Stay engaged with your customers and employees to stay resilient and thrive

As the world grapples with the pandemic, it is imperative to take into account what would be the business strategies and digital marketing trends in the post-COVID era. The pandemic has given new power to many online industries and even accelerated the speed at which we are “going digital”.

Never before have we seen a day where we were so dependent on Amazon or Zoom to get through our basic necessities. All of this means that as digital marketers, we want to revisit our decisions that use this new reliance on technology to our advantage.

Here, we bring some of the digital marketing trends that would not only help us stay afloat in these challenging times but also reap great rewards in the post COVID era.

Shift everything online
With repeated lockdowns and travel restrictions of the pandemic, it’s the right time to move everything online if you haven’t done so far. While you are likely to have some of your business functions online, the pandemic has shown us there’s much more that we can do online. For example: Go for good customer relationship management (CRM) software. Hosting webinars for customers to build trust or even up-skilling employees. Supporting ‘work-from-home needs’ for your employees. In a nutshell, it is important to stay engaged with your customers and employees to stay resilient and thrive.

Customer engagement through live streaming
Live stream for customer engagement purposes is a trend that is rapidly emerging in the social media world and is likely to continue in the post-COVID era as well. 3 out of 5 consumers vote for a live stream video over a pre-recorded one. The reason being that live stream videos allow them to interact and react to the content as it is being broadcast and shared. In addition, live stream videos offer a raw and unfiltered look into a particular brand to the consumers. Live-stream videos are sure to benefit any business regardless of the industry.

Influencer Marketing
While influencer marketing is not a new phenomenon to the social media marketing world, the post-Covid world will surely see it dominate and even soar to new heights. Digital influencers help take your message out to the right audience to sway purchasing decisions and create brand loyalty. Consumers are not only critical but also astute when it comes to content that they read on social media. It's time businesses realize the importance an influencer can have on your brand and use it in their favour to reach their target audience.

Focus on Facebook ads
With most of us spending more time at home and on social media platforms, the return on investment (ROI) on PPC ads has skyrocketed in many industries.
Facebook ads in particular are not only quite affordable, but they can also help showcase any changes you have made to your business or any COVID-19-exclusive discounts or promotions you might be offering. Moreover, it helps you reach customers based on gender, location, hobbies and interest, marital status, profession, and the list goes on.

Customers are more than likely to try your brand with repeated and consistent advertising strategies, which is what makes Facebook retargeting another strategy to try during/after the COVID-19 pandemic. Retargeting allows you to target your ads at people that have already had some form of contact with your brand. While online ads have always been well targeted, engaging and affordable, in such times, they offer you the ability to truly scale your business. With the pandemic showing little signs of respite, companies have a limited marketing budget to play around with, which has, in turn, led to lowering the CPM (cost per thousand impressions). Therefore, it is a good time to invest in a good Facebook ads strategy to bring in leads and soar your sales.