By Tom Wozniak, Head of Marketing – published on Business2Community on 5/13/20.

Advertisers everywhere are trying to adapt to what has to be the most sudden, wide-spread, and continuing disruption to the status quo that most of us have seen in our lifetimes. The fact that from seemingly overnight (figuratively anyway) a large percentage of the population suddenly shifted from going to work every day to staying at home, even if many are still working. This impacted just about every facet of a marketer’s planning process. Where are people located at various times of the day? What are their current needs, wants, desires, and concerns? What are their media consumption habits? How do people interact with each other? The changes have been seismic and all-encompassing. So, what is a marketer to do when so much of the data they use to make marketing decisions has to be reconsidered? For a lot of marketers, it means taking stock of the new ‘normal’ and looking for ways to engage and deliver value to an audience whose situation has likely changed dramatically.

Here are a few marketing strategies and tactics to consider as you reassess your upcoming campaigns across email, SMS, or just about any marketing and communications channel.

Social Engagement

For a big percentage of people who have been suddenly dislocated from their typical workday setting one significant change is a huge gap in social engagement with co-workers, which is only exacerbated by a similar loss of personal social interactions as well. No stopping by your co-worker’s desk to talk about the ballgame from the night before or to ask about weekend plans. Also, no weekend plans to hang out with friends over dinner or take your significant other to a movie. We are all familiar with the impacts at this point.

As with any challenge facing consumers, this creates opportunities for marketers to attempt to fill some of this social engagement gap. No, we can’t go take our audience out for a drink or chat over a meal. But, we can look to take a more socially engaging approach in our email or ad copy, create opportunities for consumers to interact with us and our brands in more personal ways, even if it all remains digital. Get creative and push the limits on how we can use the internet to connect on a more personal level. Stay true to your brand image, but find ways to meet this need within your audience.

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