Using Digital Marketing to Inform & Educate During a Crisis Situation
Posted by Loreal Hiscock on Mar 24, 2020 9:00:00 AM
During a time of crisis or emergency, as a business, you want to inform, educate, and comfort your customers, guests, and prospects. How you handle an emergency situation will not only define your brand’s current image but can impact how future customers do business with you.
Your digital marketing can not only be a way to sell your services, but it can also be used as a mass communication tool. Whether it’s a natural disaster, health concern, or public relations issue, according to Andrew Gilman, CEO and founder of the public relations firm CommCore Consulting Group, “you need to have a crisis plan” and during these times of crisis, “you’re measured by how well you respond.”
Markentum, a digital marketing agency with offices in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, knows how crucial a crisis plan is. Whether your business is directly impacted or you simply want to stay ahead of concerns, here’s how you can use your digital marketing efforts to inform your audience.
Your website is the hub of your online business. If a user is looking to contact you, get a question answered, or learn more about your mission and values, he or she should be able to find it on your website.
For this reason, your crisis plan should include updating the necessary information on your website. This could include a website banner, landing page, slide-in messaging, or blog article that offers transparency and keeps new and returning website visitors up-to-date on how a situation is being handled.
Just like you do with your day-to-day marketing efforts, any content you put out during a crisis situation should be on brand and share a consistent message.
Digital Media & Video Marketing
Video statements from higher-level executives or representatives of a business can be a powerful way to show a brand’s commitment to resolving an issue or crisis. While animated or static infographics can be a shareable way to provide education and information to your audience during a time of rising health or weather concerns.
During one survey, 65% of respondents [businesses] felt that social media makes a crisis more difficult to manage, while after a crisis, 55% believed social media makes it easier to recover. While this sentiment is more focused on crises related to reputation management i.e., product recalls or legal issues, it showcases the power of social media.
Social media continues to be used and grow as a search engine, as well as a review and recommendation platform. Any updates that you are making to your website should also be added to your social media platforms. This way, users can find pertinent information and even share it to their own profiles, which is free marketing for your brand!
As a business, you want to protect futures sales and revenue, but as a senior living community, you also want to segment and speak directly to your current customers, residents, and their families. They have a more vested interest in your brand, and they deserve to receive exclusive information and details regarding a situation.
Email marketing is a great way to segment out your audience and speak directly to customers. Depending on the situation, you can provide comfort or added value to alleviate fears and concerns.
Beyond the typical digital marketing tools, Markentum also offers services such as call tracking, which allows senior living communities to track and listen to incoming calls to their business. During your standard marketing efforts, this can be used as a training tool for new employees or a way to gauge the professionalism of your current staff.
During a time of crisis, call tracking can help you determine what information your audience is looking for. This will allow you to update your crisis plan to ensure you are meeting these needs or answering specific questions in the future.
These digital marketing tools and platforms, as well as a crisis plan, can ensure efficiency during a high-stress situation. When a crisis arises, Markentum knows that the top priority is the health and safety of a senior living community’s residents. We work with senior living communities to be their marketing voice so that their staff and team members can focus on what’s really important – their residents and families.
If you are looking for a marketing partner to help you grow, contact Markentum for a free digital marketing evaluation.
Markentum knows how important it is to stay attentive to the concerns of your residents and their families amid news surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Our hearts are with every senior living and senior care community, as we understand the vulnerability this creates for the senior population.
Tags: Senior Living, Integrated Marketing