Revitalizing Your Social Media Plan

Social-Media

Effects of COVID-19

It’s only the first quarter of the year and 2020 already seems too much. Everything that we socially built up over the years is slowly changing and unlike a few years ago, people are more concerned and focused on how to make the world a better place. Opinions have never been more relevant and social media is the center of their attention. Most of the world is under isolation and people are working from home. If you’re one of those companies whose employees are working from home to keep the company running, you can’t afford to make mistakes that may cause a digital uprising at such a sensitive time.

Everyone working from home has access to social media and can see how every brand is presenting itself in these dire situations. In such times, we have to keep our branding and advertising aside and work for the greater good. One mistake can lead to the fall of the biggest business empires that have shaped the economy of the world to what it is today.

Here are the five R’s you should follow to ensure that your brand doesn’t come under the wrong light in the digital realm:

  1. Research

    It’s very important for you, as a brand, to analyze the situation before taking any sort of action. The biggest mistake companies make on social platforms is putting out content that clearly shows lackluster research. Being a brand, if you don’t present yourself as a knowledgeable organization that’s aware of everything going around the world, you’d easily be in the headlines or go ‘viral’ for all the wrong reasons. Especially during such a sensitive time, thorough research is a must. Watch this informative video about COVID-19 made by UC Davis Health.

  2. Rephrase

    Content is not the only thing you should worry about. As mentioned earlier, it is a sensitive time and how you say certain things is important. You should make sure that the content you put out doesn’t cause any unrest. Using trigger words and phrases like ‘collapse’, ‘end of times’, ‘critical’, ‘dangerous’, etc. will create a negative image of anything you’re trying to say. And you don’t want such keywords to be related to your brand when people around are bound to get more paranoid than usual. Keep it a light, positive and informative read and your brand will thrive. Check out this post for example.

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  3. Reconsider

    Such a global affair calls for change. Change in attitude, mentality, approach, everything. You can’t be the same person you were before this began. Such a time is bound to change you. This also applies to a brand. The brand can’t present itself the same way it used to. You have to show that the brand cares. It’s trying to make the world a better place. Be it right now or even after all of this ends, you should show that you’re thinking about a better future. Not that this was something a brand didn’t do before. But now is the best time to focus more on that than anything else. Reconsider your marketing strategy. Show that the brand is more considerate and that you make the products because you care about the customers. Style, trend and making the news may not be as important anymore. What will appeal to the customers is how the product benefits them or gives them a better experience. How it makes their life easier or better even in the toughest of times. Reconsider your strategy for the betterment of the people. Check out this advertisement by Volkswagen to understand what we mean.

  4. Reflect

    There’s nothing more relatable to a customer than a brand communicating with them by making a reflective statement. Consider everything that the brand has done until now and reflect on it. Tell people how you’re willing to change with the change in time. Tell them how you’re going to adapt to this situation and make it better for everyone. Give them an idea about the direction the company is heading towards and how it will contribute to the growth of the world. It will connect to your audience and help create a positive image of the brand. See how McDonald’s has done it:

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  5. Rise

    Rise to the occasion. Take the initiative to help the world. It’s not only about CSR. As a brand, nothing can improve your reputation more than you taking a step towards healing the world. What the company invests in and how they provide monetary help may not necessarily be in all of your hands. You can advise your superiors on putting out informative helping posts. Creating and posting informative content like ‘nearest hospitals providing check-ups’ or ‘self-quarantine safety tips’ will be very helpful to the audience. Even if you’re a car brand, for example; you can provide tips on how customers can sanitize their cars or where you can travel for groceries and many such topics. Just think about how your content can help the audience and your experience with your company will help you come up with better ideas. Here’s an example of it:

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There’s a good chance that you might not profit from this. But, this is not a time to look at a monetary gain. Your presence on social media is of utmost importance at the moment because everyone is scrolling through their feeds and tweets. They’re keeping a close eye on everything that’s going around and that includes the activity of your brand. There’s no better time to get noticed right now and also be remembered later after all this is over. They’d remember how helpful the brand was and how it tried to make everyone aware of the situation. They’d remember that the brand was fighting the battle against this pandemic along with them. So, if you want your brand to make a statement, there is no better time than now.

Try to work on these steps in a unique way that’s more suitable to your brand. Do everything you can to help everyone and change the world for the better. Always keep this mind, we all are in this together. One small step from your brand can affect the lives of millions of people worldwide. In the end, it’s about motivating the customers, your audience and the world to do right by this disease. This is our time to unite and get a win over this disease. So, know what you’re doing and do it right and you’ll be acknowledged, if not applauded, for your efforts.