Four Ways To Maximise Your Post-Covid Marketing Budget
Alert level 1 means New Zealand is finally back open for business. However, the initial sense of relief at this fantastic news may have given way to trepidation. After all, the economic future is still uncertain. The government’s wage subsidy is about to end. And after the long weeks in lockdown, your cash reserves are likely to have dried up. In this environment, it’s essential to make every dollar of expenditure count. Here we share five low-cost or no-cost ways to market your business in the post-Covid world.
- Improve Your Online Presence
Internet usage increased dramatically during the lockdown creating new habits that look set to continue.
However, when was the last time you looked at your website? Many of us are guilty of having current projects that haven’t been updated since the site was first launched. If your website has been live for some years, then chances are it could do with a refresh. Make sure all the information is current and relevant.
In addition, check whether your site is optimised for mobile devices and tablets. More and more of us are using our smartphones to browse the web so having a mobile-optimised design is now essential. And it’s surprising how many sites don’t work on the smaller screens of mobile devices.
The bottom line is a modern, attention-grabbing design that works on mobiles and has up-to-date content, speaks volumes about your professionalism. Your website is, after all, the gateway to your business. And getting it right could make all the difference.
Furthermore, make sure you also take advantage of free marketing opportunities such as a LinkedIn company profile or Google My Business.
Free to set up, a LinkedIn company page allows your business to promote its products and services, recruit new talent, and share interesting and useful updates. Use it to showcase all your content marketing and develop a community of followers and influencers.
Also free to set up, Google My Business allows you to manage how your company appears on Google Search and Maps. You can also post content and updates. However, most importantly, you can invite customers to give you a star rating and leave a review of your services. This makes it an incredibly powerful marketing tool as up to 90 per cent of consumers read online reviews before making a purchasing decision.
Video conferencing tools also came into their own during the lockdown. It seems as though everyone was on Zoom or Teams. Take advantage of that change in habits by setting up a free webinar. However, don’t use it primarily as a tool to sell your product or services. Instead, see it as a platform to engage with consumers and develop your authority and credibility.
- Increase Your Content Marketing
Whether it’s a company blog, guest posts on industry websites or social media content now is the time to up your game. During the lockdown, many businesses pulled back on their content marketing activities. This means there’s an opportunity for you to fill the gap.
Keyword-rich content that adds value is an excellent way to build your brand authority and reputation. And it helps you to develop strong relationships with customers and prospects.
Another way to boost your brand reputation and credibility is to contribute guest blogs to trusted websites. As well as raising your profile, the inbound marketing links will drive new traffic to your site. This, in turn, will help to increase your Google ranking.
All that’s required is an investment of your time or resources in putting a blog article together. And if you need help identifying potential guest blogs, then a google search will help. Type in ‘list of blogs that accept guest posts’. Or to find more industry-specific ones, try searching ‘list of – your keyword – blogs that accept guest posts.’
- Get Social
If you haven’t already got a social media presence, then you are missing out on a valuable marketing opportunity. Social media usage also exploded during the lockdown. Facebook alone has more than 1.23 billion monthly active users worldwide. It’s free to set up a social media business account, and with such an incredible reach, it really is a no-brainer.
However, to make yourself stand out try to be more imaginative in your use of social media. Why not mix it up and incorporate video into your marketing. You can use videos to promote and market your product or service, increase engagement, educate your customers, and increase your reach with a new medium. And with the high-quality video capabilities of today’s smartphones, it’s now a very cost-effective option.
And while you’re at it, look to incorporate Facebook or Instagram stories in your social marketing. Another free tool, stories are user-generated slideshows and video collections. Explicitly designed as short-term pieces of content, stories disappear from news feeds after 24 hours. Stories are, however, very engaging and popular with users. What’s more, it automatically takes you to the top of users’ news feeds for maximum exposure.
- Focus On Customer Retention
And when it comes to maximising your marketing buck, looking after your existing clients is essential. It’s a well-known fact that 20 per cent of your customers are the source of 80 per cent of profits. In the post-Covid economic downturn, retaining those loyal customers is more important than ever.
Providing a quality service will be critical to this. Whether it’s going the extra mile, delivering additional services or communicating more frequently, responsive customer service will give you a competitive edge.
And when it comes to attracting new or existing customers, who doesn’t love a freebie! If possible, consider providing free trials of your product, no-obligation consultations or some form of discount as a way of attracting new clients or rewarding existing ones.
There’s no doubt life after lockdown will take some time to get back to pre-Covid normality. And for lots of businesses, there will be many challenges ahead. However, use these low-cost and no-cost ideas to give you some inspiration and get more for your marketing buck.
