Early March In The Lights had a team strategy meeting to determine marketing campaigns for 2020, a week later NYC shut down all venues and the COVID-19 closures started rocking the country making the campaign we had just determined obsolete. Circumstances around us can change quickly–here are some quick pivots you can take to adjust your digital marketing campaigns and general marketing practices.
- Create a concise statement to send where needed, whether internally or to your audience base. Post an update to your website.
- Create a dedicated landing page or section on your website where up-to-date information will be posted. The update section can be right below the highlighted closure statement if that works for your website.
- If your organization has needs (such as donations) or can give support (funding or resources) – be specific and put that on your website at the top.
- Update the copy on all automated responses with appropriate information about your organization’s business changes due to COVID-19. Typically, this includes:
- multiple touch points in email registrations
- online sales automated responses
- Turn off all automated social posting platforms and accounts. Many small organizations patch the social posting together with a platform and direct posting on specific social channels. Make sure all are paused so that you can use each platform to it’s best ability and ensure content is applicable.
- Create new posts that apply to your business now and repopulate your social schedules. Or if you want to be conservative: build the posts in a calendar and approve posts for publishing on a daily and weekly basis to avoid making mistakes in information or tone.
- Review pre-scheduled content and update accordingly or archive for future use.
- Review your social ad schedule. If the content is not appropriate or outdated, pull the ad. If possible, find a new concept for social ads that serves your organization, your constituents, or customers now. Keep the tone in mind.
- Database growth is essential now. Growing your audience is a good reason to keep doing appropriate social content and newsletters. Remember to tag your newsletters on social content to help build your list beyond existing newsletter followers.
- Time to look forward now that you have your immediate digital marketing efforts updated.
- Consider a brief survey that makes sense for your audience or customers – add questions that will help you further segment your database.
- Review your summer marketing programs – what improvements can you make now?
- For performing arts and non-profits, continue communicating with your audience about fundraising.