Why You Need to Review Your Brand’s Digital Presence in This Time of Uncertainty
I think we can all collectively agree, that everything is pretty uncertain at the moment.
In the face of Covid-19, many businesses are struggling to grapple with how they can make the best out of such a difficult situation. That’s why I wanted to offer some help with this blog post.
The one piece of advice that I’m giving all of my clients at the moment is to focus on their digital presence. Why? Because that is how you continue to make money for your business, in the face of social distancing!
Not only that, but it’s the side of branding that too often gets overlooked. So, as business (and life!) potentially slows, you have the perfect opportunity for a review and re-focus. With that in mind, there are three key objectives that I would encourage you to focus on and I’ll walk you through how you can optimise each.
1. Your website
Your website is the face of your company, when your physical shop is nowhere to be seen. That is to say, it’s one of the most important aspects of your company.
That’s why you should conduct an on-site audit. The aim is to see whether your site is as easy to navigate as it could be, if the user journey is clearly defined and if the labelling systems you’re using would make sense to your ideal customer.
Also take this as an opportunity to reassess your shipping costs and minimum orders. Are they up-to-date and as low as they can feasibly be for you to still make a profit? And how do they align with your competitors and retailers you are stocked in?
Next, focus on your product pages and consider how you can add more content to them.The product pages should be as rich as possible, to add value to your customer and for the sake of SEO. Include plenty of photos, descriptive text and even videos or how-to guides about the products.
Finally, it’s time to dive into your analytics. Using a platform like Google Analytics, figure out where your traffic is coming from. This will include places like search engines, social media, blogs and external articles.
Are your traffic sources reflective of the work you’re putting into each of these areas? Brainstorm where you can point more energy to see a growth in traffic.
2. Your social media
There are several things that you should ensure you’ve got perfected if you want to see the most possible success online as a brand.
First things first, your customers should be able to shop via your social platforms. As such, use this time to set up a “shop through social” function, with platforms like Facebook and Instagram offering in-build options for this.
On top of that, the content that you’re sharing needs to be relevant (to your brand niche, brand voice and to your ideal customer) and consistent. So, be honest with yourself: are you posting as frequently and at the highest quality you can be?
It’s important to also consider which channels you’re on. The key to success in this area is to first understand where your ideal customer is online and to make sure that you are reaching them across all of these platforms. If this feels overwhelming, don't worry, a lot of content can be repurposed across a variety of touch-points to save time and budget.
3. Your longer-form content
Whilst reviewing your online presence, you also need to focus on two types of longer-form content: blogs and press releases.
If you haven’t already got a blog on your site, add one! Creating consistent content is great for improving your chances of being seen on a search engine. Also make sure that you’re aware of the basics of SEO, so that you can optimise your posts and boost traffic.
As I said, this post can then be repurposed and used across multiple channels, to better fulfil the marketing rule of 7! This suggests that a customer needs to see or interact with your brand a minimum of 7 times before considering purchasing.
As well as ensuring that your blog posts are relevant to your ideal customer, use Google Trends to create content that is as timely as possible. This can cause a real boost in views, which can in turn become sales.
In terms of press releases, as counterintuitive as it may seem, it’s crucial to consider how your range can be related to the current climate. For example, could you offer help with self-care, DIY facials, hand washing or at-home education in some way? Your usual press releases are unlikely to have relevance at the moment, so have a good think about how you can pivot to provide content that journalists are looking for at the moment.
As unsettling as the current period is, taking these steps to review and improve your digital content can allow you to create more stability within your business. As you no doubt know, thriving as a brand means being willing to adapt to changes frequently and effectively. So, with less footfall and more people online, the digital space is where you need to be focusing your energy.
Sign up to our mailing list today to get exclusive access to Wizz’s trend presentation, to learn everything you need to know about consumer and retail trends and purchasing habits in a post-pandemic world. You will learn how to attract more customers and stand out among the noise of the busy retail landscape. Trust us, you don’t want to miss it!