So it’s that time of the year again and the silly season is upon us once more. Or was that cancelled by COVID-19 too? Traditionally during July and August, children are off from school, enjoying their well-deserved summer holidays (and driving most parents crazy in the process!) and most people tend to disappear and go on their summer break somewhere. Most parliaments are in recess (though maybe not in full this year) and the media world, despite its 24/7 approach, also slows down, as there’s virtually no relevant news (except maybe for the pandemic-related ones?!) and no one to feed them to. But is that what we’ll have this year?
Normally, this period impacts digital marketing, especially in small businesses, as there are fewer people around and less content produced, that can be used on websites, social media and so on, which generally means less traffic and ultimately less leads and sales. It just so happens that, this particular year, and for most businesses, leads and sales have already suffered a dramatic decrease because of the pandemic situation that turned the world inside out.
So, in what digital marketing is concerned, there can’t be a silly season this year. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and hit the ground running!
Start by going about all those things you said you’d do “once you had a bit of time”. Take a deep look at your website and your social media. Do they need improvement? Is there something you’d like to do differently? Then start working on it! Make the changes you’ve been dreaming of but never had the time to do.
Fill up your social media and blog calendars. Start writing and create a bank of content that you can use throughout the rest of the year.
Dive into your PPC accounts, review and “refresh” them.
Work on your website’s SEO and performance. Perhaps it’s time for an audit, to make sure you’re ranking as high as possible on Google search result pages and that people have a great experience with your brand when they “visit you online”.
Search for opportunities. The online newspapers, blogs and forums still need to fill in their pages (with something else than COVID news), so it’s the perfect time to introduce yourself and your brand and perhaps do some guest blogging.
If possible, tap into what people are Facebooking or Instagramming during their vacation away, their beach days or even their barbeques and summer evenings – basically, if you work with anything from outdoor products to travel and leisure, everything is social media material! Keep a tablet, your phone or a note pad at hand, for you never know when inspiration might come knocking.
Find and save articles that your social media followers (existing and potential ones) might find interesting, to use now and in the future. And why not write some of your own? Don’t forget that to grab your audience, your copy needs to be focused on them – you need to know them well and give them exactly what they like and want, no fooling around!
Keep it simple with short sentences that don’t stretch over a dozen lines on a mobile device (where most of your users are likely to read your text) and that link to one another, neatly. Well-structured texts arranged within paragraphs that follow a logical order, will make users understand you, and your message, better. Let them “breathe” by using “breaks” between these paragraphs with informative and catchy subheadings and wrap it all up with a nice call-to-action at the end.
In short, get creative, don’t stop your digital marketing and start preparing for the rest of the year, as it will probably be a long and challenging one. Take advantage of the fact that online is now, more than ever, the “place” everybody is and make the most of what this season sends your way. You got this!
For more information, bespoke strategies and efficient digital marketing solutions, just contact the Clarity’s girls through info@yourdigitalclarity.com or visit our website at yourdigitalclarity.com.
