Staying Social During the Pandemic

By: Liz Chrostowski

As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, everything is moving to digital. We see it in all aspects of life, whether it’s wine night with your friends, game night with your family or your day-to-day work activities. Because of this, it’s more important than ever to be technologically savvy. 

As times change, so should your marketing strategy. Instead of halting everything, consider simply adjusting your strategy based on the current situation. On social media, brands have taken a step back from hard sells and heavy promotion and are instead using messaging revolving around community, education and hope. So, how exactly should you shift your social strategy to match the current climate?
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One of the most important things to consider when shifting your strategy is your audience. What is your audience saying? How are they reacting? What are they looking for from you? Listen to your audience and tailor your messaging and content to their needs. This skill is called social listening, which is defined by HubSpot as “the monitoring of your brand's social media channels for any customer feedback and direct mentions of your brand or discussions regarding specific keywords, topics, competitors, or industries, followed by an analysis to gain insights and act on those opportunities.” Whether you’re in the midst of a pandemic or not, social listening is a great tool for your company to use to make sure your social media efforts are fulfilling your audience’s needs.

As we’ve seen throughout the past few years, video is a huge player on social media. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, this has not slowed down. Video remains a great way to directly interact and engage with your customers. If you weren’t using video before, you should be incorporating it into your strategy now. Live video is an especially great way to instantly interact with your followers. We’ve seen brands use Facebook and Instagram Live to stay connected and communicate with followers in real time. Use live video for Q&A sessions, interviews with internal employees or to send out a company update. The good thing about Facebook Live is you can save the video to repurpose and redistribute later to those who could not tune in. Facebook and Instagram Live videos are rising in popularity every day!

Authenticity is key. Every brand is different, every company is different and every strategy is different. Throughout your journey, stay authentic to your brand. Put your customers first and do what makes sense for you and your company. Focus on creating lasting relationships and building trust with your customers however you feel is right.
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Social media can be difficult to navigate, and even more so if you’re trying to reach professionals within the promotional products industry. ASI® Creative Labs offers Sponsored Social Posts, which we can use to promote your message through the ASICentral® Facebook and Instagram channels. Our audience is even more engaged now as distributors turn to ASI for the latest news, updates and information about how the pandemic is affecting the industry. If you’re interested in getting started with ASI Creative Labs Sponsored Social Posts, contact your account executive.