In these difficult times of trying to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses are being forced to downsize, pivot, or close completely. That means, being online as a business is more important than ever. That’s where your clients and customers are.
WATCH: FREE WEBINAR ON HOW TO STAY RELEVANT AS A SMALL BUSINESS IN TIMES OF CRISIS
So, how can you stay relevant online during these times? What can you do to engage your clients and customers online?
First, think service. How can you SERVE your customers right now?
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Maybe you were a salon that is now closed, but your clients won’t be able to get haircuts or coloring, or your clients’ nails are broken or stuck with difficult polish to get off. How can you help them remotely? Perhaps a Facebook live demonstration or a “How to Video” can help. Or perhaps sharing great hairstyles that will help them cover up any problem spots will help. Before and after photos.
This is just one industry but it can be applied to virtually any industry.
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First, identify what your clients’ biggest problems were before, when they came to you in person, and identify what additional problems they may be having. Write this all down.
Then, think about how you can solve it for them. Perhaps there is something you can do to charge, like curbside pickup for restaurants. Perhaps, it’s simply a service you can provide remotely: show your clients how they can solve this problem from home.
Think about how you can create content on Facebook surrounding these problems. You can create content simply to make people smile (that’s also solving a very big problem in these stressful times right now.)
Other questions to ask yourself:
What precautions are you taking as a business?
How are you helping in this time of crisis?
What talents do you have that you can bring to the social space? Some stars are reading books to children, businesses are holding yoga sessions on Facebook or workouts, there are free online concerts, tutorials, classes.
Think outside the box- this is a time where your business can get personal, where you can stay relevant, be helpful, and earn clients’ loyalty for life.
The second thing you can do is TELL STORIES. Storytelling makes people feel things and that’s the key to successful social content. Less about being a megaphone and shouting your sales to the crowds through social and more about how someone feels when they are a part of your business or your products. More about your company and employees, your philosophies and mission.
You can write a blog post, you can post photos, you can do videos, you can do Facebook live videos, and you can plan it all out ahead of time and schedule it, so you’re not having to come up with something random each day.
Furthermore, how can you keep your team engaged remotely? Many companies are working remotely and using programs like Zoom to help.
For more on different ways to do this, how to set up your meeting space, equipment you may need to work remotely, digital marketing and how to create content online, head to this expert-led webinar where we go into great detail: