As the Coronavirus has rapidly scattered across the world, businesses in every field continue to be impacted by the result of the extremely contagious virus. With implemented social distancing ordinances put in a place designed to keep people safe, many organizations have had to reconsider how they will conduct business during this time. One of the most significant aspects being taken into consideration is how COVID-19 will affect Digital Marketing, and overall search engine optimization cost.
With many clients being advised to stay at home, Digital Marketing is one area that has been forced to embrace new programs to adapt to this disaster rapidly. While public health and safety is the primary priority, we wanted to give some insight into some of the changes that are taking place in the digital scene. Keep reading to learn more about how the Coronavirus is turning the world of Digital Marketing and what the future of SEO might look like stepping forward.
1. Temporary Impact
Online marketers are focusing more on the present scheme. They have put future perspective and long-term survival on the back burner. In the last few years, Digital Marketing companies had to handle with many problems. They include issues like transparency, brand trust, and poor consumer feedback.
Experts claim that the pandemic had a cleansing effect on the sector. Even the finest digital marketing company in the USA is focusing on spending without expecting returns quickly. The results of these efforts have become uncertain due to the world turning to almost a halt. Top brands are waking up to this impact due to losses in sales and visibility.
E-commerce advertising for computers, electronics, and household goods increased. But paid search and social ads are not producing the same impact as before. They are slowly recovering, but the short-term impact has been substantial. But, search shopping campaigns and Facebook dynamic product ads recovered fast.
To cut down costs, digital marketers also shifted focus to TV. They produced low-cost ads at a faster rate like Telco. Then they turned their attention to online sales and brand performance matters. The structure and relationship of digital media and TV platforms have also altered.
2. Large Numbers of Employees Working Remotely
- Increased demand for work-from-home from employees
The demand for resilience in where and how individuals work has been developing for decades. Before the crisis, studies showed 80% of employees want to work from home at least occasionally. While the practice of working at home during the situation may not have been ideal, as entire families sheltered in place, it will give people a bite of what could be.
- Work from Home Policy
Work from home is the finest thing to control the virus around the company. With an already failing global economy, everybody in any corporation must remain healthy. If you’re a small business and are troubled about how to take things further, you can always outsource or consulting from digital marketing agencies. This is also a good time to start working on your digital marketing plans.
Whatsoever, with access to the internet here and there, it has now turned into a lot simpler to work on remote working policy than it was ever before. There are ways you can keep track of their performance, and if it all, the productivity goes up if the company gives free hands to its employees.
3. Increase in Search Volume for Healthcare / Health Topics
One notable impact of the increased amount of people working from home due to quarantine regulations has been the increased volume of desktop vs mobile traffic. This move to more desktop searches means that companies should expect to see an increase in the amount of time spent on their website vs mobile website, more from conversions and in some cases a lower bounce rate. To make information more accessible it is recommended that each healthcare provider also include a page on their website dedicated to discussing their response to the COVID-19 outbreak. More than ever before it is important that companies demonstrate their responsiveness in providing the types of company updates that searches are looking for.
Another platform being utilized by consumers is social media and Google My Business. That is why it is necessary that healthcare providers update Google My Business profiles to provide up-to-date hours and closing information. Facebook can also be another key channel to provide COVID-19 related information and share any content from your website. With new tools added to Google My Business mark-up Google is making it smoother for corporations in the healthcare sector to provide COVID-19 related information to target markets. Perhaps Google’s most important update however has been the presence of enhanced information cards for people who search for terms related to the Coronavirus. These tabs provide information on symptoms, prevention, global statics, and locally relevant information.
4. Trade Shows and Conferences Cancelled, with an Increase in Online Events
Live marketing events are being cancelled or postponed worldwide. In fact, according to eMarketer, the total loss from cancelled events in the U.S. will exceed $500 million. Many companies will go through a net loss in terms of their travel expenses vs. expected new customers and revenue increase from these events.
In-person events and trade shows made up almost 40% of engagements and 53% of conversions for B2B marketing teams as of January 2020—just before the virus spread. U.S. companies will certainly have to rethink this to make up for the loss.
Digital marketing efforts will have to take the place of live events, trade shows, and conferences. In other words, marketing teams will have to adjust their estimated revenue from each channel and convert into digital channels. They will also have to collaboratively plan with sales teams more actively in order to meet their targets during this crucial time.
One thing that will surely benefit these B2B digital marketing efforts is the fact that more consumers will be online in the coming months. As more individuals spend time at home, avoid social contact, and set up home offices, consumer usage of digital marketing channels—such as social media, paid search, and webinars—will increase. This is a perfect time to amplify your strategy to attract new customers online.
Consider that many people will shift to social media to stay connected with friends, family, and workmates as they quarantine at home. Your sponsored and paid ads have the potential to get a wider viewership than normal. Hopefully, this will lead to unprecedented revenue for your team in these channels.
5. Industries and Businesses Will Take Longer to Recover
Even if the transmission of the disease slows down drastically, businesses will still have to face slower recovery to make up for all the losses they sustained.
For instance, China’s inflation rate in February dropped to 6.2% and retail sales dropped by 20.5%.
Also, when huge businesses shut down their stores to slow down the virus from spreading, they lose revenue and profit. Of course, in the vast majority of cases, they have the resources to pay their employees during the shutdown but some won’t be able to pull this off and will face economic crisis.
Experts speculate that the virus will make corporations to lose several hundred billion dollars in the early stages of the spread and layoffs in a few companies have already commenced. It is estimated that the virus will cost a stunning 2-3 trillion dollars for the global economy, and as such, digital marketers are also affected at the moment since they are losing both conversions and traffic.
Rethinking the Digital Community
The Covid-19 pandemic has driven to a rethinking of the digital community, as people are spending even more time online. Industries and businesses that have long resisted a turn to digital means, such as medical specialists and schools, are now adopting the shift. More classes are going online, and physicians are reaching with their patients face-to-face over Skype, Zoom, and similar apps. More businesses are also allowing their workers to work from home while staying connected through these apps.
Artist communities are also working more to reach people online during the pandemic. Musicians at every level; from local artists to famous performers are playing free live shows on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Performance artists such as actors and comedians are entertaining people with live broadcasts as well. People with skills of different types are also doing live instructional videos to teach people a technique, recipe, or exercise, etc.
What businesses, institutions, and artists are essentially thinking is, “What can I offer right now that will benefit people?” This is the way businesses should stand as they go full charge into digital marketing during this pandemic, what can your company offer that people need right now.
Conclusion
The coronavirus pandemic has created a shift in marketing, as more businesses and institutions are shifting to online and digital systems to reach their target market. Marketing professionals forecast that these trends will continue through the coronavirus crisis as more people are spending time online, and there is a positive chance these trends will last after the crisis is over. Today, it is impossible to tell how long this crisis will last, but you can put your business in an excellent position by boosting your online presence and engagement.
At DigiTellUs, we are experts in promoting brand awareness and online presence for businesses with our Digital Marketing and SEO services. We can help improve the performance of your website with Web Management, and also we can help craft your message during this pandemic and make sure that it comes to your market.
You can reach DigiTellUs at +1 760 306 3155 and learn more about how we can help your online marketing efforts.
