The pandemic isn’t helping any business right now unless they manufacture masks or sanitizer. Resources are tight, yet the need to continue marketing doesn’t change. Particularly now, you have to figure out how to cut through the noise and raise awareness.
Businesses of all sizes have had to learn how to adapt during the pandemic – and some businesses are doing better than others.
There are some marketing hacks that are not only cheap but capable of producing a great ROI so that you can reach your customers (and the rest of your target audience).
Hack 1: Add Video to Your Landing Pages
Your landing pages may look a bit boring right now. With business slower now, you can use that time to add more substance and style to all your landing pages.
A video can boost the customer experience significantly. It captures the attention of visitors and can lead to better conversion rates.
Explainer videos, demonstration videos, and more can be created. Check out these tools to help with video creation, too, so that it can be done in-house.
Hack 2: Start Cold Calling
Cold calling is all about reaching out without any kind of lead. Desperate times call for desperate measures – and by going straight to the source, it can get you the visibility that you need.
Although the marketing term is “cold calling,” you can actually choose to use other methods of reaching out, too. This includes:
- Calling
- Emailing
- Direct mail
- Texting
Texting, in particular, has proven to be very effective. Why? Emails might go right to a spam folder. Meanwhile, most people read their texts within minutes of them coming in.
Whether you’re B2B or B2C, consider how you’re going to reach out to your target audience. When you reach out directly, it can be an effective way of starting a dialogue.
Hack 3: Republish Old Content
All the old content you have on your site can be republished and repurposed. The content you have has served its purpose. However, it may not have been promoted sufficiently to begin with, which means that it can live on if you take the time to promote it better now.
Consider all of the content you have on your site that can be reused in one way or another: blogs, videos, podcasts…the list goes on and on.
Rewrite some of your blogs with a focus on the pandemic. It produces new content that you can promote across your social media channels.
Place some added emphasis on the videos that you have. Invite readers to listen into some of your favorite podcasts.
Since you’ve got the content out there, you might as well do something with it. Particularly when marketing dollars are tight, it can be just what you need to stay relevant.
Hack 4: Get Press from Podcasters & Journalists
Journalists and podcasters are constantly looking for stories. They may want to interview you in order to find out more about how you’re dealing with the pandemic. Even if they’re not reaching out directly to you, determine your unique angle and pitch a story to them.
Here are some tips to making sure your story actually makes it online:
- Answer the question thoroughly
- Ensure that your industry is a good fit
- Provide a newsworthy answer and has some unique data that they can’t find on their own
Be willing to give more information, too. There have been plenty of business owners to get featured in a series. The more press you can get, the better it will be for your business.
Your target audience may be listening to all sorts of podcasts – so you have to figure out which one. With more people listening to podcasts, it can be a great way to be discovered.
Hack 5: Update Your Brand Across the Internet
How much old information is out there about your company? You never know how people are going to stumble upon your brand. Whether they find you through Google Local, Yelp, Facebook, or even a local directory, the information they see needs to be current and relevant. Otherwise, it could end up hurting business when they call a number that’s out of service or stumble on an outdated version of your website.
Every brand mention out there needs to have the correct information on you.
Contact the directories to get your information updated. Additionally, if you find blogs or articles with your name and a bad link, contact them to make a quick update.
Bad mentions and citations not only mean that people cannot contact you but it can also affect how Google ranks you.
This hack is absolutely free and can have a significant impact on your search engine optimization over time.
Get Out There!
The pandemic might be killing the economy but consumers and businesses alike have learned how to thrive. By marketing and doing what you do best, you can get your customers to listen. While not all of the hacks will apply to your business, it’s about getting creative without dropping money on Facebook Ads and other forms of marketing that simply cost too much money.
At prediktiv, we’re always here to help you with your marketing strategies. Even during the pandemic, you can make sure that you’re staying relevant. Plenty of businesses are still marketing, and you don’t want your competition to use this time to drive your traffic to them.
