Marketing and Productivity Tips for Small Businesses during the COVID-19 Pandemic
I hope your business is not in an immediate risk of going out of business. I have included a few ideas, however if you are not in an immediate risk I encourage you to continue reading and apply the advice and suggestions as you see fit.
We are currently experiencing COVID-19 which is causing a lot of people with families and businesses to question what the future may hold. While we all want to stop and hold our breath, the best thing to do is prepare and continue forward with the best we can in our work and daily life.
I have been working from home since 2018, so this transition to remote life is not unfamiliar. However for a lot of small and medium sized businesses, this transition does not come easy. As a Marketer and someone who works remotely, I wanted to share what you should be doing right now for your business if you haven’t done so already. I realize that a lot of small businesses are at risk so please know that I am trying my best to be considerate with this post. I hope you find this helpful!
Disclaimer: These are only suggestions for you, as a small business owner, to consider. As an FYI, when I am not blogging, I am helping women soloprenuers and those with small teams with Email Marketing and Social Media Management. You can request more information here
Develop and Nurture your Email (subscribers) list
If you already have your email list intact, great! Now is the time to reevaluate your list and look at your analytics. Now is the time to strategize how to keep your audience engaged as much as possible.
First, you want to look at your audience list. From this list, you should consider segmenting people into different lists. The reason for this is because then you can create TARGETED emails which will get in front of the right people. Depending on what Email Platform you use, you can add tags to each subscriber. Tags just help you in making sure the email you create not only goes to a certain list, but will also include “x” number of people using the tag assigned.
Once you get into the habit of sending out emails to your target lists, it’s time to look into the analytics.
Reviewing Email Analytics
Things to look for with your email analytics:
These are the analytics I gather for clients to help them understand the value of email marketing and also identify trends.
Total Emails Sent- this is the number of total emails that were sent to your subscribers. Usually this number is equal to the number of subscribers to your email list.
From the Total Emails Sent, next to consider is Total Email Delivered. This means that out of “x” number of Total Emails Sent, only “x” number actually reached an inbox. This is important to know because you want for all emails to reach an inbox. If not all emails are reaching inboxes, that means that something may be wrong with the persons email address.
Email Conversion Rates
To gather your Delivery Rate Percentage, Divide your Total Emails Sent / Total Emails Delivered = Delivery Rate Percentage % (the percentage of how many people in which your email is landing in their inbox every time)
Total Emails Opened- Out of all the emails that you sent, and that actually reached an inbox… how many of those emails were opened?
To gather your Open Rate Percentage, Divide Total Emails Delivered / Total Emails Opened= Open Rate Percentage % (the percentage of how many people are opening your email every time)
Total Clicks- This number will show you how many people actually clicked on a link or image from your email. This is the action you want someone to take when they open all your emails.
To gather your Click Through Rate Percentage, Divide Total Emails Opened / Total Clicks = Click Through Rate % (the percentage of people who are actually clicking on a link or image on your email every time)
Other numbers to gather are the Bounce Rate and the number of people who Unsubscribe.
These are all important numbers to calculate for each email campaign that you send. To keep track, I encourage you to create an excel sheet, and assign each tab to a new month. After some time you WILL SEE trends and you will be able to determine what kind of emails work well with your targeted lists.
Social Media Strategy
Now is the time to enhance your social media game. Everyone is on their phones due to being home, and also use social media as their main source of news. Here are a couple of ideas to help you get your thoughts going on using these platforms.
Facebook Creator Studio
This has saved my life and it’s FREE! If you have your business page up and running this will work for you.
1) First, make sure you are logged into your Facebook Page
2) on a separate tab in your window browser, copy and paste https://business.facebook.com/creatorstudio/ or simply google Facebook Creator Studio.
3) For first time users, you may need to fill in some information but after that, Facebook Creator will pick up that you are logged in and you will automatically see your dashboard.
4) Start pre-scheduling your posts to Facebook and/or Instagram! Yes, you can even post to stories and IGTV.
How cool is this! Thank you Facebook! Note: Uploading high quality resolution photos will ensure that your content is crisp when it posts onto IG or FB platforms. In other words, upload high res photos versus screenshots or low res.
Facebook/Instagram Ads
Right now, you may be scaling back on costs and although you may not be getting your product physically in front of people doesn’t mean you can’t utilize Facebook or Instagram ads to reach current or new audiences. The best part, you pick YOUR BUDGET. I love using Facebook or Instagram ads on low budgets because you can still be effective. You can do this yourself by boosting a post or if you want to get more technical, use Facebooks Ads Manager
Facebook/Instagram Live
So many people have gotten very creative with this! It’s such a great way to stay connected to your audience and captivate new ones. Before going live, have a plan. I have watched some Live videos and the messaging is much better when it’s planned versus just “winging it” on Live. Show a tutorial, teach something new, give leadership advice, talk about your plans or what’s coming, show behind the scenes, etc. Think outside the box!
Community Influencers
We are seeing many bloggers, influencers and people who simply just CARE…stand up for small businesses. Take advantage of this time and connect with them to help spread the word of what you are offering at the moment or what you may need help with. People are willing to help if you just ask.
Other Ideas to Consider
Gather Testimonials
Take this time to gather testimonials from clients. I find Google and Facebook to be the strongest because they are very credible to those who read them. The more reviews and the most positive, the better your business is ranked and viewed.
From these testimonials, don’t be shy to share them! Testimonials make for great content. Create an image with a testimonial to share on instagram or instagram stories, include it with your emails, or share it on LinkedIn. The Idea is to disseminate this information to other outlets as much as possible.
Consider giving a small percentage of sales to a local organization that is contributing to the current cause or situation
Consider putting together a virtual event (perhaps a Q&A, webinar….depending the type of business)
Revisit your purpose and create a videos reintroducing yourself, your business and purpose. Sometimes people need that time to remember why they are following you in the first place. Video do so well online!
Start a YouTube Channel. This doesn’t mean you need to be a Vlogger , but starting a channel for your business is another outlet that opens up to new eyeballs. Take advantage.
Although I have provided marketing tips and advice so you stay productive, the best thing to do right now is to keep at it. I know there are some businesses who have an entire team to worry about, but I’ve encountered many soloprenuers who don’t know what to do during this time to keep their business going. Sales may be slow, but if you are targeting the areas in your business that may need improvement, you are already establishing a plan of resiliency.
If you are interested in hiring someone do conduct your social media marketing strategy or management please reach out to me here. If you have other ideas that you are doing to help market your business, please leave it in the comments below. There are no right or wrong answers, just ideas!
