What Consumer Quarantine Means for Your Digital Strategy

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting changes have impacted the way consumers are shopping and how they’re interacting with brands. As people are staying inside, there is a decrease in customers visiting brick and mortar stores and an increase in delivery orders and time spent online.

Many businesses have changed how they are marketing to consumers or how frequently they are reaching out to their customers. As the situation continues to evolve, your digital marketing strategy must, too.

Changes in customer behavior

Consumer behavior is changing, along with our daily lives, as the world responds to the coronavirus. A large percentage of the workforce is now working remotely, which means they are spending more time online than usual. As consumers look for news and ways to stay connected, they’re on social media more often. Shopping habits have shifted with many consumers trying to limit the amount of in-person shopping they need to do.

What does this mean for brands?

• With orders to stay home, out of home and outdoor advertisements are less effective.
• Events in the next few months will need to be rescheduled or cancelled.
• Big product launches and initiatives may need to be scaled back or postponed.
• Budgets may need to shift to focus on high-priority business needs.

As people are staying in their homes and are more active online, it makes sense for companies to scale back on other forms of marketing and focus on digital marketing tactics. The increased use of social media gives brands more opportunity to connect with their customers on their favorite platforms.

There are still many uncertainties around COVID-19, so it’s important for brands to be adaptable and flexible when it comes to marketing tactics, messaging, and interacting with customers.

Adapting your digital strategy

With digital marketing, brands can still reach their customers, despite the changes in our everyday lives. However, just ramping up your digital strategy isn’t the answer to the current situation. In times of uncertainty, consumers want reassurance and authenticity while they seek out ways to find moments of escape throughout the day. Adjusting your digital strategy in response to the coronavirus will help you stay in touch with your customers during these challenging times.

Focus on influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is effective because consumers trust influencers and respect their opinions and recommendations. They’re relatable and are seen by their followers as friends. As people around the globe are practicing social distancing, they’re turning to social media to connect with people virtually. Influencers can help brands connect with customers in an authentic and empathetic way.

With many marketers scaling back budgets and unable to hold editorial shoots, influencers can help fill in the gaps by creating content on social media that can then be shared across your other digital channels. Working with influencers can also help brands support customers with content that is relevant, entertaining, or otherwise useful. Influencers are successful because they build relationships with their followers, which is particularly important during times of uncertainty.

By partnering with influencers and creating content that’s appealing to your target audience, you can provide a high value to your consumers whether they’re actively making purchases or not.

Leverage digital ads

As people are spending more time online and aren’t able to visit brick and mortar stores, they’re doing most of their shopping online. Driving customers to your eCommerce store can help bring in sales when in-person visits are down. Digital ads are a good way to remind consumers that your online store is still open for business. For brands who mainly operated out of their physical storefront, using digital ads can help you inform or remind customers about your online presence.

If you already have an ad strategy in place for the next few months, it’s a good idea to reassess your messaging. Many retailers are pivoting their messaging to encourage consumers to stay indoors and highlight how their products can benefit their customers during the quarantine. Clothing retailers are focusing on clothes that are good for working from home and wellness and beauty companies are showcasing how their products can help with self-care. Figure out what makes the most sense for your brand during this time.

Offer special promotions

Driving sales to your eCommerce store with influencer marketing and digital ads is a good way to get started. Offering special deals and promotions can help stimulate purchases from your customers. Many retailers are offering free shipping during the next few weeks as customers are ordering more products online. For brands that offer delivery, waiving shipping can be the difference between a customer making a purchase or not.

Influencers can be brought in to help with special offers and promotions, especially if you had planned other campaigns with them that may have to be postponed. Leverage your relationships with influencers to share discounts with their followers and use affiliate links and promo codes that are specific to each influencer. This can help drive sales while continuing to grow your relationship with your influencers and generate goodwill with their followers.

Marketers will need to adjust their digital strategy to adapt to the changes brought on by COVID-19. Pivoting will help brands provide value to their customers and continue marketing to them, albeit in new ways. Keep using your influencers to strengthen relationships with them and with their followers. Go digital with ads that direct customers to your eCommerce store and offer discounts and promotions to encourage sales.

With these changes, it’s also important to remember that this is a challenging time and using the right messaging is crucial. Practice empathy and transparency wherever possible and focus on building relationships and providing value to your influencers and your customers.

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