Social media tips to help your business weather Coronavirus

Blog

Leveraging the endless digital opportunities during a crisis

PR agency offers a guide to social media during Coronavirus
CORONAVIRUS is not only forcing us to spend our time inside, it’s forcing us online to keep in contact with our friends, family, and colleagues.

This global pandemic is impacting every single business in every single industry, with nobody escaping the crisis.

Even though non-essential businesses have closed their doors across the UK, there’s no reason why your social media has to shut up shop too.

People always remember companies which were active during times of crisis, and with everyone spending the majority of their days online, now might be your biggest opportunity to engage with your target audiences.

Never have communities come together as fast as they are now – even global communities. We’ve seen this with the “Clap for Carers” tribute which started in Italy and Spain and has since spread to France, the UK, and Ireland, with people standing to applaud their healthcare workers every evening at 8pm.

While this is going to be a very challenging time for your business and your staff, it’s important to leverage all of your available opportunities – even if operations have slowed or even stopped.

Now is the time to really focus in on and engage with your customers and clients who are spending their days online, letting them know you’re there and you’ll be there for them throughout this.

 

Re-evaluate strategy

Nothing hits harder than a pre-planned tweet that strikes the wrong chord when the circumstances change. Re-evaluate your social media plan and make sure that nothing will come across as out of place, or even worse, insensitive, considering the current state of the world.

Now is the time to be creative and take more risks – to try those ideas you might have been wary of in the past.

 


Share your reality

Personal posts perform well, so don’t be afraid to let your customers and clients know what’s going on behind the scenes – whether that’s your work from home set up, your virtual team drinks, or an update on what’s happening.

Keep posting your regular content, but make it a bit more personal and engaging for your followers who want to get to know the people who keep your business going.

Share your expertise

If you’re seeing any consumer or industry trends, now is the time to share them. Take advantage of being ahead of your competitors, share those insights you’re keeping track of. LinkedIn is crying out for content which might help to explain and predict what’s currently unpredictable.

Share more than your own content

Your social media doesn’t have to be all about your business. Share good news, share industry updates, share content from your business community. Everyone is struggling, show your support for other businesses in your industry – now is the time to come together.

 

Dig into your archives

Dig deep, dig out previously well-performing posts, and re-post them. Don’t be afraid to post older content or throwbacks, repackaging relevant posts will give you an abundance of extra content you didn’t know you had.


And, most importantly, watch your tone

Nobody is escaping this pandemic unscathed. People are understandably worried about everything now, big or small: their families and loved ones, their health, their friends, their jobs and incomes, their holidays.

Your social media needs to reflect the circumstances we find ourselves in, being a little more empathetic, sympathetic, and understanding to those who are nervous, anxious and scared. Your tone will impact heavily how your customers/clients look back and remember your business.

 

If your business needs a hand hitting the right mark on social media during Coronavirus, we’d love to hear from you to see how we can help. Contact our social-savvy PR team below: