The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically affected how marketers operate. If your previous strategy involved marketing campaigns based on trends that are no longer appropriate for a world where consumers are staying indoors (such as experiential marketing), you may need to adjust your approach fast.
Consider how these coronavirus marketing tips can help you do so. They represent some of the more popular recent marketing trends that are ideal during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Coronavirus & Marketing: 5 Trends to Optimize Your New Strategy
User Generated Content
All marketers know they need to optimize their budgets. That’s why many have recently focused on developing user generated content.
This naturally involves encouraging customers to create content that represents your brand, sharing it on social media. The result is free advertising.
It’s also an ideal marketing approach during the coronavirus pandemic. With many of your customers staying indoors, there’s a good chance they’ll be spending even more time than usual on social media. Leverage this to your advantage.
For example, maybe you’re a marketer for a cosmetics brand. You could launch an Instagram contest asking followers to post selfies showing the unique looks they created with your products (while mentioning your brand and including a relevant hashtag, of course). Give some sort of prize to the winner, and enjoy all the free brand attention you’re getting as a result.
Webinars
This is a trend particularly worth considering if you’re a marketer for a B2B business. Odds are good your customers would appreciate attending a webinar in which you share valuable information about a relevant topic. Once again, because most of your customers will now be spending a lot of time inside, there’s perhaps never been a better time to take advantage of this content marketing trend.
Branded VR Content
This is the type of trend you might consider if you have a relatively strong budget and your target customers are tech-savvy. In recent years, many brands (ranging from the North Face to Coca-Cola) have made an emotional and dynamic connection with customers by developing branded VR content. You could do the same.
Perhaps you’re marketing a travel brand. Because your customers can’t actually go on major trips right now, many would likely appreciate the option to take VR “vacations” (essentially consisting of virtual video tours of popular destinations) during the coronavirus pandemic.
Video Content
Don’t overlook the basics! Video marketing has become a very significant trend in recent years, with numerous studies and surveys indicating consumers prefer video content. Again, now that they’re stuck at home and need content to consume, you should definitely consider how you can develop low-budget videos (since you probably can’t organize major shoots right now) that offer genuine value.
Nostalgia Marketing
Nostalgia marketing involves making an emotional connection with potential customers by developing content that reminds them of happy memories. Because many are stressed about the coronavirus pandemic, now is a good time to try and make them feel better.
Yes, suddenly transitioning to a new marketing strategy because of the current situation can seem overwhelming. However, it doesn’t have to be. These trends will help you develop marketing campaigns that work during the coronavirus pandemic.