In an Australian context we are literally just at the beginning of the COVID 19 problem, perhaps in some ways we are just at DAY 0.

What is clear in my conversations with an array of business owners across many industries, is many businesses are already suffering. The travel industry is being ravaged – they have no products to sell and they are having cancel holidays and hand back money. That is an impossible situation and is not going to be sustainable for very long – and I think we can expect to see businesses in that sector fail and I suspect it won’t be long before even some of the major players crumble.

No matter what industry you are in, government regulations, regarding free movement or self-imposed isolation are going to mean your customers are not engaging with your business the way they were before this pandemic, and even if the way they engage with you has not changed greatly, where and when they engage with you likely has.

Social media will become a vital communication platform for business, because let’s face it, people stuck in their houses, even if just “working from home” will most likely be spending more time on social then they would if otherwise going about their day to day lives.

A recent report by Adweek suggested that internet usage was up by 40% in some areas and some online social platforms were experiencing a 20%-50% “surge” in traffic.

Regardless of the platform that is most valuable (or relevant) for your business, it is clear people are looking for information and the best way to engage customers at this time, is to provide some contextual relevance to the virus itself.

Be it, product or customer updates, handy tips for business during this time (kinda like this) or some fun sharable brand piece that gives people some respite from the bad news – this is an opportunity to connect and engage your customers during this difficult time.

Depending on your product and your service delivery method – social might very well play a vital role in maintaining sales, but for many businesses it will be a way of keeping your brand front of mind for when life returns to some level of normality.

If you are new to social or need help reaching your customers quickly and effectively via social media please feel free to reach out we can help develop a strategy for your business during this difficult period.