COVID-19: 5 Key Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

Now that almost everything is on pause, refocusing your efforts on your owned media is not only safer, it will also prepare you for the future. 

Optimize your SEO: if you don’t have the time to review the entire technical structure of your website, focus on making small adjustments that can be done quickly. This is a good time to go through your URLs, optimize your tags, integrate structured data into your pages, update your Google My Business listings, etc. 

Create or reuse content: Forget the pandemic for a moment. Users have a lot more time to spend online, so take advantage of this to identify user questions related to your business and answer them with your blog articles. Long term, this will pay off!  

Recycling your content is also a key opportunity right now. If the content is already on your site, optimize it and reuse it in other formats! For example, you can take an existing blog article and create an infographic.😉

Make use of your email database: It’s time to dust off your underutilized email list. Email marketing is one of the cheapest and most profitable marketing initiatives. Not sure where to start? We have just the guide for you!

Quebec consumers increasingly prioritize local businesses. For retail stores, restaurants, cafés, independent grocery stores and more, contactless service is proving to be a very attractive option to minimize the slow-down for storefront businesses. 

Contactless service is often done online, but some business owners also offer the possibility of delivering purchases directly to the trunk of your car. 

If you don’t already have an e-commerce website, platforms like Shopify provide a 14-day free trial, allowing you to quickly set up an online point of sale. They’ve also recently published a tutorial on how to easily configure your online service!

For the time being, prioritize boosting content that keeps users engaged rather than driving them to your stores. By focusing on brand awareness during this period, you won’t be wasting your media budget on initiatives that go against the new reality of the consumer. 

Here are some tips and tricks for managing social media during quarantine: 

• Publish content that’s relevant to the reality of your users (ex: sports and entertainment at home)
• Publish content related to hygiene practices (if your company has the authority to do so and your content complies with government recommendations) #ProtectingOurselves 
• Avoid having an aggressive sales pitch, unless your product or service can be useful in the current circumstances 
• Encourage acts of kindness and helping others 
• Be flexible with your exchange and return policies, and try to help people out when possible.  Solidarity is what unites humans, and brands can benefit big-time from joining in. 
• Give your consumers the microphone; answer their questions and share their stories.

Data is the most reliable thing we have right now, so take advantage of it! If you want to shift your efforts to a nurturing phase, you’ll need to adjust your goals, tactics, and performance measures. Sometimes, going back to basics can be the best strategy. You’ll need to start with your KPIs, since it’s critical to take appropriate action in this situation and to identify the best opportunities for your business in the short-term.