While physical shops and retail stores remain closed for the time being, marketers and brands need to find innovative ways for branding, marketing, and advertising during this unsettling time. Social Media and the Internet become a primary way to pass the time during the lockdown and it is perhaps the best time if you are looking for maximum brand visibility and reach.
Likewise, the latest data from Nepal Telecommunications Authority’s Management Information System (MIS) Report, Magh 2077, presents Broadband penetration to have risen to 82.79% up to more than 10% from mid-January 2020 as reported by The Kathmandu Post. The numbers back the current state of the situation as people are spending more time online due to imposed travel restrictions. Last year’s figures from the Nepal Network Operators’ Group (NNOG) showed a 35% increase in internet consumption four months of the initial lockdown period up from 23% before. People glued to their gadgets now is the right time to BE NOTICED.
Here are a few points to What brands should consider increasing their marketing activities online during the Lockdown period.
1. Run ads – A survey of 35,000 customers globally by Kantar (data analytics and brand consulting company) found that only 8% of the participants think brands should stop advertising with 78% believing that brands through their advertising activities should help them in their daily lives. From this we can draw up logical reasoning that people are not against advertisements, rather they require ads to have some sort of value towards them and their daily lives to make every day easier and convenient. With that being said, the current situation the whole world is grappling with offers you the most ideal opportunity to showcase what products/services can offer through extended reach via Sponsored Posts, Messenger ads, Website ads, In-App Advertising, and many more options to offer your customers during this period a sense of convenience, engagement, and support. Also while more people are using the internet and social media your cost per click can be at the lowest if you or the agency can do it right.
2. Engage Your Audience – There’s only so much you can do whilst at home and with so many eyes looking for something to engage and be entertained with why not start being more involved with social media to satisfy their cravings? A good place to start would be to post engagement posts on your social media to up the user engagement. Ideally, make use of every social media tool at your disposal (Stories, Polls, Text, Photos & Video) don’t shy away from any approach to increase engagement and pull in even more attention to your brand’s social media page, try out certain things which you may not have had the time to do so before like fun social media challenges to engage your followers. Run ads as well side by side to build and capitalize on the positive feedback loop.
3. GO LIVE! – Consider hosting a live Q&A session to ignite meaningful conversations with your brand ambassadors or industry leaders on your page (nothing too formal but still presentable). While you may think the process of “Going Live” may be challenging, the power of modern technology has certainly aided immensely in terms of setting up casual one-on-one meetings which can be hosted and broadcasted to your eagerly waiting audience. You can also use this feature to highlight your brand’s CSR activities through this medium to increase goodwill or connect emotionally with your customers during this difficult time.
4. Level Up Your Communication – The power of a simple email, a status update, or just a plain SMS is immensely underrated, and such versatile channels in a brand’s arsenal can add immeasurable value long term if used correctly. Communication is a vital part of any business or company, the challenge is conveying the right message, through the right channels, to the right people. Social Media Marketing falls under the umbrella of Digital Marketing but is not limited to only just that. Tell people about an amazing sale you’re running via email or SMS, run ads to boost reach, pull in customers through a special limited-time redeemable promo and discount codes for purchase during the whole campaign.
5. More Campaigns – Campaigns are a proven way to drive up engagement & sales while also improving overall brand image, goodwill, and customer acquisition. With the majority of the general public limited to their home running a campaign virtually in keeping with the times seems perfectly logical and a highly opportune moment to do so. Incorporate giveaways, special promo codes, and discounts at this time or even consider launching a whole new product line Live!, the possibilities are endless. The end goal is to build a lasting positive impression in the minds of the customers for relationship building and recurring sales long term.
6. Influencer Marketing – Social media is set to take on a whole new role in the coming years as it is set to evolve from a medium of staying in touch with close friends to a hub of discovery, knowledge sharing, and most importantly a full-fledged shopping platform with influencers playing a crucial role in its development. The influencer marketing industry is on track to be worth up to 15 billion dollars by 2022 based on Mediakix data as reported by Business Insider with numbers certainly backing the claim. Instagram is the preferred social media platform of choice for Influencers with more rising talent becoming plentiful and available for brand collaboration. Also, no one can deny the rise of tiktok and the potential that it holds in influencer marketing. Influencers are growing as vital intermediaries between brands and consumers with their reach and convening powers. Now maybe the right time to plan a collaborative partnership between an influential figure in your space befitting your brand’s values, image, and niche.
7. Shift to E-Commerce – E-Commerce is here to stay and there is no denying that. Overall physical spending may have gone down but digital transactions are on the rise and happening online as much as 50% depending upon the product category. If you’ve always been fascinated by the thought of E-Commerce, it’s time to make that leap NOW. Plan and build the infrastructure for your company to generate leads digitally instead of relying on only a single source like before. Build your database by trying a hand at SMS marketing, Email marketing, or even App notifications to funnel customers to your E-Commerce platform. Spread your reach across different platforms to increase visibility and add value to your customers. Reach out to those customers through your CRM software to make the final sale. In the end, convenience is what the consumer is paying for.
8. Internal Branding – The word “Branding” gets thrown around a lot and it’s mostly geared towards how companies want to be perceived by their customers. But here’s the thing, branding isn’t just for the customers, companies focus a lot of time and energy on their internal branding yet anyone hardly speaks of it. To put it formally, it is a continuous process by which you ensure your employees understand the ‘who’ and ‘why’ behind your business proposition. Make sure your team knows why you and your company do the thing you do more than the customer. This can be achieved by clear communication between the employer and the employees in the company, transparency in the work process, relating the mission & vision statement of the company to their work, maybe and overall fostering a healthy working culture everyday. By doing so, you’re building a strong core from within and having meaningful conversations which contribute positively to the collective.
9. Get Ready for the Future – Life will not be the same going forward. Reinvent your brand by going back to basics and reworking how you plan to move ahead. Perhaps a change in strategy is in order. Have you been exploring just one aspect of the whole digital marketing spectrum? A little too much time spent on social media marketing rather than building your forte in let’s say in SMS or Email marketing? What about a solid database you could rely on for reaching out to clients via a CRM system? Explore that as well. Thinking about launching a new product line, why not?. Take this time to build plans to achieve goals you’ve put off for a while. Whatever that goes with your brand or contributes towards it, do it. Showcase your brand’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and offer value for the customer always.
At ads! we make sure that we work very closely with the brands and make sure we are exploring every opportunity. We are proud and glad that the brands that we work with understand how a lockdown period like this can be taken as an opportunity and in fact increase the marketing budget instead of decreasing it.
Amidst all challenges our team has been working everyday to make sure we are doing everything possible for our clients.
If you have any questions or if you are looking forward to working with us.
Click Here: http://adsmarket.com.np/contact-us/
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