sure you don’t ignore what’s going on in the world and make your brand as human as possible. It can be difficult to know what’s right and wrong to post in times like this, but think ahead and make sure you’re not completely neglecting your social channels in a time when building relationships is so important. 

We’re all learning as this pandemic goes on when it comes to digital marketing, but from experience, we can advise your businesses on the best way to tackle it head on. Just get in touch.