What is the right choice of words, the right length for posts? Writing for social media can be quite a challenge for companies – even under normal circumstances. And especially in states of emergency you can become insecure. We can calm you down: There is no reason to be insecure! Provided, you do not put your foot in your mouth. We will take you by the hand so that you always hit the right note. For 6 “tips to go” and best practices, read on!
Corona, Covid-19, crisis – The beginning of the year 2020 is so full of these terms that you cannot escape them. The resulting consequence for many marketing departments: shock, cutbacks, austerity measures. But this is exactly where the biggest mistakes are being made. Communication, both internal and external, is the worst part you can cut back on .
"Every crisis is also an opportunity", that's not just a nice aphorism. While your competitor is still recovering from the shock, you can use the valuable time. But where to start? Right here:
Tip 1: Audit
Think of your audit as a digital storage room. You dig out dusty websites, blog articles, newsletters and social media articles, blow heavily and look at the content in a different light. Is it still relevant? Is the customer benefit still there? The best way to assess this is by looking at the key performance indicators. To find out which of these are really meaningful and how to conduct a successful internal and external audit, read the article "The strategy in 7 steps". This is the way to go!
Tip 2: Rethink your social media channels
You've probably also found your social media channels in the digital storeroom. You might use some of them more often than others, and the interaction rates on Facebook are significantly higher than on Instagram. Collect this data and analyze it. Maybe you'll come to the conclusion, for example, that it would be enough for your target group to use only one channel. In "Target Groups, Goals and Channels" you will find all the information you need to make this important decision. Take a look!
Tip 3: Using social media correctly
Where do you first check when you are looking for current information about a company? Social media? Then you belong to the majority of Internet users who receive news first via Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Benefit from this behavior for your company as well! Fill your social media channels with relevant information and helpful content regularly. And don't forget the communicative aspect, social media is not a one-way street, even in times of Corona. Get in touch with your community, react to questions, criticism and praise. Whether you respond directly to the crisis or prefer to focus on other topics is up to you – the important thing is: Stay active!
Best Practice: Swing KitchenThe vegan burger restaurant Swing Kitchen informs customers first via social media, more precisely Instagram. Current new developments, such as the recently permitted self-pickup of food, were communicated directly here and brought joy to the community. "Drive-in“ quickly became "Bike-in".
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Tip 4: Invest in content & SEO
The crisis was a shock to just about every person and business. The reaction of many companies: slowing or even completely cutting off online communications. A fatal mistake that will take its revenge once the situation has calmed down again. Why? The calculation is simple: no content, no clicks, no relevance and a correspondingly declining SEO ranking. Day after day you are overtaken by other websites. And fighting your way back from low starting positions in the search algorithm is very exhausting. So do not let it happen in the first place. Keep on publishing relevant content like blog articles, newsletters or social media posts!
Best Practice: Amazon’s Covid-19 BlogYou can think about Amazon any way you want. But the company is definitely not one of the losers of the crisis. And still doesn't stop communicating. In the wake of the pandemic, the company has set up its own Covid-19 blog, where daily updates on the situation are posted: What is Amazon doing for its own employees? What for the customers? And how are communities worldwide being supported? Important topics that are covered here. |
Best Practice: SCHMACHTL blogOur industrial client SCHMACHTL is not comparable to the giant Amazon in terms of company size, but communication is just as important. Through LinkedIn news and important information for customers are regularly disseminated, whether about the availability of employees or goods. In addition, SCHMACHTL informs customers and partners about the availability and delivery times of goods and how the company is dealing with the situation. This gives the recipients on the one hand the impression of empathy and understanding for their own situation, and on the other hand also provides them with actual added value in terms of information and assistance. Both together can strengthen the partnership between SCHMACHTL and its customers in the long term. Which brings us straight to the fifth tip.
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Tip 5: Strengthen existing customer relationships
Are you currently providing special offers that are perfectly tailored to the current situation of your customers? Or do you simply want to communicate that people can still count on your services? This is important information that your customers should definitely receive! So send out a special newsletter, post news via LinkedIn or on your blog. That way, your customer base will remain up to date – and that creates trust, which will also be noticeable after the crisis.
Best Practice: SCHMACHTL home office with a robotPerforming robot demos in times of social distancing is difficult or simply not possible? Only at first sight! A SCHMACHTL technician has taken a robot to his home office – and not just to do the dishes. Customers can now arrange online demos via video call to see the robot live in action. This is an exciting offer, which is of course communicated to customers via social media, the blog and an own landing page. And maybe the robot will eventually do the dishes after all...
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Tip 6: Inform, educate, entertain
I think we've all heard enough serious news in the last few weeks. Time to focus on the positive! The best way to do this is? Humour. If it matches your corporate identity, you can make some of the information a little more entertaining than usual – because that's especially popular now. Consider, for example, how you can keep your customers up to date with new landing pages. Or post clearly summarized FAQs on the current situation via your social media channels.
Best Practice: Hilton ViennaHow many zoom calls have you been in since the quarantine began? We can no longer count them either. Always the same background (mostly kitchen or living room) does not exactly give you a holiday feeling. Hilton Vienna has come up with something special for this situation: Dream destinations of Hilton around the world, which you can download as wallpapers for your next video call. We think: Great idea and a pleasant change from the usual tonality of crisis communication!
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You do not have to start the journey alone
Implementing the creative tips above is not an easy task. Especially if the crisis is still ongoing. So don't be afraid to outsource some of the work. This way you can continue to concentrate on the tasks that arise in addition to your external communication. Contact us and we will take a closer look at your current social media presence and crisis communication!
