The Covid-19 has affected everyone in the world. The businesses are finding new ways to adjust to the new normal, shifting to online marketing in pandemic.
The companies which were doing digital marketing for years are tackling the situation much better than those who have just started or thought of getting started to do online marketing in pandemic.
In this article, we will see understand how digital marketing helps businesses by doing online marketing in pandemic.
Comparing Traditional and Digital forms of Marketing
Traditional channels whether it be any of the following, share a commonality of conveying a brand message to a broad audience
- Billboards
- Print Media
- Trade shows
Digital Marketing channels are more responsive than the above-said channels. Audience interaction is better in digital marketing.
There are only a few options for the audience to interact with the brand in the case of traditional marketing.
Digital marketing focuses on custom messages for the audience which helps in getting the action done much faster than traditional marketing.
Importance of Digital Marketing during Covid-19
Even though digital marketing has been around for a long time, businesses rely on traditional marketing even today.
Most family businesses in the town rely on word-of-mouth referrals which comes under the traditional form of marketing.
Whereas B2B companies rely on tradeshows for getting leads to their business.
Amongst these, lies another segment of people who rely upon billboards and print media,
A huge amount is spent on doing traditional marketing.
Those who were completely dependent on traditional marketing are the ones deeply hit by the pandemic. This category of people needs to understand the importance of digital marketing during covid 19.
The rules set by the government such as maintaining social distancing, a smaller number of people in a queue, etc, all form hurdles for traditional marketing giving way to online marketing in pandemic.
With people remain inside their shelters, there is no use of marketing via billboards which explains the importance of digital marketing during covid-19.
When all the circumstances are leading to no use of traditional marketing, what will businesses do to thrive during this pandemic? Well, the answer to this is the usage of digital marketing for success of business.
Role of Digital Marketing during covid 19
The impact of covid 19 on digital marketing in India has been null implied by the fact that many small businesses have judiciously used online marketing in pandemic to sustain themselves and even grow.
Rules are becoming stricter and stricter not allowing people to come out of their homes in most of the countries.
As obvious, people are on their phones throughout the day.
The traffic to websites has increased a lot and social media engagement has seen a drastic increase giving best online business during pandemic to the companies.
Smart businesses were smart enough to implement online marketing in pandemic to get leads.
Experts have seen an increase in e-commerce websites by companies during the pandemic.
This is the best time for companies to start digital marketing for the success of business. By allocating a budget, companies can get started.
Getting Started with digital marketing for success of business
Those starting with digital marketing will find difficulty in the beginning.
SEO & Content Marketing
By performing Search engine optimisation, companies will be able to get their websites ranked at the top of the search results page of google.
Remember one thing, Content is the king.SEO combined with content marketing will do wonders for your company.
Even though the results are not immediate, the rewards in the long term are enormous.
Most businesses create interesting content, informational blogs for their audience which helps in retention.
Paid Search
If you have a good budget, you can try hands-on paid search whereby you bid on some keywords which will help you rank instantly relative to organic search done in SEO.
The more budget you have, the more is the reach you get.
Social Media
Social media handles such as Instagram are the best for targeting your audience in terms of online marketing in pandemic.
Businesses need to have a short form of content on platforms like these as the retention time of the audience is less in case of the long form of content.
Webinars and Podcasts
These are considered to be the best forms of online marketing in pandemic as live interaction is possible and serves as a better way for conversion.
For eg, a local mechanic can conduct a webinar for consumers on the topic regarding maintenance of vehicles during the pandemic.
Podcasts are the best which you can if you are camera shy. People appreciate crisp audio and tend to listen more as it also allows them to do their work side-by-side.
You can appear as a guest on a show or else start your own, but you have to be consistent.
Smartphones have almost become like an undetachable organ to most of the population including elders.
Businesses can reach their customer base with interesting promotions, pandemic-related tips, etc to give them a feeling that you are with them during this tough time.
There are many platforms in today’s time. Watch out for the ones where your buyer’s persona spends time.
- Try to spread positivity with your content
- Provide value
- Promise only if you can
Impact of covid 19 on digital marketing in India
You can be confident in this regard that digital marketing is a pandemic-proof strategy for your business.
Covid-19 is not going anywhere anytime soon. Normal life will not show its presence until late 2021.
Businesses need to realise the need for online marketing in pandemic and come to terms with it before it’s too late.
The companies that embrace digital marketing will find results even after the pandemic is gone.
CONCLUSION
The year 2021 will be similar to 2020 but better as you have understood the role of digital marketing during covid 19. Many businesses will remember it as the year traditional marketing stopped being as effective, and they had to shift to online marketing in pandemic by using digital marketing for success of business.
If you are still implementing traditional marketing then it’s time for you to perform online marketing in pandemic to be the best online business during pandemic.
If you have got some strategies other than the ones mentioned above or any thoughts regarding online marketing in pandemic, do share them in the comment box below which will help many small businesses to achieve best online business during pandemic.
Author Bio-
Aditya Nair is an Passionate digital marketer and blogger. He helps small and mid sized companies to get more sales through his online marketing strategies. He is one of the alumnus of AADME.
