You have surely heard of inbound marketing and how it can help companies to attract customers and generate leads. But, what happens when you experience a crisis? Does the strategy have to change? Well, the answer is No. Mario Fernández, CEO and co-founder of the agency specialized in inbound and growth marketing, says, “The way of doing inbound marketing does not change in times of crisis, but you must adapt to changes in society. Since your prospects now have different skills and needs, and they probably no longer need the solution we had.
If at this point, you are not aware of inbound marketing. Then, let us explain it to you briefly.
What is Inbound Marketing?
Let’s start with an example. In the Linkedin platform, you are reviewing a shared article, by one of your contacts that caught your attention. You continue reading it until you reach the end of the article, where it said the brand or the company gives you the option to review their website to learn a little more about it. And, to know more about the given article, you visited the suggested website. This is called an inbound marketing strategy.
Inbound marketing is a lot more than just editorial strategies and blogging. It is a comprehensive approach that focuses on providing solutions and opportunities to individuals and companies. Inbound marketing integrates a wide range of digital marketing strategies and tactics such as email, social media, SEO, and digital advertising. It serves to educate, inform, and inspire customers and prospects, while creating positive brand awareness for businesses. Inbound marketing also creates and maintains an ongoing commitment to both customers and prospects, something that every business needs, both during and after the crisis.
How inbound marketing works during a crisis?
Adjust the tone of your content
Since the appearance of COVID-19, we have seen millions of tweets and posts about the virus throughout the world. According to Twitter, within every 45 milliseconds, there is a tweet related to COVID-19, reflecting the enormous amount of virus information the internet is consuming. However, it must be clear that this is not the right time to focus on sales. Taking advantage of these types of situations to sell can seriously affect the image of any company, so be careful with the message you are seeking to communicate.
The first message must always be in a positive tone, and you should stay away from terms like “pandemic” or “risks.” That is, instead of creating content called “5 things you can do at home in times of pandemic,” you should use “5 things to do in your spare time.”
Choose your communication channel wisely
In times of crisis, communication is essential. Being a marketer, you should keep your employees, customers, and suppliers informed about the situation of your brand. For this reason, companies must be present on the same channels as their target audience. It is important to know about the audience and the way to reach them, since by using channels where the information is not found, essential resources such as time or money are being wasted, which will be of utmost importance in a crisis. Thus, it is advisable to do buyer persona exercises, to understand that everything is going perfectly.
Focus on your products/services
The strategy should mainly focus on the characteristics of products/services. The advantages and benefits that it can offer people in times of crisis. For instance, you can highlight the benefits of home service in regards to Covid-19.
Besides, the crisis we are experiencing today, an online course can help entertain and teach people who are in voluntary isolation, just as home service can provide them with a product without the need to go to a branch.
Closing Thoughts
Finally, it is necessary to understand that this year is not one of growth, but of survival. There will be very few companies that record increases during 2020, so a great inbound marketing strategy may be the key to getting out of the crisis.