You’ve built up your online business empire, put time and effort into optimising for SEO, found the perfect PPC combinations and suddenly, that nation goes on lockdown. Whilst it may be tempting to freeze your online campaigns and scale back your digital marketing efforts, we’re here to tell you how continuing with digital during the epidemic could be the best option for your business. For those of you just starting your digital marketing journey, here is how digital marketing can help your business during the self-isolation period.
Why Should I Continue Digital Marketing?
Whilst physical stores are taking a massive hit right now with the high street closed until further notice, moving your business online is easier than ever. Whilst customers turn to the internet for everything from toilet roll to home improvement tools, online sites are taking on the traffic usually heading to the traditional bricks and mortar stores.
During the next few weeks, you may be thinking of pausing your digital marketing during this time, particularly if your business is not operating ‘business-as-usual’. However, now could be the perfect time to improve your digital marketing and online presence ready to capture a brand new audience and remind your customer base you are still there for them when the time is right. With online spending on the up, your digital marketing your help out you in the right place at the right time for those looking to buy or quote online.
Improving Your Business’ SEO During the Lockdown
Whilst some businesses may be scaling back their advertising budgets, SEO is a tool you should never compromise on. Optimising your website for search engines is something that will benefit you long into the future and will match those searching for the products and services you provide with your website.
Allowing your rankings to slip in the short term can mean a lot of work later down the line when businesses begin to open again and can mean that the competition is even more fierce if your competitors have held on to their rankings through careful SEO work during the lockdown.
Running PPC Campaigns
Unless you work in one of the designated ‘key’ industries, it is probably the case that customers will no longer be present at your physical stores. However, they will still be searching for the products and services they need online. This is when you want to be there for them to find. Working on your PPC campaigns during the lockdown ensures that even if you have had to temporarily pause your business efforts, people will remember seeing you online and be more likely to revisit once your business is up and running as usual. Working on your PPC account in the background during the lockdown also means that your PPC account is clean, organised and optimised ready for when you are ready to start spending your ad budget again. There are several ways you can work on your PPC strategies before it gets to setting them live with a budget and a good advisor can help guide you through this process making your PPC efforts a success.
Improving Your Website Content During COVID-19
Now is the perfect time to work on your website’s content. A passive audience is ready and waiting at home to read what you have to say and will be visiting online sites now more than ever so it’s important that your website has the best content possible to draw visitors back time and again. If you are looking to grow organic traffic to your website, SEO-optimised content is the way to do it.
One of the easiest ways to utilise content marketing as a tool is to set up a business blog. Whilst you may not think your business is worth blogging about, business blogs are a key part of digital marketing and driving new and returning traffic to your website. We’ve worked with a number of clients over the years who have seen the fantastic effect building their content and creating a business blog has had on their website visitors and quality leads.
With the absence of bricks-and-mortar shops in the current climate, more and more people will be turning to blogs and other online sources for information and guidance. This is where your quality content will shine whilst other businesses may be neglecting their content during the lockdown. If you can attract visitors and give them useful, informative content, their chance of returning to your website once they are ready to purchase rises dramatically.
Social Media Marketing
Your social media profiles have taken a lot of hard work to get to where they are and a dedicated following will expect to continue to receive digital content from you during the lockdown. With the majority of the nation at home currently, more and more people will be scrolling through their phones in search of engaging content.
Abandoning your social media marketing during the lockdown is a certain way to undo sometimes years of hard work with audiences losing interest and a lower chance of brand recall once your business is back up to full capacity. Most importantly, if your customers see you failing to respond, this can negatively impact your company’s trustworthiness and may lead to complaints.
If this is your first step into social media marketing, now is the perfect time to craft a social media presence for your brand and entice new customers to your website. Social media platforms help you connect and interact with your customers and are a great way to built brand loyalty in tough times. Billions of people use social media every single day and it is the perfect place to inject some of your brand’s personality on a global platform.
Need Some help Handling Your Digital Marketing During the Lockdown?
One of the most important things to know when managing your digital marketing during the lockdown is to have a contingency plan in place. If you are expecting staff to be absent during the outbreak, make sure you have someone you trust taking care of things such as PPC, SEO and social media to keep it running smoothly. Your digital campaigns may need to adapt and change to fit around new situations and industry changes so scheduling too far in advance should be avoided.
If you are looking for ways to streamline your digital marketing efforts and manage budgets during this uncertain period then pulling the plug should be avoided in order to avoid harming your rankings and industry standing. Instead, consult a specialist who can talk you through the best way to make your digital marketing a success during the lockdown, without going over budget.
Are you looking for a team of specialists to guide you through the digital minefield of the lockdown? Why not get in touch with our team for a free website audit and expert advice on how our team could help you make the most of your digital marketing.