We’ve often talked about how trends come and go in the world of marketing, and how that is something that will never change. However, there are some caveats, and during the past few years of dealing with a pandemic, we’ve noticed that a few trends have stayed the course. When it comes to digital marketing for small businesses, the post pandemic world seems a bit more saturated than before which is requiring small business owners to level up and play ball with the big boys. Here is our take on marketing in a post pandemic world for small businesses.
How did Covid-19 Affect Marketing?
When the pandemic first began, most small businesses were unsure how to navigate a complicated and frightening worldwide health crisis to keep their business afloat. Many ended up shutting down, but those that survived were able to because they quickly adapted to a new normal of remote workers, digital workflows, and digital communications (whether within the company with staff or on social media platforms with customers). Businesses that didn’t already have much of an online presence had a crash-course in social media in order to continue communications and further their branding without a physical storefront to help. Those that were already social savvy were able to take the next steps in social marketing, following trends that are still ongoing.
Forcing the hand of so many business owners might have actually helped these same businesses turn a corner that they had been avoiding – now they understand the power of social media and how it can help not only further their reach, but also raise the stakes of their business potential.
Post Pandemic Marketing Trends
Speaking of trends, there are those that are now here to stay, so maybe they can’t really be considered a trend anymore! When looking back, however, those trends seemed to be pushing businesses to interact with current and potential customers in a more profound way through social media, mobile-friendly websites offering transactional features, and by utilizing social listening to ensure the very best in customer service.
There also seemed to be a big push for businesses to reevaluate the search engine optimization (SEO) of their websites as well as they realized they hadn’t been leveraging organic search nearly enough. We’ve been harping on this point for many years – expensive paid ads can help quickly direct customers to your site, but SEO and quality organic content will pay dividends for years to come.
Post Pandemic Small Business Marketing Strategies
As for the strategy that a small business should take in the post pandemic world, Our first suggestion is to take an honest objective look at your business, its online presence, and your marketing strategies. Perform an in depth marketing audit and see what has been working for you and what hasn’t. Analytics here are crucial, so if you don’t have an analytics platform in place, make that a top priority. Without knowing your stats, making good decisions about your online marketing is extremely difficult and inaccurate.
Next, leverage social platforms in creative, personal ways. Reconnect with old customers, referrals, and colleagues. Realign your marketing efforts by choosing specific social platforms for specific campaigns. Know what works for your business and your various customer demographics, and build each specific campaign around that.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to take some chances! How can a business succeed if it is not willing to take a little risk for new ideas and strategies? A business will lose 100% of the chances it doesn’t take, so take them and see how they can be massaged into a success!
If your small business is looking for help with digital marketing strategies, reach out to your tech partner, Blink;Tech. We are here to help get your business back on track in a new post pandemic world!
