In a post COVID world, an effective online marketing strategy has a huge advantage over traditional forms of advertising. It’s faster, less expensive and you can quickly tell if the campaign is working or not.

Why You Can’t Afford to Ignore Effective Online Marketing

Walgreens, one of the biggest pharmacies in the US, is an excellent example of a company that adapted quickly. They were aware of the changing needs of their customers and adapted their online marketing strategy.

Walgreens changed their “Ask a Pharmacist” series into an online video series. They would get questions from customers and answer them in the video. And they would inform their audience of online care services and prescription deliveries.

This enabled them to grow their online following quickly. More importantly, they positioned themselves as a trusted leader in the healthcare space. Consumers are now more likely to go to Walgreens instead of other pharmacies.

But you don’t have to be a big company like Walgreens. Because consumers are spending a lot of time online, small and medium businesses can take advantage of this opportunity.

Online Transactions Are Here to Stay

COVID brought many changes the world has never seen. Businesses were forced to shut down. Countries go into lockdown. And people spend the majority of their time at home.

As a consequence, the number of online transactions increased. Even consumers who had never made any online purchases previously, had no other choice but to try it out.

Post COVID, this trend will continue. Although businesses are starting to open up, the bulk of the workforce is still working remotely. People are starting to get used to the convenience of transacting online. And they are going to continue buying more things online.

With that in mind, you want to prepare your website to make it easy for customers to buy. Your site needs to be fast and easy to navigate. People have a short attention span. If they can’t find what they’re looking for, they will leave, costing you precious sales opportunities.

And considering many people browse on their mobile phones, your website must be responsive. It has to display correctly on both desktop and the small screens of a mobile device.

Join The Conversation That Is Already Happening On Social Media

Even if you’re not on social media, whether you like it or not, people are talking about you or your business. They may be saying good or bad things about you.

The important part is you want to be part of that conversation. If they’re saying something negative, it’s a good opportunity to handle the situation before it gets worse. If it’s a positive comment, make the customer feel appreciated and they may become your brand advocate.

Since consumer behaviour is dynamic, social media is ideal for hearing the conversations your customers are having. By engaging actively, you will be aware of their most pressing problems. Then, you can position your brand as the solution to those problems.

During uncertain times, people are looking for someone they can trust. And social media is an effective online marketing tool for building a lifelong relationship with your customers.

Let Customers Do The Selling For You

Another effective online marketing strategy for building trust is user generated content. If you’re not familiar with user generated content, it’s where customers talk about your brand. It’s a very powerful form of social proof because you’re not the one doing the selling. Instead, it’s coming from one of your customers.

According to Nielsen Research, 92% of consumers trust earned media, such as user generated content. This is much higher compared to other forms of content.

Post COVID, the market situation will continue to be turbulent for some time. People are looking for certainty.

No one wants to be a guinea pig. Prospects want to know that someone else has gotten a good experience with your business. So they are more comfortable spending money with you.

Because consumers are spending a lot of time interacting on social media platforms, you simply give them some encouragement to share their experiences with their products or services. It can be in the form of photo, video or simply a text sharing their experience.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many effective online marketing strategies that businesses need to adapt in a post COVID World. Because consumer needs are constantly shifting, being fast to adapt to these changes is vital.

If you don’t have an effective online marketing plan, you risk being left behind by the competition. But if executed well, your business is well-positioned to gain market share from your competition.

If you’d like to explore what effective online marketing can do for your business, reach out to us. We’d love to help.