How To Create Social Media Post Amidst COVID-19

COVID-19 has completely altered our lives over the past few weeks and most likely, the weeks to come. Our families, daily routines and business operations have all been affected. While we learn to swim upstream murky waters, there's still a chance that you can use this time to build your brand online presence. At Hyperchat Social, we're practicing social distancing, but we aren't distancing ourselves from social.

Why Should My Business Be Online Right Now?

Just because you're in a bubble doesn't mean your goals are in trouble. People are coming to social media for information now more than ever. We are seeing a shift in users' habits and as we navigate what the new normal is, we've found some great opportunities to be a voice in the storm happening in our world today. People are working from home, learning to homeschool and turning to trusted brands for advice on their next step. As a small business, you have been given the opportunity to become a reliable resource during this time. Odds are, you have an opinion to share with tips that relate to your industry. Now's the time to get people to stop scrolling, see your content, and hit that follow button. It won't be long until you can meet face-to-face and your efforts will pay off.

What Should I Be Posting About?

Show Integrity to Your Followers:

Think about your brand and the role that it plays in the lives of your consumers. It's important to realize what your business should and shouldn't speak on, especially in a time of crisis. Find where you're valuable in the conversation online and help to alleviate your community's pain points.

Help to Ease Tensions:

Just because group events are canceled doesn't mean that having fun is. Sometimes people are searching for news on COVID-19. Other times, they may just want to be entertained and distracted. There's actually been a search volume in at-home workouts, work from home tips, and easy pantry recipes. You can help your community cope while staying active on social media and come off as an industry expert.

Give Back to Others:

Are you doing anything charitable to give back to your community? No good deed goes unnoticed. Post about what you're doing to help others. Simultaneously, you'll increase your reach and the chances that someone is going to support you, whether that's right now or after things calm down a bit.

Be Empathetic to the Current Situation:

The biggest advice we can give you is to make sure your posts are sensitive to COVID-19. Your posts this month probably look a lot different than your posts last month. That's okay. This isn't forever! You may need to tweak your brand voice and offer guidance in new ways, but the last thing you want to do is put your foot in your mouth by acting numb to the situation.

Themes to Include in Your COVID-19 Posts

Positivity:

Fuel your followers' imagination by painting a picture of the future in a positive light. Don't drive your social media posts with fear. Instead, show them what positive outcomes are being created from the situation and act as a positive voice in your community. Have you done anything to help others during this time? Post about it in a way that showcases the work that you're doing and encourages others to do the same.

Relevancy:

Make sure your posts address what's going on in the world currently. You may want to post something that you routinely do to promote your business. Your post may not be negative, but it may not be appropriately timed. With that, this situation is moving quickly and what made sense yesterday may not stand true today.

Originality:

People are open to new ideas and trends while they're social distancing at home. In fact, a lot of people are downloading TikTok just to pass the time. If you've ever wanted to create a trend within your business on social media, now is the time. Additionally, feel free to offer up new ways to work at home, cook, shop or have fun with your followers. Find new ways to offer your business to your customers (such as gift cards or takeout service) and you'll quickly see how strong your supporters actually are.

Visual Examples:

Traditionally, users respond well to visual content. In this scenario, when we take into account social distancing, people are looking for imagery that's not their own four walls more than ever. If you're a business that interacts with your client base, your audience is most likely missing you as much as you miss them. Don't be afraid to put a face to the brand online! Now is the time to go live or post a video. You'll most likely maximize your views and get great engagement. Even if you feel uncomfortable in front of the camera, try it once. You'll be surprised how many people tune in to catch up with you.

Can You Give Me Some COVID-19 Examples?

Restaurants:

While a lot of restaurants are restricted from having groups dine in their establishment, some restaurants are offering to-go options. Are you available through UberEats? What about DoorDash? Have you thought about doing a combined offer with another local business? How about gift cards? If you're doing any of the above, let's promote that as much as possible through social media. Don't forget to show people how you're keeping things sanitary, too!

Gyms:

People may not be able to go to the gym right now because of COVID-19, but that doesn't mean they can't prioritize their health and fitness in a time of social distancing. In fact, a lot of people want to take advantage of this time to get a headstart on their fitness goals. How can you offer something of value to your gym members? Give them some sort of stability and community by creating a Facebook group where you share at-home workouts, live videos, healthy recipes and much more. If people love working out with you, odds are they are pretty bummed they can't right now. I mean, people join gyms and group workout classes so that they don't have to work out at home and motivate themselves! Keep them on track by pushing out as much content as you can to keep their memberships, even when they can't come visit your gym.

Financial Advisors:

People are worried about their future in more ways than one. How can you help give them clarity in a time of uncertainty? While you're probably busy as is, you may get lucky and have some new clients reach out to you due to this. Have you thought about reaching out to your target audience? All it takes is a simple post or message asking users if they'd like a free second opinion on their retirement plan. Odds are, they've probably been thinking about it and COVID-19 is pushing them to pull the trigger. We recommend lead generation campaigns that target business owners, pre-retirees and high-level executives. Want to learn more? We have some campaigns already created and getting great results. Contact us today to get set up ASAP!

Retailers or Small Shops:

Do you sell a product and are you getting hit by the decrease in foot traffic? If you're an online retailer, now is the time to strengthen your sales process to get as many people to the check-out page as possible. Take a look at your Google Analytics to see what people have been most interested in as of late. What kind of discounts can you offer? Try running a Facebook Ad campaign with this data in mind and retarget users while they're at home and scrolling on their Facebook feeds!

I Use Social Media to Generate Leads. Should I Pause For Now?

Great question! When trying to decide if your push marketing strategy should take a break right now, I'd ask yourself some of the same questions we've asked in regard to branding your business. Is there a pain point being caused by coronavirus that you can solve for others? If so, it is not time to stop. In fact, it may be time to start.

Let's say you focus on selling quality gym equipment, targeting people who are fitness enthusiasts. You may have had a grip on your audience's niche, but now your target audience can be much, much wider. People are searching for sold-out gym equipment to use in their homes. This is just one example, but if you have something that's lacking, make sure to put yourself out there so that others can find you.

So, What's Next?

Now more than ever, people are scrolling through social media looking for answers about their future due to COVID-19. What are you posting to grow your business during this time? If you don't have the capacity to take this on yourself, we're here to help. Schedule a consultation with one of our social media experts to find out how you can be turning Social Into Sales!