Navigating Uncertain Times: How to Excel at Content Marketing in the COVID-19 Era

When the coronavirus crisis hit the world, everyone was scrambling to overcome the unknown challenge, especially marketers and content creators. Due to the risk of exposure to the virus, the whole world jumped ship and shifted its business to the web. Traditional marketing strategies underwent a serious makeover when brands drew away from on-ground marketing, taking an alternative route. COVID-19 revolutionized the creation of content and its distribution; with internet usage increasing by 70 per-cent. During this time, marketers zeroed in their attention on content marketing to deliver their message to the audience and keep them engaged, and thereby maintain their customer base.

Content marketing is not to be confused with conventional advertising. The tool allows brands to become storytellers as it informs, entertains, and educates to maintain a connection with the target audience.

Content marketing is the process of pushing out content through different channels steadily for the audience to consume. However, it is not just content. The ‘key’ is to publish content that the audience would want to consume; it has to meet their needs and asks. Over the years, content marketing has grown from being just blog posts. The current tactics include reaching out to the selected audience through email, social media, Search Engine Optimisation, and much more.

Why is content marketing important during COVID-19?

Let’s start with an example. Ahrefs founded by Dmitry Gerasimenko is an all-in-one SEO toolset that allows marketers to give their businesses a boost, alongside offering a varied selection of learning materials. During the pandemic, they started offering their ‘Blogging for Business’ online course for free; it teaches individuals how to grow their blogs. Pre-pandemic, people applying for a course would usually have to pay an $800 fee. Even though the organization is missing out on revenue, the long-term effect of this particular decision is likely to be quite powerful. Blogging for Business is branded interactive content taught at an expert-level; this prospect alone is glamourous. When it is offered for free, a section of industry professionals are going to opt for this option. They will become accustomed to Ahref’s program. This move will build trust between the audience and the organization, leading to the creation of a loyal customer base. When the opportunity presents itself, marketers would want to go with Ahrefs.

This is content marketing at its best. But the question is: “How is this beneficial especially in the time of a pandemic?” Across the world, economies took serious hits, and by default, businesses saw a shift in their revenues. People were laid off work, and many businesses stopped spending much on marketing campaigns. In this case, Ahref’s sales-oriented content marketing campaign was not only putting out quality content but was also free. Therefore, the strategy worked.

Lessons to learn

In a rapidly-changing global landscape, communicating the identity of the brand and values take priority. Thinking out of the box, marketers have to understand the importance of banking on strategies outside the traditional ones.

The first step is the willingness to go with the flow. You either adapt or be left in the dust. The usual strategies might not work as expected, which in turn provides an opportunity for you to step up the content game. Online experiences such as online events, visual content (customers remember sixty-five per-cent of visual content), and interesting writing are just some ways to actively engage an audience. However, while assessing the content marketing strategy, the imagery and language need to be checked meticulously. Ranging from the tone and visual to the colors and keywords used, every brand needs to be sensitive about the bigger picture. For example, using sarcasm is unsuited at a time like this; more heartfelt content is required to impact the audience. While putting out the message through visual content, the imagery of someone holding or shaking hands, a hug, or a crowd scene is a big no-no as you do not want your audience to get the wrong hint.

As mentioned earlier in this piece, the content needs to be audience-centric, focusing on the target group more will foster trust, instead of just blindly chasing for more sales. A consistent flow of quality content will add value to the brand and prompt the customers to spend money on your product or service.

People demand transparency. Therefore, brands need to keep their customers better informed, such as store closures, work-from-home policies, employee welfare programs, and so on. Even though they might seem unnecessary, such measures increase the value of customer relationships as there is no room for doubts or confusion. However, there is a fine line between informing people and just randomly disseminating information that induces a sense of panic. In such situations, the language of the content needs to be monitored. Additionally, the patrons need to be engaged with the brand, specifically the product or service. Therefore, staying clear of overwhelming prospects with irrelevant marketing content, it is better to stick to what the customers want and how they want it. One way to achieve this feat is to personalize the content for the customer.

Lastly, a pandemic does not equal a brand carrying a gloomy and grim tone through their content marketing strategy. People are craving positivity. Therefore, images of people smiling or having a laugh do not have to be offensive. It can be refreshing to give off a message of hope and longing. Think back on the past before the lockdowns set in, and hope for a better, safer future. Producing positive content is one part of it. The employees, the ones creating the content, should also be continuously motivated, so that their work does not seem like a chore.

Examples of brands with great content marketing campaigns during the pandemic

Dove – Crucial to the times, Dove introduced its Courage Is Beautiful campaign. The drive champions a video showing still images of healthcare workers who have worked fearlessly and endlessly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The video advert included images to give the audience a glimpse into the reality of this wellness fraternity who is working on the frontlines, with faces marked and bruised from enduring hours of having to wear masks, goggles, and other prescribed safety gear, alongside the tagline “Courage is beautiful”. All the photos featured in the video were real doctors and nurses who were approached by Ogilvy through Instagram.

True to the brand’s all-time agenda, to build self-esteem amongst its users, Dov has always made regular plain Janes, the star of their campaigns. This time, they decided to put the real heroes of the pandemic under the spotlight.

Behr, West Elm, and The Infatuation – When people started working from their homes, and school and college curriculums went online, many people would keep their videos switched off for various reasons, such as a messy room or distractions in the background. Sensing a need, a few brands started creating and publishing custom Zoom backgrounds, to add personality to these meetings.

Behr and West Elm pushed out backgrounds of stylish rooms, among the many options, such as a sleek home office, a kitchen, and even a rustic, log cabin living room. Meanwhile, The Infatuation, which is a restaurant review website, took a different, funnier approach and created food-centric backgrounds, such as pizza, grilled cheese, and more. This particular content marketing strategy is similar to IKEA’s – they made use of the situation and created valuable content that the audience wanted, related to the current scenario.

Nike – The lockdown partially shut the Nike stores. To get past this setback, the brand turned to content marketing. ‘Nike Training Club’ was launched; it is the company’s subscription application that provides workout and fitness plans, and expert tips to users. The free membership almost behaved like clickbait. Additionally, the brand has been publishing content consistently on their Nike and Nike Running Club mobile applications, their official website, and social media to reach out and maintain a sense of connection with their customers during the initial lockdown–quarantine phase. They also released a campaign, “Play Inside, Play for the World”, to emphasize the need for social distancing. Following the launch of the campaign, Nike athletes began posting the advert on their social media handles, including Tiger Woods, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Michael Jordan.

IKEA – During the pandemic, when countries went under lockdown, people were spending more and more time at home. IKEA, the world’s biggest furniture retailer, took the cue and created an advert which encouraged customers to reconnect with their homes. This campaign was produced in English and Spanish, highlighting the pros of being at home and finding comfort within their own habitat. Without being too obvious, IKEA inherently asked people to stay inside their homes, and make their message relatable.

Google Duo – In 2019, the brand came up with a content marketing campaign called Love Liberates, which showcases the importance of visual interactions to keep connections alive. The campaign was centered around a video, produced by Burrell Communication. The video consists of a narration by the late poet, Dr. Maya Angelou. The Love Liberates campaign celebrates the power of love that does not hold us back or box us within restrictions, but sets us free – it talks of the real connections we forge, rekindle or maintain, and made possible through Duo. Burrell Communication is a Black-owned creative content company, and they decided to pack this video with Black voices and stories.