Marketing Mistakes to Avoid During the Pandemic
In uncertain times, marketers must update their strategies to avoid alienating the audience they are trying to reach.
The pandemic brings with it a slew of problems. The threat of the coronavirus to public health, the panic over the pandemic, as well as the suspension of businesses, schools, and other workplaces has hurt the economy in terms of productivity and employment. These are problems we have to face, and because of human nature, we face these problems with innovation and technology.
The community-wide lockdowns and quarantines have not only confined people within their homes, but these lockdowns have also caused the number of internet users to skyrocket. This translates to an increase in the importance of digital marketing methods. Now, what are some mistakes that you need to avoid when marketing during a pandemic?
Tactless Messages
The tone of your website’s content needs to be updated to ensure that there aren’t phrases and expressions that might be misconstrued as insensitivity to the pandemic and the victims suffering because of it. Expressions like “let’s go viral” or “deadly effective” are exactly the expressions you need to weed out from your content. A good tone would be one that encourages resilience and hopefulness.
High-Pressure CTAs
High-pressure calls-to-action are also going to be perceived as insensitive and callous. You don’t pressure an audience that’s already going through stressful scenarios. Remember the situation we’re in. Many people are sick and dying, many more are jobless, and even more are unable to sustain their needs because of the pandemic. Pressuring them will not only hurt your content, but your brand as well. Instead of using CTAs like “Hurry! Buy now while supplies last!” consider using CTAs like “Book now, pay later.” to help attract leads.
Irrelevant Information
People use the internet because there aren’t many other reliable alternatives through which they can get much-needed information. With this in mind, it’s important to ensure that your content contains useful information that’s going to be helpful to your audience. Adding irrelevant information not only shows a lack of awareness on what’s happening in the world, but it also shows an utter lack of sincerity to your audience, which in turn, harms your brand image.
Not Taking Audience Feedback Into Account
When marketers are unsure of a particular course of action, or they have doubts on a certain strategy’s effectiveness, one crucial way to determine if a campaign is on the right path is through audience feedback. Failing to account for audience feedback not only deprives you of important data that would otherwise have yielded more important information, but it also shows your audience a lack of concern and care for what they think of your content. Even if you had excellent marketing measures, like these sales funnels and effective SEO, you should never overlook the value of audience feedback, even that of your competitor’s audience. This helps you gain insight into what techniques and measures work, and what don’t.
The “new normal” brings with it a plethora of new challenges and opportunities. Not all old techniques are going to be appropriate during times like this, and it’s important to be capable of adapting to ever-changing scenarios. As far as this pandemic is concerned, these are the marketing mistakes that you should avoid at all costs.
