Eleanor Wright, founder of social media agency, Soello, teams up with her colleagues James and Mary to tell readers about the future of content marketing in the post-coronavirus world…

Since COVID-19 hit the UK and lockdown began, as an agency we’ve seen drastic changes to the businesses we work with, how they are adapting their services and products for the consumer and also how we are engaging and advertising to our customers.

From our Content Creator & Community Manager, Mary – communicating has changed

At a time when it’s best to create space apart, we can connect together online. As COVID-19 continues to present businesses with new and unforeseen challenges every day, it’s important to be aware that your audience will be looking to you to keep them connected with regular and engaging content during this period of isolation.

While businesses and brands can’t create that sense of community out of nothing, they can still offer their support, helping their audience feel supported and connected as best they can.

The online world is constantly changing, with trends evolving every day. Your content strategy will need to be continually reviewed and refined based on the ongoing situation. Making sure you are continuously coming up with new ways to show compelling content that makes an impact should be number one on your list of priorities, mediocre content just isn’t enough to build a brand online.

The future of e-commerce; on social platforms such as Facebook, they are using strong and interesting creatives to inspire and engage their target audience. Including moving aspects to your advertising campaigns is a great thing to use for optimal engagement.

As you’re refreshing your imagery, make sure you are testing out new copy and making sure you are delivering socially responsible messages during this time of uncertainty is critical. Your audience will be wanting to turn to you to answer questions around existing orders and to deliver content that shows consideration.

A checklist of our top techniques in order to adapt your communication and advertising strategy during the lockdown and embracing the ‘new online’:

• Try to create content that is engaging directly with customers originally and authentically.
• To support them during this time, give them useful tips and content to help them pass the time
• Share positive news and updates with your audience
• Stream live through Facebook – this is a great way to interact with people’s comments and tell your brand story
• Your audience craves a sense of the familiar, you can create that just by being consistent in your content

Other ways to shop online versus in-store:

• People are using groups to buy and sell on Facebook (Facebook Marketplace)
• People are discovering products on Instagram (Instagram shopping)
• People are interested in buying products in live video – Live selling is testing in Asia
• Social networks are the second most popular channel for shopping
• Whatsapp advertising in the catalogue
• Showcase your brand by customising your shop on Facebook (coming soon to the Facebook fold)
• Product tagging on Facebook

From our Digital Marketer & Advertiser, James – what the “new normal” looks like

The period of lockdown around the world has had a massive effect on the world as we know it, specifically with the boom of online solutions to adapt from traditional ways of life.

With working from home the new normal, companies have been entering Zoom meetings in their droves; and with high street shops and services out of action for the foreseeable future, people have been heading online to get what they need (and want).

Reports show that internet use is up about 20% since pre-lockdown in Europe and the USA, and while this can be seen across online entertainment media such as Youtube and Netflix, a large portion of this has been in e-commerce and online shopping.

Global superpower Amazon has unsurprisingly seen an incredible rise in traffic and sales during the period of lockdown, clocking a staggering $11,000 per second in revenue.

While Amazon is obviously an extreme case here, the same rings true for all online shopping outlets.

More people have turned to delivery services and online shopping to get all their items, whether that’s groceries and necessary purchases, or luxuries and discovering new hobbies. We’ve noticed a huge rise with our own e-commerce clients in terms of engagement, website traffic and conversions, even on a local basis.

It’s also important to note that due to the uncertainty of things currently, many advertisers have been reluctant to spend their budgets during this time. This has paved the way for those have held firm with advertising to access relatively untapped audiences that are more engaged than ever, and with even less competition.

Companies that have kept their advertising have made considerable ground on their competitors which will leave them in good stead for the post lockdown world.

From our founder, Eleanor Wright – our predictions for the post-lockdown world:

While the rise in e-commerce may not sustain its current numbers, the necessity has forced many to plug into online solutions, and we predict they’ll stay plugged in.

Facebook has continued to position themselves towards facilitating In-App shopping, having just introduced full shop integration, allowing you to browse and purchase products directly from the company’s profile without leaving Facebook.

As if the internet wasn’t already threatening the high street enough, we think the process has been hugely accelerated this year.

A couple other social factors which we think we’ll see post lockdown are as follows:

Green initiatives being more of a focal point for businesses

It’s been clear to see the positive impact on the environment that this break from normality has had – and we think that a lot more people will now be receptive to the recovery ability of the earth, and may buy in to the idea of green products and services as a positive to come out of this whole experience, and to keep a good thing going.

Events, services, and social environments will get a boost

After going so long without seeing friends and family, we predict that services and venues that provide a social setting or experience will be in high demand. This may mean a high competition on media space and expensive advertising costs – but if you can get access to an audience, we think you’ll see a lot of engagement and some good returns.

We’re supporting businesses large and small with their online strategy through our one hour discovery session. Join Soello virtually at no cost. To book an online session, fill out the following form.

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