Digital Communication During COVID-19: Three Quick Ways To Respond

During times of economic uncertainty and lack of consumer confidence small business owners are among the first to take the hit. Unlike large companies many are not sitting on large reserves of capital for such pandemics as COVID-19. However, now more than any time in history businesses can take steps to communicate. Here are three ways to get you started:  

Share an Informative Post

Part of communicating to an audience during strife is addressing any lingering questions that your customer or audience could be thinking in regards to your business. Help prevent false narratives or misunderstandings by clearly outlining to your audience how your organization is responding to COVID-19. If you are an organization that deals physically with people share about the steps you are taking to keep them safe.

One example I've seen locally is a restaurant offering pick up instead of dine-in services. They shared a picture showing their limited staff, to-go bags, as well as information of steps they are taking to make sure food and staff are taking proper steps.

Make sure to do this on all the social outlets your organization is active on.

Email Engaged Audiences

If you are like me you’ve noticed your email box being bombarded with COVID-19 responses from all sorts of organizations—this can be useful but also distracting. What we would advise is to segment your audience by most active users or those who have a high click through rate a brief update of how your business is responding. Then, if there are additional updates sent out push to the recipients who opened the first email. This will prevent over communication to un-interested recipients and help negate any unsubscribes. By emailing you are also reminding folks that you appreciate their business with all that is happening.

Use LIVE or Video Conferencing

Right now more than ever people are looking for connections—especially those who are socially distancing or staying out of the physical public spaces. Go LIVE on Facebook or Instagram to your audience to connect directly with them. It will allow an opportunity for your audience to ask potential questions and see a friendly face amid the turmoil.

It goes without saying if your business is remote consider using ZOOM or other tools from companies like CounterPath to connect with staff, clients, or customers vs. meeting in person.

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Our hearts go out to those directly affected by the virus and businesses who may be dealing with hardship. In times like this it’s up to organizations large and small to come together to support and lift each other up. We hope this blog is one small way we can help add value to the conversation.

Please feel free to comment/share a way your business has responded it may be useful to another business or organization.

To learn more about COVID-19 Please Visit the CDC’s Official Website.

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