What, how much and how: Digital marketing in the Corona routine

This is not the time for cynicism or over-knowledge – our customers are sensitive now and are scrutinizing us with their eyes. Double standards or a single tactless image could ruin all the effort we have invested. What would be welcome?

Effective digital marketing is one of the most significant keys we have, especially in the B2C worlds, for both conversions and brand awareness. But in such a sensitive era in terms of health, economy and society, how do we know that we haven’t made a “foul” there, one whose harm far outweighs the benefit? What is important to pay attention to now and what should never be done? Here are some rules of thumb for digital marketing in the Corona routine:

The message is the message

“The medium is the message,” Marshall McLuhan taught us more than 50 years ago, shifting the emphasis from what is said to where and how. It’s still true. But in an era like this, words themselves have a special meaning. Quite a few companies and advertisers promise that “we will get through this together,” and some are also taking real steps to demonstrate community solidarity and empathy for customers. This is super important. But if at the same time, and even in completely different contexts, they demonstrate inattention, insensitivity, or tactlessness – it reflects on the entire brand and can bring all these positive efforts down the drain.

No asset is too marginal

For the same reason, in times like these, it is important that we carefully examine the messages we are transmitting on every digital asset we have. If we were talking about Paul, a real self-gate can be excited about us at every corner: from the image caption to the call-to-action button, from the teaser in the subject line in the newsletter to the “more on this topic” at the bottom of the app, and of course throughout social media. This is true for content, metadata, and every word and action that comes from us. God, as we know, is in the details. And that’s exactly where we can fall.

Health is no joke

There are plenty of examples of tastelessness in times like these: whether it’s a picture that mistakenly depicts a “gathering,” or a situation that was completely routine on Rosh Hashanah and became forbidden on Passover; whether it’s a distinction between populations (men, women, minorities, etc.) in an irrelevant and inappropriate context; whether it’s excessive opinion on issues about which opinions are divided and on which the prevailing attitude may quickly change in the wake of new information (“It’s like the flu,” “Who needs masks,” “It’s time to return to normalcy” and “open the economy immediately”); and whether it’s jokes, jabs, or overly cynical comments about the situation.

History repeats itself

But even if we are very careful from now on, we have campaigns from recent times that are still running – it’s important that we be accurate and update them as well. It is also worth refreshing and “cleaning” old content, for example basic guides or popular materials that are always relevant and pop up in search engines, and of course essential material on the site and on social media (about us). However, it is clear that not everything can be rewritten, and no reasonable customer expects every post in our archive to be suitable for the current period. In borderline cases here or there, there is a simple solution: “Written before Corona”, or “up to date”.

Less machines, more people

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, algorithms – sometimes it is no longer clear whether the systems serve us or we are their servants. But even without entering this philosophical debate (or basking in a few literary and cinematic masterpieces), it is clear that now is worth taking a small step back. At least in terms of customer relationships, it’s time for more human contact, more support (physically – call centers and training videos), and less of a sense of robotic marketing, generic messages, and automated targeting.

Train the trust muscle

It is precisely moments of crisis that can provide a second chance for a first impression. Three values ​​are now at the top of the customer evaluation scale: trust, trust, and trust again. What do they say about the brand? How are our regular messages and those we put out especially for a period received by them? Is our product or service still desirable in their lives, or has it lost its appeal? It is worth listening to them – whether through proactive questionnaires, through ongoing monitoring of what is written about us, or through our key digital success metrics (for example: monthly organic search visits, bounce rate, average dwell time, video views, or Facebook engagement).

There is no doubt that this is a challenging time. Many assumptions are now being re-examined, many sectors need to reinvent themselves, and almost every company and organization is in a critical time of testing. But precisely now, in a time when it is less possible to meet and market products physically, certainly across borders and seas, there is a double and multiplied importance for digital marketing. This is certainly not the time for digital paralysis.