7 digital marketing mistakes you're making during COVID-19

As companies across the globe continue their struggle in dealing with the repercussions of Covid-19, one thing is clear: marketing dynamics have changed. Even for digital marketing. During these uncertain times, businesses have started to cut down their expenses, and as expected marketing activities have started to take a hit.

We know that making the right decisions during difficult times helps a company exponentially later on. According to a Harvard study done on 4700 publicly listed businesses three years before, during, and after recessions, firms that cut down the budget and slow down their marketing have a meager 21% probability of pulling ahead of their rivals when the recession gets over. 

The importance of digital marketing has significantly increased as most people during this pandemic are spending more time on their screens. Furthermore, on average, cost-per-clicks have seen a significant decrease of 6 percent across all verticals. As stated by Jacob Wulff, Senior PPC manager at Thrive, this is a golden opportunity to boost your digital marketing game while saving money.

Having established the importance of digital marketing during the pandemic, it is worth pointing out that the rules of the game have changed. As economies are rapidly changing, consumer behavior is changing as well. Specific methods and hacks which helped you earlier may not be very useful today and there is a high possibility that you're making some harmful mistakes even if you're a seasoned digital marketer. Here's a list of some common digital marketing mistakes you might be making: 

1. Not communicating changes: Whether your client has a store-based business or a service-based business, a commonality is that the pandemic has caused disruptions. Whether it's opening hours, services, or time to process orders, every change should be made apparent to the customers via the client's website or email marketing. A useful marketing tool to convey these changes can be custom homepage popups with all the necessary information for the website’s visitors.
   
   
2. Not engaging your visitor base: As most digital marketers plan content for their clients months in advance, much of it has become obsolete as the pandemic took hold. Producing the same level of new content is necessary to keep websites active and healthy. You can do this by creating How-tos and DIY's relevant to your field. For example, an Italian restaurant could post recipes of various dishes, or an art teacher could post DIY videos for free. This keeps your current visitor base engaged and increases organic traffic as well.
   
   
3. Not employing local SEO: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps your website rank at the top in Google. As social distancing and limited in-store capacity continue to disrupt buying behavior, consumers are looking for nearby retailers for services and supplies to fulfill basic needs. Hence, you must use local SEO strategies to show up in "near me" searches. Make sure that you collect reviews from local customers and that those reviews are easily accessible to community groups and forums near you.
   
   
4. Not using eye-catching visuals: Social media has seen a torrent of daily information for the past couple of months. Announcements and key messages are prone to get lost and need to be done more effectively. Studies have shown that content with relevant and visually pleasing images engage 94% more views and are 6 times more memorable. Replace long captions with infographics and posters.
   
   
5. Not using this free time to renew your tactic: The pandemic has probably freed up some time for you that was otherwise consumed in commuting or meetings that should've been over email. Not using this time to refurbish websites, finish your digital to-do lists or come up with new templates and devising new strategies may be the biggest mistake you might be making.
   
   
6. Not introducing a special offer: Businesses have slowed down, so introducing a special discount or offer might just do the trick. Many consumers are window shopping from their screens and finding the right offer might engage them enough to buy. Rolling out special offers through pay-per-click advertising is a great strategy at this time.
   
   
7. Not showing empathy and support: Empathy is one of the most basic human emotions that has a profound impact on our subconscious. We're all at a critical emotional state, browsing through our screens looking for some positivity. Brands that show empathy, solidarity with Corona Warriors, and help serve their community can stand out during these difficult times. Look around and you'll see that most big brands are doing exactly this.

Wrapping Up

These are challenging times for everyone and your business can flourish even in this unprecedented situation. Just stay positive, be agile while adjusting your strategies and meet your customers where they are. Hopefully, you have gleaned some insights on what not to do. Feel free to reach out to our team here if you have any queries. We'd be happy to help!

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