How Digital Marketing Can Make Your Business Resilient

Many companies have become digital savvy enough to have their online presence on various platforms from social media to videos, and from podcasts to content marketing. There are a number of options open to businesses. In the time of this pandemic, many of them have come to realize that digital marketing is now more than just an addition to their marketing efforts, but is now an indispensable tool for survival.

Compared to pre-COVID-19 times, business resilience is now being tested on all fronts. Businesses that have mere basic digital marketing capabilities are now finding that they should significantly improve and upgrade on their platforms, campaigns, and tools. 

These are three of the ways digital marketing can help you the weather and succeed in a different business environment as proven by these companies:

1.Digital Events

Social events are the lifeblood of many companies in promoting and making their products known to the public. Even with the pandemic, it is proving to be an indispensable tool that companies will continue to spend. Corporations are still willing to spend 50 to 60 percent of their marketing budgets in events, and in this new normal, they are all willing to try something new. Buzznation is helping them shift from brick and mortar events to online ones. One reason why customers are still going to events, even if they are digital, is that they want to network with their peers. The pandemic has not changed the fact that we are still social animals.

Digital events can keep you at the top of the mind of your customers. They will see literally that you are still up on your feet despite the economic slowdown. More important, depending on how much effort you pack into it, your events show that you can give your customers a good time. During these days when a lot of people are succumbing to depression, who can resist that kind of offer?

2.Social Content

Millions of companies post everyday to promote their brand and their organization, but many of these have become so blasé that these posts get lost in the crowd. Bottomline:  your social media campaign has to hit them in the heart. It has to matter—and you can do that by making people feel they matter. One example is The Royal Academy. The organization’s editors have found a way to make social media posts relatable and engaging, they have gone viral. They have also launched successful social media campaigns that encouraged people even during the pandemic, helping them stay relevant despite the new normal. 

The lesson learned here is to stop using social media as a way to sell your products, important as that might be. Your customers who are wrestling with a pandemic right now have to feel that you care about them. Interacting with you through social media should make them feel part of a community, and not a customer demographic. The more empathetic your social media campaign is, the more your customers will stay with you, the more resilient you will become. 

3.Content Discovery

As with social media, don’t make content marketing a way to bombard your audience with information. If you want them to like your product, convert all that data overload into a journey of discovery. Write and produce them in such a way that will address their urgent needs—while giving them information and insights that were not available to them before. 

The Altium case is worth citing because it generated customer engagement through its content though it was marketing a product that was not glamorous or edgy as a restaurant or fashion brand, for example. Instead, Altium spoke to their target market in ways they understood and gave them tips and other content that they can use. Its explanations on circuit transmission lines are easy to digest and easily discoverable. Well thought-out content can also be a key reason why people will choose your products over your competitors’. 

To make use of digital marketing tools well, you have to look at what you currently use and what is available to you and assess what would really work for your brand. Trying to use all the tools will not only lead to burnout, but it can also drown your brand amidst a sea of other products and services.

Here are three ways you can find out which digital marketing tool you should use so you can use them to your advantage and maintain resiliency in the current business environment:

• Adapt the changing demands of the new normal – The new normal has shaken up our old ways of reaching out and connecting to our customers and even big businesses feel it. Companies like Starbucks have paused advertising on social media to help their team strategize and change depending on the evolving demands of their customers. Take time to find out where your customers are. Are they always on Facebook or gravitating to Tik-Tok? Which virtual communities do they congregate in frequently:  Viber, Telegram, WhatsApp, etc. What kind of videos do they consume in YouTube—or are they watching more of Facebook Live?
• Track your customers’ micro-moments – Micro-moments help marketers understand where the customers are and what they do at the time to market to them at the right moment when they are ready to buy. These unobtrusive ads can give you insights about their shopping behavior and spending capabilities. This information can help you craft your next campaign and even your product pricing. 
• Customer service prime locations – No matter what the industry, customer service will always be key to a stronger marketing strategy. Having good customer service improves your relationship with your customers, but you have to find out where your customers are airing their praises and complaints. Be where they are and you are sure to be able to address customers, especially when they are the most disgruntled. Social media is one obvious avenue. The key here is not just to put out fires, but to build relationships with your customers. The more they trust you, the more they will remain loyal, and continue patronizing your brand.