Content during a pandemic: building your new normal engagement strategy

Regardless of having a crisis management plan ready to be implemented or not, a pandemic is not a threat you could envision for your worst-case scenario. Or was, until last February. 

But what happens when what we used to know as normal is gone and our customers have new priorities? Here is some advice to go through these atypical times, where never anyone had been before.

Content may show up as an extraordinary strategy to face these new challenges and make the most of your brand presence during this moment. 

We gathered five recommendations to help you with that. Follow us.

What does your brand have to contribute?

Pretending everything is normal and following the marketing strategy as planned can either be impossible or harsh to people who had their lives completely changed due to the pandemic.  

Try to find out how your brand can contribute to the moment instead. And let the content do the talking. Does your company have experience managing remote teams? Share good practices. Does your product can be used to make lockdown experience less stressful? Let people know. Does your data team can improve knowledge sharing? Make it. Put your experts to share their thoughts over their expertise. 

Look for inspiration inside out

If you don’t provide any essential service or product, there is a chance you won’t cut the noise. Find out what is both relevant to your customers and for your company. That’s the sweet spot. Content can generate bonds and connect you to people who didn’t have your brand under their radar. 

For that, instead of looking outside for inspiration, look to your team. Remember other brands are struggling to get over this situation as much as yours is. And your employees are the biggest source of subjects as deep connoisseurs of your business and also are being affected by the pandemic. With a touch of data, this can be the starting line to trace your brand’s new editorial line.

Be empathetic

We always say at Globant: stay relevant. And that also means to know what is important both to you and your audience and find the right moment to speak. 

The challenge is to discover the right balance between the moments you are invited to offer your products and services and those in which your brand approaches can sound inappropriate. A lead nurturing based on content and user behavior analysis can provide you with big insights.

Build communities

One of the collateral effects of a global crisis is local engagement, as people’s mobility is affected by the quarantines and lockdowns. This scenario opens an opportunity for building your brand as a facilitator, delivering value to the community, using the brand’s influence and reach.

Gathering and spreading information of small businesses, local distributors, support networks, and localized actions taken by your brand among other useful data will generate a bond with your audience and elevate your brand’s relevance. 

Show your core values

It is time to take a deep dive into the brand core values and expose then. What makes your brand unique? How can it impact society? And why should people care about it at times like these? Build your narrative according to these key points and embrace the vulnerability brought by the pandemics. Anything apart from it may sound artificial and that is a risk that should be avoided at all costs.

Content can be a tool to develop these connections between what your brand is providing to society and your audience, telling stories and letting the doors open to contributions from your community.