There’s no question that 2020 has been a whirlwind. The coronavirus crisis has upended almost every part of our daily lives, from how we spend our free time to how we work. As consumer habits change drastically and businesses struggle to survive, marketers must adapt their content marketing strategies to resonate with consumers and the new concerns they are facing. Content marketing plans that had been carefully considered are being scrapped, and many marketers are finding themselves in the position of having to start all over. As we adjust to the new normal, brands that are successfully adapting to the coronavirus crisis have begun adopting some common strategies. The New York Times Licensing Group has been examining what strategies brands and content strategists have been embracing to inform the kinds of content we recommend to our own clients. Here are the four main principles that many marketers are using to connect with audiences during these challenging times:
4 Ways to Adjust Your Content Creation Strategy
1. Leading with Empathy
As much of the world struggles to cope with the pandemic and its economic and social implications, having empathy on both an organizational and individual level is critical. For marketers, being able to walk in your customers’ shoes has always been important. Over the last few months, this notion has become even more imperative when it comes to driving marketing efforts. This is a time to re-evaluate the needs and pain points of your customer base, and change your cross-platform content strategy to reflect and address those needs.
For business-to-business clients, empathetic marketing efforts could include acknowledging struggling industries and providing resources that would be helpful. For consumer-focused businesses, serving content that directly helps audiences with the immediate challenges they face is essential. For example, this could mean sending out engaging, educational games for children, that can help parents who are working from home keep their kids entertained. Such “feel-good” content programs don’t necessarily need to relate to your core business model.
Savvy publishers have also adapted their reporting to reflect the need for empathy and to uniquely serve their readers during the pandemic. For example, The New York Times enhanced their service journalism to address their audience’s needs with “At Home,” a content vertical that offers guidance, tips and activities to help readers cope with life during COVID-19. By helping people thrive in a world where work, family, school and recreation are confined to one space, The Times reinforces its core mission — helping people understand the world — while connecting with readers during a very difficult time.
A brand can similarly adapt its content marketing strategy and develop content that reflects the needs of its audience without necessarily being tied to conversion. Delivering value and content that primarily come from a place of understanding rather than sales is a great way to demonstrate empathy.
2. Staying Relevant and Agile
If there’s one thing the pandemic has made clear so far, it's that change is the only constant to life in 2020. Along with being empathetic, marketers and content strategists also need to be agile and perhaps quickly change the course of their marketing efforts to reflect the evolving needs of their client base.
For instance, life in March 2020 was vastly different from what it is now, and consumer habits are changing as society shifts to adapt to new regulations and ways of working. A successful brand will adapt its approach to meet the moment, and that requires rethinking its content strategy to ensure that it’s timely and relevant to the current circumstances. Publishing pieces that were written pre-COVID-19 and that don’t mention any of the issues which audiences are facing today, is ineffective and can be viewed as tone-deaf. Brands must audit their current content, re-evaluate their content platforms and make edits to new content and previously published pieces so that their editorial output is timely and addresses the current moment.
3. Pull Over Push Lead Generation
Having a mix of both “pull marketing,” which draws in leads, and “push marketing,” which outwardly promotes a brand to a mass audience, is important to consider when developing a comprehensive marketing strategy. During this pandemic, we’re seeing many brands and organizations gravitate toward a pull marketing strategy of providing value to draw in leads.
We are already seeing an impact on digital advertising spend. Spending on digital ads has dropped dramatically over the last few months, indicating a move away from push marketing during the pandemic. New research conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that 70% of brands had paused or adjusted their digital ad spend in March 2020, and though there was an improvement over the last several months, digital ad spends are still down.
In contrast, brands have more enthusiastically embraced content marketing with blogs, email initiatives and webinars that are taking the place of advertising, to generate leads. Brands are looking to draw in prospects by providing value to audiences through thought leadership and virtual events designed to educate and enhance the lives of their customer base, especially for B2B businesses. Though there are signs of a potential rebound in advertising spend as the months of the coronavirus crisis wear on, the investment in pull marketing — including webinars and an emphasis on delivering “thought leadership” content — is likely here to stay.
4. Building Deeper Relationships with Audiences
In a time when businesses are struggling or even temporarily shut down, many organizations have been successfully navigating this moment by maintaining a connection with their core audience and building a sense of community around their brand through content marketing initiatives. Email as a distribution channel is being leveraged by brands to communicate with their audience. According to an analysis done by HubSpot of its customer base, there are up to 35% more marketing emails being sent out by brands per week, than pre-COVID-19. Open rates are also up, indicating that consumers are open to hearing from their favorite organizations and are interacting with marketing content. Nurturing email audiences by providing consistent communication and content of value has been a lifeline for many businesses that are not able to see their customers face-to-face.
Virtual events are also being used to build a sense of community around a brand and sustain a relationship with consumers. An example of a brand that has used a virtual event to engage its audience is Chipotle. At the beginning of the pandemic, Chipotle hosted virtual lunch hangouts for customers and social followers. These hangouts featured promotions, celebrity appearances and most importantly, a chance to connect with others during an isolating time. As the pandemic continues, we’re sure to see many other brands experimenting creatively with virtual events that connect their audiences.
Final Thoughts: Content Marketing Strategies Will Continue to Evolve
As the pandemic goes on and consumer behavior shifts, marketers across industries have come up with innovative and compelling ways to adapt their content strategies and connect with consumers in ways that demonstrate empathy and understanding. They’ve shown that being able to adapt quickly is critical. Above all, providing high-quality content that is timely, relevant and valuable to audiences, is at the heart of an effective marketing strategy during COVID-19.
