Anyone who’s watched a recently recorded TV show or sports event will see social distancing in place. From screens showing people watching online and canned laughter to widely spaced out quiz contestants and presenters spread out around the CBeebies house, entertainment is having to adapt. This now needs to be the case in your marketing, to show you’re adapting to the changing world of masks and 2 metre high fives. Here’s some great examples of brands staying current in a pandemic world with social distancing in marketing.
Amazon don’t always have the warm fuzzy feeling in their marketing, choosing to focus on speed and convenience. Outbreaks in factories and warehouses make headlines, so Amazon are quick to show their team being taken care of. Employees in masks, temperature checks and masks being transported around the world, to make sure they can keep going, shows the public they can order using Amazon safe in the knowledge that the people behind the delivery aren’t being put at risk.
One of my personal favourites. Let’s face it, communicating digitally doesn’t always go to plan. Tech break downs, barking dogs, wifi connection issues, propping up your phone and embarrassing home life events in the background are all here, along with everyone’s favourite “you’re on mute, I can’t hear you” – they’re all here. Heineken gives a nod to everyone staying safe at the expense of convenience in a humourous way, and it really works as a way of putting social distancing in marketing.
There is information to show that people feel more positive about adverts with masks in, perhaps because it better reflects real life right now. Vistaprint have made masks the key focal point of their advert, promoting masks as not something to hide behind, but a show of solidarity and resilience. Print isn’t even mentioned here, but personally I remembered their name the next time I put my mask on.
Launched at the start of the pandemic, this Dominos advert showed that while staying home can feel isolating, it’s also a chance to, well, dance around in your pants before a pizza arrives. It’s not perfect as you see the pizza being handed over and no masks, but then this is perhaps before all of the processes kicked in. And it’s still a fun way to look at staying home.
For those that aren’t big enough to be doing massive TV adverts, these ideas can still be transferred to your marketing. This is actually an opportunity to embrace video as more people are used to more raw video footage. COVID-19 marketing for SMEs can be as simple as a screenshot of the online team talk as part of a social media marketing campaign, an altered strapline or logo to incorporate social distance or the use of masks, or a reassuring chain of email marketing to show how a business is not just surviving the pandemic, but working to be resilient and thrive.
(image from Subway)
Get in touch for more information on marketing through a pandemic with social distancing in marketing
COVID-19 changed the way that everyone marketed, very quickly and very extremely. Overnight events were cancelled, shops were closed and face to face meetings died out. More and more people were using digital methods to stay in touch and that included social media.
Social media networks were suddenly under pressure to help their users maintain relationships with their loved ones, and at the same time were looking to provide business tools that addressed all of the new challenges.
Many didn’t disappoint, and here are a selection of some of the tools and even tweaks that social media networks made as COVID-19 swept the world.
Launched in May, Facebook’s newest videoconferencing feature – Messenger Rooms – allows up to 50 people to video chat at the same time, with no limit to how long you can talk for. In addition, you don’t even need a Facebook account to join a room so it’s open to everyone.
For a B2C company that uses Facebook a lot, who were planning on holding a small event of around this number, Facebook Rooms made this an adaptable possibility.
In the world of work, sharing information on LinkedIn has been a bit of a minefield. People are having to share news of furlough, redundancies, temporary or permanent closures and product changes and delays. A ‘like’ or a round of applause or even a sad face doesn’t seem appropriate when you’re trying to communicate ‘keep your chin up’.
It’s of little surprise that LinkedIn released a new reaction button which essentially means ‘sending you support’. Messaging changes as times do and LinkedIn got this absolutely right.
This actually came out a while ago but it was a relatively low key affair. In a time where people can now not hand over a real life catalogue, the potential to send people a virtual catalogue on something as easy as Whatsapp has a big appeal. It has become much more publicised and widely used as a result of COVID-19.
How it works is, a business owner gets a digital store using WhatsApp Business and inside the store, you can create any number of catalogues. You can put prices, descriptions, pictures and other ordering information. You can even add a website to each catalogue.
If you’re looking to use more social media marketing in the aftermath of COVID-19, get in touch.
When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted that Facebook was working on an upgrade to its famous Like button many suspected the launch of a “dislike” option. Instead, the clever minds at Facebook introduced a far more empathetic set of 6 ’emojis’ that best represent our most common emotions.
The new set of reactions includes love, laughter, happiness, shock, sadness and anger as well as the original thumbs up and is currently in its test phase in just two markets (Spain and Ireland) until they decide whether to tweak it and/or how to roll it out further.
Facebook has caught up with social networks like Path and sites like Buzzfeed, who already give users the ability to respond to posts with different reactions beyond simple likes and ‘faves’.
Users can find the new reactions on both mobile and desktop & on all news feed posts.
If you’re planning your marketing strategy, these 7 key social media trends should be part of your thinking.
1. Response works
According to Search Engine Watch, 70% of Twitter users expect a response from brands they reach out to (and 53% expect it in less than an hour. In 2014 consumers made complaints on social media 879 million times but in 2015 messages went unanswered by brnads out of 8 times! Get social listening and automation tools so that you can respond quickly
2. Live streaming video
Live streaming video is considered to be the next big thing thanks to apps like Periscope and Meerkat. It reveals a much more authentic side of your business. Unedited, unfiltered and real. See a more in-depth breakdown of the apps.
3. Social commerce
The more you engage, the more social selling and revenue is possible. Look out for more apps and features to help in 2016, such as Twitters Buy button.
4. SEO
Content is still king. There’s a shift from text to media but optimizing your organic content is still important. And social content is becoming increasingly more visible in search results.
5. Reviews
We are a review led society. 88% of consumers are influenced by reviews and online comments. Make sure you are aware, responding and improving your reviews.
6. Mobile first
Mobile devices have become the primary (not secondary) screen for most social media users. Over 80% of internet users own a smartphone. 14% of Millennials wouldn’t do business with a company that doesn’t have a mobile site or app.
7. Data-driven decisions
You have access to so much information about consumer preferences – use it to personalize your message and focus on building stronger loyalty and long-term engagement. Personalized, data-driven marketing plans are in. But beware, numbers shouldn’t replace creativity.
D3 Marketing have a lot of clients who are exceptional at social media but we always love watching what Ultraviolet Flowers, a leading designer florist in Portsmouth, do because their photos are so beautiful. You can shop online through their facebook too.
Oh and they have the cutest dog, Enzo. What Enzo recommends has a huge following on instagram..
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