Coronavirus fears, closing of borders, stock market freefalling – all in all it doesn’t feel a great time for business growth.
Your first instinct might be to bootstrap communications until the economy begins to recover. Except, once your audience is gone, there’s no guarantee of getting them back.
Right now everybody is on their smartphones following the news and their social media even more avidly than usual. So why not take the opportunity offered to reach out to them where they already are.
While consumer spending will slow in a recession, it won’t stop completely. It’s important to continue telling your story in a credible and genuine way.
Perhaps in “normal” times most of your advertising would be about tactical offers and promotions.
In these anything but normal times, it’s an opportunity to focus on building awareness of your core marketing messages too.
So, don’t go dark in a downturn. Your staff and shareholders of course but also your prospects and customers, all need to hear what you’re doing to strengthen and streamline your business to last. While national roadshows and big ad campaigns might not be a reality, there are marketing strategies to keep you connected without breaking the bank.
Here are three simple and cost-effective ways to communicate with your audiences during a recession.
One: create a digital newsroom
Share content that showcases your company’s longevity, reinforces its strengths and tells relevant brand stories that deepen loyalty. The best platforms for a digital newsroom are likely already in place. Create a dedicated page on your website. Make it easy for your visitors and the media too, to find your brand’s history, leadership profiles, fact sheets and photos and logos.
A digital newsroom provides an opportunity to tell your brand’s story, from history and milestones to its founders and modern leadership. Highlight your company’s core values. Remind your audiences that the brand is sustainable.
Get in touch if you’d like help with this, our team includes specialist experts in websites, SEO and digital marketing and we can train, advise or manage and implement on your behalf.
Two: leverage shared platforms
Boost your brand’s social media presence, and engage directly with customers by seeking their feedback on your social channels. Be approachable and relatable. The most successful brands on social media have a distinct personality and are incredibly engaging. That means having a dedicated team for rapid response, answering questions and responding to comments in real time. If possible, equip a member of your team with approved responses to the most frequently asked questions and points of feedback that you receive. Aim to reply to comments within one or two hours, or as soon as possible.
Active participation on social media gives your fans a voice and allows them to create a dialogue with your brand. Insights from their feedback could lead to new product development, an improved program or service, or a positive change to internal processes.
Get in touch if you’d like help with this, our team includes specialist experts in social media theory and practice and we can train, advise or manage and implement on your behalf.
Three: go local!
Identify ways your company can connect with the local communities where you operate. Do something simple to help schools and organisations based near you. Even small gestures go a long way in building community rapport with your brands.
Personal interactions can bring confidence to a community and position your company as a trusted leader. By demonstrating authentic interest, your business can establish and strengthen positive relationships with community influencers and elected officials – relationships that can be mutually beneficial for years to come.
And if you’re based in the New Forest area, get in touch with us immediately!
Our website Lymington.com is an established, respected and credible source of honest information and our combined local online media channels reach out to 60,000 people weekly. More information here.
On our pages we can publish a one off feature article about your business which will immediately be picked up by Google and which we will then also promote across all our online media channels on your behalf, incorporating the friendly third party recommendation and endorsement for which we are renowned.
Your business can also be included in various initiatives we’re setting up right now to use our channels to help local businesses and organisations: ranging from promoting take away and delivery services to signposting village and community support services.
We are local, friendly, capable – and already working remotely.
We can manage your social media, email marketing, digital marketing, content and copywriting, website CMS updates, advertising and PR.