2020 has witnessed some back-to-back plot twists and the world is still reeling from its impact. And while I, like most others, would like to believe that come 31st December 2020, and everything will be magically back to normal – it doesn’t work like that.
Although with the Coronavirus vaccine in sight, things might just start taking a slight turn towards normalcy, let’s not fool ourselves here.
This is no dream sequence!
And the reality going forward is going to be very different from what it was a year back.
The truth is nobody knows what sub-plot this manic script is going to drop next.
Thankfully, people are trying new things and adopting new strategies to reach their consumers, and the insights received from these experiments help content marketers like us to somewhat see how the future is going to look like going forward.
Take time to revisit your goals
Let’s face it! Businesses are working with fewer resources. It goes without saying that it’s time to go back to the drawing board and take a fresh look at a few things.
Try and ask yourself the following questions before dive into making a new content marketing strategy post Pandemic:
- What is the current challenge?
- What are the risks?
- How much can you spend on content marketing?
- What is your timeline for a marketing plan?
Video Marketing is the new face-to-face
A report says that by the end of 2020, an average person will spend 100 minutes in a day watching video streaming. And this is a rise of 49% from 2018.
Connected devices, social media, and mobile gadgets are some of the elements which have resulted in the demand for video in 2020.
Some steps that businesses are taking to promote their video marketing strategy in the post-pandemic era are:
- They are mirroring global conversations in their videos, and Edelman Research shows 65% of consumers have indicated that how brands react to the pandemic will affect their attitude towards their business/products. Issues like Black Lives Matter, and LGBTQ and mental health issues have been reflected in campaigns by several brands across digital marketing platforms.
- Brands have also been observed to resort to a more personal approach when talking about challenges they have faced during difficult times, such as this Pandemic. Brands that can show that they not only care about their customers but also their employees have been able to instill certain confidence because ‘people buy from people’
- Rewarded videos often appear at intervals of mobile games enabling gamers to get their hands on rewards and bonuses in exchange for watching promotional videos. 70% of gamers would prefer these videos to in-app purchases and is a good opportunity to showcase your product/services.
Branch out your content marketing strategy
Branching out from your regular bread and butter content marketing. Consider experimenting with Reddit, Quora, Twitter if you already aren’t doing it.
These platforms being more aligned to users (read consumers), may be able to put you in their shoes, or even listen closely to what they have to say. Your audience may not be on any one particular social media platform, and at times it will be difficult to gauge where the major chunk of your users are.
But this is one thread that is definitely worth a pull.
You could also use polls and surveys to get a drift of people’s thoughts and moods at the current moment.
It can be as simple as creating a free survey in Google Forms and ask people in relevant Reddit subgroups or Facebook groups to take the survey. Typically, you should be able to find enough people interested in taking a survey, but you can always tie your ask to a greater cause in the form of some sort of incentive – like a gift card or discount codes.
Know when to “Go”.
To face the growing competition for user attention with ease, marketers should use advertising automation, platforms, and formats that increase ROI and user loyalty – all at the same time.
With phased openings of businesses, it’s critical to know when you should resume your marketing activities.
In such a situation monitoring search impressions on Google is the fastest and simplest way to gauge the industry, as this is by far the best place to know what people are asking for and when.
Use this time to build a strong online presence
People (read consumers) are still wary of heading out to buy that favorite scarf or eat at that local restaurant. What they will however not mind is to check your products online. So, build a strong online presence. Listen to social media conversations, float offers and discounts, give away that freebie you have been holding on to, and last but not the least, make the shipping/delivery free of cost.
One other thing to consider is whether there is a segment within your target audience that could be more profitable than the others? If the answer is yes, consider targeted marketing for this group of people.
Explore the following options too:
- Can you focus on a super-niche audience?
- Can you talk about your product/service offerings in a different manner?
- Is your content uniformly published on relevant platforms?
After how this year has turned out and with months of uncertainty, it can be unarguably difficult for brands to take a long-term view of their business. Many companies may not even make it through to the other side, and several others are in survival mode.
All the more reason that the next few months will be ‘make or break’!
One thing to remember is now might not be the time to create more content, but definitely the time to make it work better.
What do you think?
What is your content marketing strategy for 2021?
