When things get flipped on their head sometimes it’s hard to navigate through all the muck, to see the clearing on the other side. Different industries and sizes of companies have to navigate this differently and sometimes without any guidance.
As things change and continue to shift, we’re focusing on digital advertising and how companies and platforms are modifying their efforts to adapt to the current landscape.
Things can seem overwhelming in times like this so here are some success stories from companies that pivoted quickly and saw significant changes. Hopefully some of these are relevant to your business and can help you find ways to modify and update your efforts to speak to the current times.
Another bright spot in the digital world during this time is that a lot of martech companies and ad platforms are waiving fees, reducing costs, and offering grants to small businesses that might be struggling. We all know that, typically, when it comes to financial cuts, the marketing budget is the first thing to go. So, if that’s the case for you some of these opportunities might be helpful for you.
With people working from home desktop search activity is higher than ever and with many companies opting out or scaling back on advertising due to financial restrictions, or needing to funnel that money into other opportunities. This gives companies who wouldn’t typically have the budget or resources to compete for share of voice in their industry or vertical to have that opportunity and gain some good ground with their paid advertising efforts. It’s likely we will see a long-lasting/permanent shift in online vs. brick and mortar shopping habits, so brands need to keep this at the forefront to make sure they are continuing to present their brand online in a way that keeps people interested and engaged for long periods of time.
It’s not just search engines/search results seeing an impact from this shift, but social media ads are seeing a shift as well. Most of this is fairly positive. With the aforementioned surge in the number of people online shopping this gives businesses the opportunity to promote products or services that are in higher demand right now and capitalize on that market. Metrics for Facebook specifically will see a lower CPM and CPC, and an increase in overall impressions and clicks, just due to the shear volume of online users. If you are an SMB company, Facebook is dedicating $100M dollars to provide grants for smaller companies who might be struggling during this time to make sure they are able to keep things running. This article, How Coronavirus is Impacting Facebook Ads, gives more detail on all of these areas and how to apply for a grant if you’re in the SMB category and could use a little extra in your advertising budget right now.
In summary, if you have the ability to continue digital advertising efforts during this time, do it. Even if it means pivoting to adapt to the current shifts in online activity and potentially promoting different products or services. It’s worth it to keep your brand out there and in front of your target market even if it’s in a slightly different way than you typically would. Keep an eye on what other companies are doing and read about what’s been successful to help guide your brand in a positive direction. Things will continue to shift, and brands will find a new normal, keep going, try new things, find what works, and run with that.