Extreme uncertainty and fear of the unknown is causing anxiety for your business and for your customers.
What can you offer to your audience at a time where stress and anxieties are so high?
Now more than ever it is important to focus upon the foundational elements that make for a responsible and effective marketing approach. Reassess content marketing strategies as you work toward adapting to the new normal.
Are you grappling with content ideation in the current climate?
If so, you are not alone. In addition to topical and crisis-specific content that informs and reassures your customers, you can also leverage your evergreen content for inspiration by following these few tips.
1. Identify Your Audience
People are at home right now more than ever and content is one of the best ways to engage with current and potential customers. But first, identify the audience – and the particular segments – you’re attempting to reach.
What will resonate with them?
Consider the impact versus the effort as you prioritize topical and evergreen content.
2. Seek to Understand First
Do your homework. “Listen” to what customers are saying on social media. Pay attention to keywords and hashtags customers are using to understand their needs. Stay laser focused on those needs as you ideate.
At all costs, ensure your content is not tone-deaf. For the foreseeable future, consumers will be much more sensitive to what they see in your branded messaging. There are many things to consider in a time like this, including:
Remove images where people are in crowds or touching.
Avoid the hard sell.
Be a value provider rather than simply a brand promoter.
3. Develop a Content Plan – Audit, Optimize, and Schedule
Uncertain times call for information. If anything, you are probably generating more content than you were before. People are seeking content from brands they trust.
To ensure you have a healthy stash of ideated content, calling upon evergreen material is inevitable.
Recycling evergreen content is all about making good content better over time. When focused on the core needs of your target audience and the solution to a common problem, leveraging evergreen content in this way is entirely possible.
It’s no different in a crisis.
Checklists, how-to guides, and top 10 lists are perfect reads for a time like this. To drive the effectiveness of evergreen content in the current environment:
Utilize SEO tools to analyze your website to see which pages and key words are ranking.
Use the information you gathered as you listened to your audience on social media platforms to audit your evergreen content.
Identify opportunities to leverage good pieces and customize them for the current situation.
For example, if you see an article about spring cleaning is ranking, a few adjustments can further optimize that content to focus upon staying productive and positive while on lockdown.
Plan a 30-60-90 day content outline to maintain order. Of course, you can make adjustments as the crisis evolves, but at least you will be as prepared as possible.
4. Demonstrate Empathy
Your customers are worried about their health, their jobs, and their bank accounts. Any content – whether evergreen or topical – must demonstrate that your business cares about what your customers are going through right now.
Lead with empathy. Be vulnerable and authentic in the experiences you share. Share the measures being taken to protect employees and customers.
5. Prepare for the Post-Crisis World
We are all calling it the “new normal”. When this crisis is over – and it will be over someday – your content will continue to require attention. Don’t be caught off guard. Begin positioning yourself now for success.
What will your content focus on once the world gets back to work?
Hopefully customers have just had an intimate experience during the crisis with your brand. Content about your core values are a great place to continue that relationship.
It’s quite likely that you have just created a whole new category of evergreen-crisis-content for yourself. Be sure to know how you’ll manage that content and all of the processes you’ve put in place during the past few months, so you will be prepared for next time.