Five brand marketing lessons to take from COVID-19

COVID-19 has no doubt changed the way we conduct business, and it’s also disrupted the way we market our business. Generic ads with cold sells are out, and personal voices and faces of the brand are reappearing. Consumers are chasing a way to form more humanised connections with the businesses they choose to purchase from.

With that in mind, here’s five marketing trends businesses shouldn’t forget after the pandemic.

Building trust through the re-introduction of the business owners

Now more than ever it’s important for business owners to resurface and become the face of their brand and business.

Consumers are searching for trust off the back of COVID-19 and we know when customers see the face of the owner, they begin to build a relationship with that brand and more importantly trust in its values.

Hard-hitting PR and influencer campaigns

We’re seeing a resurgence in big impact, short, powerful 8-12 week PR & Influencer Campaigns.

The concept is based around showing up with consistency over a short period of time, being visible in multiple places, and building awareness that you are a forward-moving, evolving brand.

Generally, consumers wants to have access to and buy from positive, forward-thinking businesses.

Curated social media

Consumers are being saturated daily with digital content and becoming more selective with what content they are engaging with and responding too. There’s been a big shift towards more professional, curated content on Instagram with a personal element.

Statistically the businesses performing the best now are the brands thinking about their content up to a month in advance. They are using platforms like Canva (huge fan here!) to create custom social media tiles, Instagram stories and general marketing assets. 

Customers are being put off and unfollowing accounts that are just throwing up quick, unedited content for attention without delivering any education or value. 

Reputation is key

With businesses having limited marketing funds for the foreseeable future, PR and social media businesses are being far more careful with where they spend their hard-earned dollars.

Businesses are far more likely to invest in a PR, Marketing or Social Media Agency that has a brilliant reputation for delivering a solid return on investment. This will be elevated by an agency’s case studies, ROI statistics of current and previous clients, and client testimonials.

In addition, when appointing an agency, they’re looking for one which has long-term clients and repeat clients, as that speaks volumes about the agency’s ability to deliver.

Online education boom 

Lockdown has made many of us think we need to be up-skilling and self-educating. Business owners have opened their eyes to the convenience and impact of online short courses and digital products.

My business is moving into online education, and that diversification has created a passive revenue stream and strengthened the business services within the agency.

It also gives authority to business owners and positions them as experts in their field, which leads to amazing marketing and PR opportunities both in traditional and digital media.  

NOW READ: “It’s time to hit the reset button”: The six shifts businesses should make to succeed after COVID-19

NOW READ: The pandemic paradox: How COVID-19 has also created opportunities to improve how we do business