What is Content Marketing?

The Coronavirus pandemic has changed a lot of things. People are losing businesses and people are losing their jobs. 

Here’s data showing how many people have lost jobs since the outbreak of COVID-19. Job loss due to COVID

From Marketing strategies to SEO categories, most strategies need a revaluation. With Google updating the algorithms, it is more important to understand the current scenario of what is going to be there. Though the post-COVID-19 world is still unimaginable and we can only guess, we do have a slight glimpse of an idea.

The following are the points you can keep in mind when creating content post-COVID.

Emotional Content through live videos –

As a consumer, I don’t seek an emotional quotient but if a brand or content is relatable to me in some way, I will definitely give more time and investment to it. During the pandemic, more and more people are concerned about health and safety. All this time when they had to live inside and changed the way they used to live, people preferred reliability over experiments. If the product is a concept or new to the consumer, there should be a sense of familiarity. In other words, people will prefer new products when they feel comfortable being around it. 

Storytelling in the form of live videos can be really fruitful. Personal brands like musicians and bloggers are making Instagram and Facebook lives to interact with their audiences in real time.

Narrating someone’s story of how they came across a product, service or content, or any incident that can be put in a story will automatically attract consumers and readers. The story will bring a connection, empathy of a kind, and a situation that consumers can relate to.

Virtual Gatherings –

Ever since the pandemic has taken over our lives, we have understood the importance of video conferences and gatherings. The most important and the biggest meetings are now held on apps like Zoom and Google Meet. Many brands have adopted this technology as a way to communicate with their audiences. 

Marketing brands like Social Media Dissect & Mad Over Marketing conduct webinars to engage their audiences in a different manner, which has also proven to be really fruitful so far.

Authenticity in the form of 24/7 stories–

The Coronavirus Pandemic has taught us to be precise and choose authenticity over anything. For instance, all over the world, we were made aware that the alcohol value in a sanitiser should be over 70%. Since the pandemic has affected almost everyone in the world, people look for trustworthy content and products. They want loyalty in the content to build trust among the product.

Brands can use story features from Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram to show people what goes on behind the scenes, this way audiences will tend to connect more with a particular brand.

Another example is cab services like Ola, where they made it compulsory for drivers to conduct their safety and health check-ups as a routine before every ride. This created trust among the passengers about the transparency the company tried to show.

Here’s a list of brands that are making a mark through social media stories. Click here

UGC(User Generated Content) –

One of the content strategies I noticed during the pandemic was a surge in user-generated content. Especially, big brands preferred to endorse themselves by user-generated content during this time. One reason is the lockdown and people being left alone inside their houses. Consumers loved it when they got to know about the COVID hand wash challenge promoted by Dettol through TikTok and Instagram. They felt connected with the brand which made them feel significant. That’s a brilliant strategy, isn’t it? 

The New Normal – The consumers had time to determine what was best for them during this pandemic and that also evaluated what was not. There were many things that I didn’t need but I was still doing them. During the pandemic and quarantine, I evaluated and discarded practices, services, and products. 

Similarly, consumers have more idea now what they need. This is indeed a very good thing for content creators and companies. One, because they can find and narrow down the things their user wants, and two, they will create the content as per consumer’s preference. Forums, social media platforms, comments, customer support, etc. can be very helpful to find out what the customer is looking for. Adapt, Improvise, Overcome.

New Technologies – As technology is introducing marvels every day, it is perfect to use technology-driven methods and techniques to pitch in your content. Augmented reality is one such thing to promote when you need to gather attention. Some companies also tried to introduce new methods to deliver food items. Some did it with a drone while some created a no-contact delivery system. 

Innovation – We always welcome new methods especially, the ones that are cool. New innovative ideas for marketing and content creation always get on top of everyone as it has something new to excite people. For instance, many companies and content creators introduced innovative ideas to sell their content. Some even introduced us to concepts that were alien to us but we did enjoy it. New trends and development are always important for any brand to grow as they strengthen the connection and keep the content updated.  

So, content creators should keep flexibility in mind. Not adapting to the circumstances will lead you nowhere. We are uncertain of the future but we can always be certain of our actions.