INTRODUCTION
While the current pandemic has made the world adjust to a new normal, marketers are turning to content marketing even more. Brands are rethinking their customers’ priorities to determine what is worth communicating while balancing marketing goals with customer empathy.
According to Forbes, total Internet use has surged by 50 percent to 70 percent. With stores closed and events canceled, the traditional ways of connecting with customers aren’t possible, making your content marketing strategy even more important.
Here are a few ways to adjust your content marketing during a pandemic.
ADJUST YOUR CONTENT
Rather than going dark and not producing any new pieces of content, you need to adapt. You may have to change blog copy, rework graphics or add extra data to make existing content relatable in the current climate.
For example, instead of a typical how-to article, you can tailor it to COVID-19. Say your client is in construction with a specialty in the warehouse and distribution industry. A timely piece could be how warehouse facility managers can expand their warehouse–think how busy Amazon is right now.
Or, say you’re writing a blog article that you want to be relative to the pandemic but also contains timeless information. Consider denoting certain sentences or sections that can be removed once the pandemic is over.
THINK CONTRIBUTION, NOT CONVERSION
Does your brand want to stay relevant by inserting itself into the pandemic conversation? Accomplish this by continuing to offer value to your audience rather than looking for more business. For example:
- Focus on building your brand.
- Rethink campaigns driving short-term sales.
One brand that has adapted its content marketing strategy is the DoubleTree hotel chain. Until now, the recipe for its famous chocolate chip cookies (given to guests at check-in) was a corporate secret. They used this unprecedented time to post the recipe in a video that has now been viewed more than 500,000 times.
Official Recipe: The Signature DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookie from Hilton Newsroom on Vimeo.
CHANGE YOUR CALL-TO-ACTION
The last item to keep in mind when creating content during a pandemic is the call-to-action (CTA), typically added to the end of the piece. During a pandemic, stay away from excitement- or scarcity-driven copywriting like “Grab your spot before it’s too late!” as this won’t resonate with consumers at this given moment.
Instead, using safer CTAs such as “learn more” or “find out first.”