Coronavirus Social Media Pro Tips - How to Leverage Social Media During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The Coronavirus pandemic has created a paradigm shift in the way the world interacts. With millions of people out of work and small businesses struggling to stay afloat, social media use is up 44% worldwide. Many businesses are working to adapt their offerings to fit the new world. To ensure those offerings get to their ideal customer, it's also worth creating a new social media strategy. Here are some valuable tips for leveraging social media during the coronavirus pandemic: Tip #1 - Consider Your Customer's NeedsTip #2 Revisit Your Posting Goals Tip #3 Revisit Your Posting Schedule and Increase Your Post Frequency Tip #4 Prepare for One-Off PostsTip #5 Explore New PlatformsTip #6 Refresh Previous ContentTip #7 Explore Opportunities for CollaborationTip #8 Take a Community-Centric ApproachTip #9 Analyze and Adapt

Coronavirus Social Media Pro Tip #1 - Consider Your Customer's Needs

Businesses need to reframe their thinking to thrive during the pandemic, especially when planning their social media. Rather than considering what your business needs to survive, ask yourself, "what does my customer need to get through this?"Many consumers are flocking to social media for entertainment and for a distraction from their current situation. While these areas might fall outside the usual scope of your business, we're no longer in a business-as-usual situation. Think of what your customer needs from your content, and how you can provide that to them.

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Coronavirus Social Media Pro Tip #2 Revisit Your Posting Goals

If your main goal on social media has been conversions, it might be time to reconsider your efforts. Many consumers are in a situation where income is severely limited. 20.5 million jobs were lost in April in the USA alone. For non-essential businesses, this means less disposable income and more discretion surrounding spending.Consider shifting your focus to building engagement and expanding your audience. Use this time to pad out your sales funnel by generating new leads. Provide engaged prospects with more information through relationship-building efforts, so that when their income bounces back, they'll be ready to spend.

Coronavirus Social Media Pro Tip #3 Revisit Your Posting Schedule and Increase Your Post Frequency

As more people are online, the demand for content is higher. As such, it's the ideal time for making bolder social media marketing moves and posting more frequently. Not only will this help expand your reach, but it will also provide insights into the new peak times for content consumption.Consider how your ideal customer's schedule might have changed in the past two months. Perhaps your scheduling was built around the idea that they worked a typical 9-5 job and scrolling through Facebook on their lunch break. Now, they could be online more during the morning hours. They could be working around distance learning schedules with their children. The content calendar that worked in the past is in disarray.If you need to reschedule your posts, why not try Postfity.com? We have a ready-made post calendar for you - with post templates you can use instantly in your business. Increase your frequency and experiment with the timing of your post until you find the new sweet spot.

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Coronavirus Social Media Pro Tip #4 Prepare for One-Off Posts

Things are changing every day in the social media landscape. One of the best boredom busters that create a sense of community while in isolation is the viral challenges. A few popular ones from 2020 have included:

• Flip the Switch
• Until Tomorrow
• Pass the Brush
• Quarantine Coffee
• Safe Hands
• Instagram Story Templates
• TikTok Dance Challenges

These viral challenges create an opportunity for businesses to jump aboard and be a part of the collective digital culture. However, these challenges are fleeting. Thus, businesses must be able to create new content quickly while circumventing their set posting schedule.

Coronavirus Social Media Pro Tip #5 Explore New Platforms

With more time on their hands, users are branching out and trying new social media platforms. As such, businesses should be doing the same.Consider Houseparty, for example. The average monthly downloads of this app from June 2019 to February 2020 was an average of 650,000. In March, as the Coronavirus took hold, the downloads soared to 17.2 million. Businesses have an opportunity to use this app to bring their customers together for exclusive, members-only offerings. For example, a makeup business could leverage this platform to host a tutorial session with an influencer.TikTok is another app that's exceeding expectations during the pandemic. While this app was already on an upward trend, businesses are just starting to explore the opportunity it presents. One such business that's had great success with the app is Chipotle. Chipotle was a pioneer in leveraging TikTok and has been well rewarded for their efforts. Their #flipthelid challenged earned more than 230 million views. This was followed by the #GuacDance campaign, which received 430 million views, and 250,000 video submissions from participants. As a result, Chipotle's avocado upsells increased by 68%. The takeaway: get creative and explore new options to leverage your social media presence.

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Coronavirus Social Media Pro Tip #6 Refresh Previous Content

While you may have to abandon some of the campaigns you had in mind before the pandemic, not everything has to be trashed. Take a look at your content and see how you can tweak it to fit the current situation. Refreshing content is nothing new— many brands repurpose old content to stay relevant and boost SEO, as well as social media engagement. There may also be an opportunity to make content from previous years work during the pandemic.

Coronavirus Social Media Pro Tip #7 Explore Opportunities for Collaboration

If your business has yet to branch into influencer marketing, now's the time. Many influencers are struggling to stay relevant in the face of the pandemic. They are unable to provide updated content based on the safety restrictions put in place. Furthermore, many big sponsorship opportunities (festivals, for example) have been canceled.This struggle is an opportunity for businesses to gain access to influencers who would typically be out of budget or otherwise engaged. Put together an influencer marketing strategy and partner with influencers who are in alignment with your brand.

Coronavirus Social Media Pro Tip #8 Take a Community-Centric Approach

When the pandemic is behind us, consumers will remember the brands that went above and beyond to help their community. 66% of consumers are more willing to buy from a company that practices social responsibility. Millennials, in particular, are key drivers in socially responsible shopping. As this generation outnumbered the Baby Boomer generation as of 2019, this is an important statistic to keep in mind when leveraging social media during the pandemic.Use your platforms to show how you're helping the community, whether it's being accessible to customers or giving to those in need. Consider Coldstream Clear, a small distillery in Nova Scotia, Canada. In late March, they shifted their production focus to alcohol-based sanitizer to meet the market shortage. Their first move was to offer free bottles to front-line workers in the community. Prior to this, their Instagram posts averaged between 100-200 likes each. The giveaway post earned 1,056 likes.

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Coronavirus Social Media Pro Tip #9 Analyze and Adapt

Whatever approach you take to leverage your social media presence during the Coronavirus pandemic, keep adaptability in mind. Be vigilant in tracking your analytics and adapt your approach accordingly for continued success.Ready to take your social media to the next level? Sign up for a FREE Postfity account here!