Bringing People Together – Virtually
A Marketer’s Job is More Important than Ever
By: Savannah Bailey
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a marketing professional who hasn’t felt the pinch from COVID-19 (the Coronavirus.) After all, our job is to bring people together.
With events and activities over the coming weeks canceled and a looming uncertainty of summer programs, we’re stuck in an unprecedented holding pattern. That said, all is not lost for a few good reasons.
Through these unprecedented challenges, we look to offer a glimmer of hope to marketers – and why your work is more important than ever.
Your community needs your continued support
How can you retool what’s in your current marketing pipeline to support local organizations or individuals who are suffering right now?
Marketers serve as the linchpin that can pull communities together during this critical and uncertain time. Many consumer-facing companies are being forced to temporarily close, something which may become a long-term or permanent closure for some.
This is why it’s important to act now and support your local brewery or restaurant while they are still operating.
Many small businesses are getting creative with how they’re serving their customers. During this toilet paper frenzy have been experiencing, a restaurant in Covington, KY has been giving customers a roll of toilet paper with every meal purchase. Another local bakery also decided to play into the toilet paper surge by creating a toilet paper cake- and delivering it to your car in an inflatable unicorn costume. Both of these tactics in any other situation would be considered questionable marketing ploys but play well into the current climate.
Your events need a refresh
I refuse to give up on our events and neither should you. In times of trial, success will be determined by your adaptability. Use this unexpected time as an opportunity to explore other options you could be doing with your special event. This is your chance to be creative!
Reevaluate what was working and what needed some extra love. Take advantage of all the advanced technology that’s just at our fingertips (and free to use). Leverage your social media platforms to get your messaging across to your audience via updates, live streaming and trending hashtags. Many of our social platforms allow you to record a live video while people can actively tune in and share their reactions by commenting or liking.
Virtual events might be a saving grace for your spring event. I get it - you’re crushed. You can’t put on that event you’ve been planning for over a year, but take that determination and make it virtual.
While people can’t get together for a race or concert, they’re spending a lot more time on social media due to social distancing. This is a great opportunity to build a sense of community.
You may also reasonably expect these events to potentially experience a decrease in attendance as funds from sponsors are participants are suddenly tight, but on the bright side, you will likely uncover some new communications avenues and audience insights in the process.
Your communications must continue
As the safest thing to do right now is stay at home, that shouldn’t limit your communication with your customers, community and key stakeholders.
Just as reaching out to loved ones is more important than ever, check-ins and virtual added values can go a long way to build rapport. (Hint: what else can you offer beyond telling customers how you’re adhering to CDC guidelines?)
Take it from someone who lives in a downtown studio apartment downtown with one small window- social isolation can be hard. How can you use your communications avenues to bring joy?
I’ve loved seeing musicians, in spite of canceling their tours, making their performance a virtual experience by performing live online for others to watch. This is the best and safest way to help people feel involved and engaged.
Keep your heads up, marketers. Today’s challenges can set us up for future success.
Providing a virtual experience of an event isn’t just helping you build your brand, but helping everyone’s mental health.
Together we will venture through these times of uneasiness. Here’s hoping a little creative ingenuity makes the world a better place.