We can all relate to The Little Mermaid these days — We want to be where the people are! Luckily, with the vaccine rollout in full swing, conversations surrounding COVID are finally turning toward recovery. However, the marketing effects of COVID will be long-lasting. Consumer behaviors have shifted permanently, and in order to be where the people are, you will need to update your digital strategy accordingly.
Improve your website
An easy way to invest in your website is to regularly update content to remain relevant. Adding video can increase time on a website. Similarly, virtual experiences allow your customers to take your product for a spin from the comfort of their home. The James Agency recently developed a new website for Homeowner’s Financial Group, a national home loan company, which included more imagery, video content, online mortgage payment tools and more that maintained buyer interest when branch locations were closed due to COVID restrictions.
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Streamlining the design of your website can guide consumers naturally through your site and increase conversions. Stay on top of your site’s SEO to help consumers find your business through search engines. Not sure where to start? A website audit may be in order. The James Agency’s web clients find that audits reveal what’s going well with your website and what needs to be improved, providing your business with clear direction and actionable next steps.
Email is low risk, high reward
Gain trust with your customers by maintaining open communication. Transparency is more important now than ever. Directly target your brand’s biggest fans with email newsletters. These consumers voluntarily opted into hearing your message, so give the people what they want!
With the economic landscape shifting constantly due to COVID, keep your consumers informed with updates to your business like shifts in offerings, changes in capacity, altered hours of operation and more. Whatever the messaging, keep it consistent, relevant and timely.
Email campaigns are relatively inexpensive with a remarkably high ROI. For every dollar spent on email, marketers saw a $42 return, according to Litmus. With so many advantages to email, creating a newsletter strategy is a no brainer.
Create content constantly
With people working and entertaining themselves at home to stay safe, there are more consumers spending time on the web than ever before. People quarantined in their homes crave content, presenting an opportunity for businesses to bolster their organic social media.
Even as the world eases back into a normal cadence, we anticipate the high rate of social media use will continue. Consumers will feel the need to share their first “normal” experiences after a year of quarantine. Preparing and scheduling timely and visually engaging content maintains your relevance and increases brand awareness.
Earn trust and impressions
News organizations are seeing big increases in readership as audiences look to stay informed with the most up-to-date COVID news. Capture this larger audience by submitting bylined articles or expert commentary about industry trends. This earned media coverage increases your brand’s exposure and strengthens your expert positioning. Gain trust with readers by providing insight and thought leadership in receptive news outlets. Partnering with experts like The James Agency can not only help you create an effective PR strategy, but also execute that strategy and prepare you for media opportunities.
Be prepared
We’re in the midst of a historic moment, and the long-term effects of COVID are yet to be seen. One thing for certain has changed: the customer journey. The brands that will continue to thrive will have a strong digital presence that allows them to stay in contact with their customers, regardless of whether or not they’re able to interface with them in person. Not sure where to start? Drop The James Agency a line to have the experts assess your online presence.
Morgan Chan is a junior content strategist at The James Agency. Morgan works with the creative team to deliver focused language and concise, functional concepts to clients. He also uses data analytics from across the web to provide TJA with an informed market perspective. Morgan is an ASU Sun Devil twice over, graduating from both Barrett, the Honors College, with a degree in English Literature, and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication with a Masters of Mass Communication.
