Things are a little bit weird at the moment, aren’t they? Six weeks ago, while we were aware of the growing threat advancing our way, we were happily going about our business. Or, more to the point, running our businesses.  

Oh, how different things are now!

Even if you’re one of the lucky group of businesses who still able to trade, I’ll bet it’s in very different circumstances. Perhaps you’ve had to move your business online or change what you offer. Maybe, like me, you’re having to fit completing bits of work in between the constant snack requests from two small children! Which ever camp you fall into, it’s hard.  

The key thing at the moment - even if you worry your business may not recover after this - is to keep on marketing your business. While we don’t know how long our current situation is going to last, it’s certainly not forever. And, yes, things may not look the same when we emerge from the other side – hell, your business model may even have changed – but you don’t want to have to start from scratch when it comes to raising awareness of your brand and building relationships with your customers.

So, here are my three tips for maintaining your marketing presence during the lockdown.

Plan ahead

Those of you who have worked with me will know that I am a huge advocate of planning your marketing out ahead of time. Plus, I’m also aware that marketing is often the first thing to fall by the wayside when you’re busy (yes, it happens to me too!), and planning ahead helps to prevent this from happening.

Try to regularly carve out some time to enable you to think about what your marketing strategy needs to look like and reevaluate any activity you already have planned.

We obviously don’t know what the future holds at the moment, so I’m not talking about creating an all singing and all dancing 6-month content plan. Just think as far ahead as you feel comfortable. For some of you that maybe a month, while others may only want to do a week at a time.

The idea is to stand back slightly and look at what would be beneficial for you to put out when. And, once it’s planned you can start working on it in advance to make sure it happens. I don’t know about you but I’m finding our current situation incredibly disorientating and busy!

But, remember to keep reevaluating what you have planned and allow yourself to be flexible. Things may change rapidly, or you might feel something other than what you have planned is more appropriate when you get to it.  This isn’t the article that I had planned to publish now, but it’s the one I felt compelled to write as I thought it would be the most useful for people at the moment.

Be where your customers are

Everyone is struggling in their own way right now, and, as we’re all stuck at home, most of us are wanting human contact. We still want to feel connected to other people, yet we’re having to change the way we can access this connection (hello, online pub quizzes!).

Research is already showing that people are consuming more media than before, and the vast majority of this is digital. So, you need to make sure that you are visible where your customers are looking.

If you relied on a prominent high street location, point of sale marketing or attending craft fairs to get your brand in front of potential customers, now is the time to rethink how you can connect with those people.

Write interesting blogs that your customers want to read, send out engaging emails that your customers will want to open, create videos that your customers will want to watch and be present on social media in a way that will stand out from the noise.

Be innovative

Those who can’t trade right now may feel like they’ve nothing to offer in the way of content. Especially if you’re used to posting about what you do on a day-to-day basis or what your customers have been buying.

Instead of stopping posting entirely, adapt to the situation and think about what else you could share with your customers – even if it’s just while the craziness is going on. Use this time to build relationships with your customers, show them who you are and give them a feel of what your business is all about.

Go back to basics and think about what you provide for your customers. Not the product or service, but what the end result is. And, then think about how you can help them achieve that at home.

Giving them something of value is what is really going to make your content stand out from the rest of the digital noise (yes, you may have heard me say this before but it applies now more than ever!)

Here are a few ideas to give you an idea of how you could reinvent your content:

·         Teach your audience the basics of what you do, e.g. through an instructional video or step-by-step guide on your blog

·         Give them instructions to recreate one of your products at home, e.g. a recipe, or downloadable template

·         Go interactive and take what you do online, e.g. run a webinar or set up a Facebook group

·         Inspire them with ways to use, style or even upcycle your products

And, don’t be afraid to ask your customers what they would like to see more of, or how you could help them make the lockdown more fun.

Watching those people who have been able to reinvent the way their business functions is truly inspiring. Especially as this ingenuity, planning, and learning of new skills is, in many cases, being done alongside full-time childcare. You’re doing a fantastic job. Don’t stop now.

If you’d like my help developing your new content strategy, or with writing the content and getting it seen, please get in touch. Although it may be at odd hours to fit around the kids, it is still business as usual here!