The coronavirus outbreak has put almost every country in the world under significant pressure and affected all of us in one way or another. Small businesses are faced with some very tough decisions in the wake of this global crisis, forcing quick adaptations and, of course, the age-old business ‘pivot’.

However, no matter how you view this situation, we have all seen social media experience a massive shift in content.

Since the growth of Instagram and the introduction of social media influencers, we have been accustomed to perfectly curated and highly upbeat social media posts. We have been conditioned and have come to expect this form of perfection and refinement from our favourite brands.

As we are all adjusting to this new normal, with many of us being locked down or quarantined, social media has seen some major changes with brands presenting a refreshing and much-needed humanised approach.

With the change in reality and sudden emergence of normalcy, engagement is skyrocketing for brands and influencers who are shifting their communications accordingly.

So how can your brand effectively communicate and not only maintain, but grow your engagement?

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

Small businesses are in major struggle street in Australia and sometimes the last thing they have on their mind is marketing.

From what we are hearing from a lot of small businesses, they have had to let some, if not all, of their team go (including their dearly departed marketing gurus), they do not have enough hours in the day, they are constantly pivoting their business model, and they can’t even imagine making a plan when no one knows when the restrictions will be fully lifted.

I hear you! This is crazy! How can we keep up this pretense of a successful brand when we don’t have the resourses or the time?

PARE IT BACK

Yes, that’s right. A social media marketing agency is telling you to pare back your socials. Now that doesn’t mean delete your scheduled posts if you are one of the few highly organised and digitally enthusiastic business owners. I’m just saying, DO WHAT YOU CAN! If you can only post two or three times a week, so be it!

But PLEASE, make those posts worthwhile!

If your post isn’t shocking, informing, uplifting, or making people salivate or laugh, what’s the point? Busy work is not necessary at this time - delivering value to your followers is key.

HUMANISE

Almost everyone I have spoken to is struggling right now and through the isolation and inevitable loneliness that lockdown creates, we are all desperately trying to connect.

So how do we really connect with a bored and lonely audience?

The best strategies we have seen so far are brands that are focusing on thoughtful content and messaging, empathising with their audience and really focusing on how to positively increase engagement. Creating posts that resonate with your followers will help to cut through the noise, bringing awareness to your brand.

MICRO-BLOGGING

Taking a more personal approach to communications during this time is also key. We have seen many brands adopting the “micro-blog’ caption strategy, employing the idea of telling a story with each social post. This means that your captions are a lot longer in length and explain what is going on with your brand in a heartfelt way.

The idea is to try to be positive and upbeat when you can but don’t miss out on the moments when you, as a brand or a business owner, can really connect by sharing your personal story, daily struggles and perhaps even a bit of laughter.

Videos are also a great way to communicate with your audience and they are each day becoming easier to create. If you are not currently on the TikTok bandwagon we highly suggest you give it a go as this is a great platform to reach out to a whole new audience. *Tiktok blog coming VERY soon!

BE SENSITIVE

Before you create a social media post, think about how this will sit in someone’s feed. This may sit beside a post that is incredibly heartfelt including someone who is facing severe hardship or the loss of a loved one.

How does it look?

Avoid anything too tongue-in-cheek during this time and understand that although we all want a laugh, this can come at the expense of your brand's reputation. So be sensitive to everyone’s current situation and try to think about how your post may affect them.

GIVE BACK

Okay, this isn't an optimization hack but It is something we see in any successful business. Giving back to your local community might seem like the last thing you can do right now but there are people that could really use your help. If you think you have it bad, someone probably has it worse and it’s so important to help those in need when and if you can.

In saying this, Social Deli is currently giving away free social media packs and social media mentoring during this time to small businesses that are struggling financially and want to market their new products or services (find more on our packs here).

WRAPPING IT UP

Although the above strategies are not a one-size-fits-all method, pursuing some of them within your brand communications may help to not only cement your existing following but increase engagement during a very tough period. The best we can do right now is try to connect, market our new business model, (be that takeaway food or zoom Pilates sessions) and stay top of mind.

If we increase brand awareness and loyalty now, this can only lead to a positive branding experience and, hopefully, increase your sales in the future.

All the best peeps, we believe in you! Go get ‘em!

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So who the hell are we?

Social Deli is a social media marketing agency in Melbourne and we have a reach throughout Australia, currently in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Byron Bay.

We would love to help you to curate, photograph, and optimize your social media content! We have social media packs with weekly affordable rates starting at $150 per week.

Social Deli will be holding social media & content creation workshops for small businesses in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane in late 2020. If you would like to be the first to know, shoot us an email and we will contact you when we lock in the dates.

If you think you might be interested in hearing more about our social packs GET IN TOUCH and we can set up a phone chat to discuss how we can help you get your socials back on track!