Don’t stop now: 2 critical reasons to lean into marketing during hard times

Even if your doors are closed due to COVID-19 and you are at a hard-stop on business as you knew it, this is not the time to step back. You don’t need to see a survey or study to know that screen time is up. Way up. And there are two critical terms you need to master in the digital space; branding and awareness.

Companies often focus heavily on conversion-focused or “low-funnel” marketing efforts; those campaigns that by design fill a seat or sell a product. And it’s easy to see why. If you spend $100 on a Facebook ad, and sell $1,000 in tickets, that’s a win. It’s easy math. But what is lost in this formula are two of the greatest multipliers you have: brand recognition and awareness. 

1) Branding

Recognition, or how readily the public identifies your company’s products and services, can amplify every marketing effort you invest in. And, increasing recognition begins with branding.

Does your company’s logo, packaging, website design, and outward voice (at worst) ignore each other or (at best) trip over each other? Or do they dovetail into a single foundationally sound message? Synergy across all aspects of your company’s brand ensures that each time a potential client encounters your messaging, that experience is building on the last one, establishing brand recognition.

Are you a legacy, multi-generation business concerned that your core client base is skewing older, and you need to attract a younger audience (while not alienating your older customers)? You may need to consider a complete rebrand that unifies rather than divides, and positions your company for generations to come.

Designers and strategists spend years working to understand the connection between every element of your company’s brand. Investing in these services right now, when you have time, can position you for immediate success as we all come out of this.

2) Awareness

That second term, awareness, or the level to which people know you simply exist, is more critical now than ever before. As people deal with the current info-demic, and sort through each day’s news and updates, they’re spending more and more time online, encountering ads, researching future plans and projects, or simply looking for something, anything to take their minds off of troubles.

You have the opportunity to show that the heart of your company is still beating, and to join in the conversation in ways that educate and entertain. Organically these efforts can take the form of blogs, newsletters and social media posts, photos, and videos that speak to and engage people. There are also a number of low-cost content, device, and audience-focused marketing efforts that you can roll out to capture the eyes and ears of people new to having this amount of free time on the web. 

Now it’s up to you.

A solidified brand alongside a consistent awareness campaign can, over the next days, weeks, and months, mean the difference between being sought out or forgotten. Now is the time to define your brand, tell your story, and become so front of mind that the consumer’s decision is already made before they even need your service / product.

← View all Articles