5 Reasons To Stay Invested In Digital Marketing to Grow Your Online Presence During Coronavirus Lockdown

A lot of countries around the world are currently under some form of lockdown due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The quarantine measures put in place to contain and control the disease has disrupted the free flow of people, goods and services. This, in turn, has sent shockwaves across the global economy and financial markets. There is currently a great feeling of uncertainty among the global workforce and business world as to what the future holds. Many business owners are now faced with the need to make tough decisions in regards to cost cuts. One of the areas that are most likely to experience spending cuts is marketing (both digital and print). In this article, we are going to be discussing five 5 reasons why businesses should increase and not halt their advertising efforts, particularly in digital marketing. Let’s get started.

Why should you improve your digital marketing efforts during the COVID-19 lockdown?

The coronavirus pandemic is happening at a time when the Internet is at the forefront of our daily lives and plays a pivotal role in connecting the entire globe.

People are still able to shop online, work remotely, obtain valuable information, run their businesses, attend classes and so on. Internet users still crave for reliable and authentic information on not just the latest world happenings, but also available products and services that are beneficial to them during the lockdown.

Thereby causing a massive surge in internet use and online media consumption. If you can take advantage of the current situation by improving your digital marketing efforts, then you stand a huge chance of selling your products, prompting bookings for your services and generating revenue.

If you exercise restraint or cut down on your digital marketing efforts, then you are going to be at a loss. With more people at home on their laptops, tablets and mobile devices, now is the best time to engage them. This is the best time to increase your online presence, gain exposure and grow your business.

1. Reach a larger audience

An effective marketing medium is one that can generate large scale exposure for your products and services. It is easier to make sales when more people know about your product or services offerings. The focal point of digital marketing is online, which due to the COVID-19 lockdown is experiencing a surge in its use.

Therefore, improving your digital marketing efforts gives you a shot to target and reach a wider pool of potential customers.

There are various key phases in the process of using digital marketing to broaden your reach more than your service area. These include:

— The use of analytical tools

Analytical tools allow you to gain a better understanding of the audience you plan on reaching. The data from this analysis is crucial to your plans for expansion. It gives you an insight into the preferences, buying habits, and patterns of your target demographic. With such priceless pieces of information, you can then compose campaigns and content that address those consumer needs and attract their interest. There are a variety of analytical tools you can use to understand the behaviours of web users interacting with you or your competitors.

— Maximize social media

The COVID-19 lockdown is the perfect time for you to increase your social media presence, given the fact that there will be a surge in social media use. There is a vast audience on social media that are hungry for interesting and informative content.

Thus giving you an opportunity to satisfy these needs, attract new potential customers and generate substantial exposure for your brand.

Social media is filled with other brands offering products and services similar to your own. Hence, to succeed, you must determine what sets your brand apart and capitalise on that. Posting regular content won’t make the cut. All your social media posts should foster conversations, and promote interaction between you and your followers.

In addition, avoid over saturating your feed, with advertisements, be sure to use paid Twitter Ads, Facebook Ads or any other paid social media campaign to target users who have an interest in products and services.

The goal is to make your brand more relatable which in turn will attract other users and result in substantial following.

— Improve your content

You can make your brand more appealing to a larger audience, by enhancing your content. You need to publish content that strikes a chord with people other than your normal base. Research your competitors to know what they are writing about and come up with something better. Explain how your products and services can improve their lives or make them better. Consider adding interesting photos and videos to your content to make it more interesting. The overall idea is to provide your target audience with unique, valuable and relevant content.

2. Retarget existing customers

You cannot overlook your existing customers or past audience as they are crucial lifelines to your business.

As a matter of fact, It is easier for you to convince a previous customer than a new prospect. You have to reach out to your past customers, especially during a quarantine.
This is because they are most likely to patronise a brand they have had an encounter with and trust in the ability of their products and services to satisfy their needs.

Digital retargeting can help you to accomplish the task of reaching your past audience using a variety of communication channels. Each of these channels differ in their rate of transmission, cost, flexibility and effectiveness.

You should consider the nature of your audience before settling on a particular channel to use. Your message should also be crafted in a manner that captivates your audience and in turn direct their attention to your offering.

For an effective digital retargeting campaign, you can also use multiple communication channels to increase your chances of success.

3. Attract new customers

Businesses of all sizes are always on the hunt for new customers as they are crucial to ensuring consistent sales. You can’t always rely on repeat customers as their preferences and needs can change at any moment.

The influx of new customers encourages you to step up your game, by improving your products and service delivery. New customers are also an essential source of revenue generation which you need.

The unprecedented circumstances caused by the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in a rise in demand for certain goods and services online. Since the need for self-isolation and social distancing has caused a shift in consumer behaviour.

With the various forms of digital marketing, you can easily attract new potential customers. Depending on the medium you use, you can also track and measure your performance levels. This way you can identify the best performing marketing campaigns and strike out the ineffective ones.

Even if your product or service is not in high demand at this point in time, the exposure will help to keep your brand in the thoughts and minds of potential prospects.

Your focus should not only be on attracting and converting new customers but also on retaining them.

4. High returns on investment

The end goal of your marketing efforts at a time when other businesses are making budget cuts is to receive high returns on your investment.

Digital Marketing allows you to cut costs, yet still generate the much-needed exposure for your brand.

The various low-cost digital marketing channels- such as organic search, paid search, social media and email have the potential to cause an increase in revenue generation which equals profits. You can either choose to focus on a single digital marketing channel or utilize a variety of different channels.

5. Dominate your industry

When other businesses are cutting down on their marketing efforts, you need to augment yours. It is only brands that are capable and also available to satisfy the needs of consumers, that will become major players in their respective industry.

Brands that dominate their niche online are in a better position to compete favourably. Attaining the top spot requires the use of different online marketing mediums that puts your products and services at the forefront of your preferred audience.

It is not an easy feat to accomplish this task, neither is it impossible. Creating and implementing an effective digital marketing strategy can help place your brand on track to achieving this goal.

Conclusion

The coronavirus outbreak has triggered a global health and economic crisis. While no one can say for sure when everything will return to normal, you have to follow the guidelines of the relevant authorities and stay safe. It is also important that you leverage the opportunity of the COVID-19 lockdown, by using the internet to increase your brand exposure. Improving and maintaining your brand’s visibility online puts your products and services at the forefront of consumers who might need them. This way you can still remain in business and grow despite the current circumstances.

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