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As a result of the ongoing novel Coronavirus pandemic, several businesses are contemplating how to go about cutting their budgets while also elevating productivity.
But when it comes to funding for a brand’s digital marketing markets, it is important for marketers to consider things carefully before taking any drastic budget-cut measures. Getting to know the fine line between making strategic budget cuts and carrying on with your digital marketing campaigns will truly aid not just your brand’s recovery but also the exploitation of the current crisis.
Pay Careful Attention To The Results Of Data Analytics
Before thinking of the various streams and aspects of digital marketing to focus on and overlook during such a crisis as the world is now in, it is important to first sort things out with how metrics are measured. Owing to the fact that the vast majority of employees are presently working from home, a brand’s internal traffic might have a bearing on its metrics. Conventional analytics filters are incapable of identifying employees working from their homes unless of course, they make use of remote interfaces or VPNs to connect.
This is why it is important for businesses to consider this fact even if they happen to have an analytics filter in place. Clearly identifying internal traffic and segregating it from the normal inbound traffic is important for brands to get a true picture of what their traffic really is.
The Burning Question About Whether To Continue With Social Media & Paid Ad Campaigns
Searches for non-essential services and products are definitely taking a hit as a result of the novel Coronavirus pandemic. Brands (offering non-essential services and products) who have active paid search campaigns as part of their digital marketing efforts, should definitely consider scaling back. Failing to do so might have drastic consequences even on the most profitable of ROAS (Return On Ad Spends). Rethink your strategy if you know that your services and products aren’t really essentials that customers might seek out during this crisis.
However, the bids for paid searches have been hitting rock bottom for the past few months now. This might be because of marketers choosing to bid less frequently and scaling back on their budgets. If you are sure that your business might be offering a product or service that is sure to be in good demand (even though it might not fall into the essential category), then you might want to take advantage of this situation and maximize your budget. But be sure to pay close attention to your ROAS. For brands that are presently employing the Smart Bidding strategy, it is recommended that they switch over to Manual Bidding.
As far as social media is concerned, with more people sitting at home than ever, any brand is guaranteed to gain a considerably bigger reach for their ads and posts than they normally would. Howbeit, the trick lies in varying budgets, bids and making subtle but strategic manipulations to campaigns based on everyday performance and metric data.
Take Advantage Of Emailer Marketing
Emailer marketing is an inexpensive and cost-effective strategy that is lying in wait for any brand that has no option but to cut back on investing in its digital marketing efforts. Without having to pay attention to search results and other related criteria, emailer marketing offers brands direct access to influence their customers. Albeit, this is easier for brands who have an established eCommerce system in place as they then only have to convince potential customers to shop online as the ideal alternative to visiting brick and mortar stores during this pandemic.
While doing so, however, it is important to keep things in perspective and not play down in any way the enormity of the present situation. Stick to presenting your brand as a savior in this time of need, instead of offering any special crisis deals or offers. Doing so will only result in your brand image taking a beating and your emailer marketing campaign turning into a catastrophe that could potentially have serious long-term effects on your brand, that it might not be able to bounce back from even well after the pandemic ends and things return to normal.
Although implementing an emailer marketing strategy alone won’t alone reconcile for a diminished digital marketing budget, its a good way to keep things going and not let your brand enter into a state of complacency and stagnation.
The Imperativeness Of Carrying On All Content & SEO Marketing Efforts
Although organic traffic as a consequence of diminished search demands is taking a beating just like paid ad campaigns are, it is important for brands to continue implementing their SEO and content marketing strategies. And in spite of rankings not changing, Google Search Console indicates a reasonable fall in search impressions for many top brands. This is a clear indication of the fact that low search demands and not SEO rankings are the offender.
Those brands that do choose to lessen their investments into SEO and content marketing, will end up putting their hard-earned organic rankings in jeopardy. Instead, brands that do continue their efforts and maintain their rankings are bound to reap the rewards once things return to normal and search demands go up. The takeaway therefore for digital marketers thinking of whether or not to scale back, is to sustain their rankings (by continuing their SEO and content marketing efforts), even if these efforts do not result in any immediate growth.
All brands that take cognizance of these facts are guaranteed to be in a better position to gain the edge over their competitors when the ball gets rolling again and the gloom of the novel Coronavirus pandemic dissipates once and for all. The key to brands making swift and effective recoveries lies in making these strategic choices.
