Businesses, big and small, around the world, have been disrupted due to the impact of COVID-19 on an unprecedented scale and also transformed the way we live. Regrettably, for a very large number of businesses, the prevailing situation has made their products and services redundant. Businesses in the travel, hospitality, personal training and grooming, lifestyle and fashion, etc. have been particularly badly hit with most of them forced to down their shutters indefinitely and many have gone down forever. If you are a business that has had to cease operations temporarily, diversifying to activities that are still in demand, or moving sales to online channels, it is more important than ever before to stay connected with customers. At a time when your target audience is going all out to stay informed on the current situation, updating your target audience on what you are doing will serve you well, now and in the foreseeable future. With social media as the automatic choice for staying connected, there is perhaps nothing better than Instagram to keep your customers informed even if your business is in forced hibernation at the moment.
Why Should You Keep Communicating with Your Target Audience on Instagram?
You may be tempted to ask the use of establishing contact with your customer base at a time when your business is closed and you cannot offer your products and services to them. This is a valid question because, for most businesses, Instagram has always been more of a marketing tool for pushing sales of products and services. However, there are very good reasons why you should continue or even step up your posts on Instagram. Regardless of whether the business is operational or not, customers would always want to know about their favorite brands and how they are gearing themselves to become available once more.
The Perfect Opportunity to Buy Followers on Instagram
Since customers are unable to buy the products from the stores, they would also like to know if they can order online or if you are innovating new products or distribution channels. With customers spending larger amounts of time online, especially on social media, this is the right time brands should step up their posting activity on Instagram to boost top-of-the-mind recall that will come in handy when you again open for business. With people spending more time on social media, you can also engage a digital marketing agency for followers on Instagram. This will help you to spread more awareness of your business that will come in good stead when normalcy prevails once again. In the meantime, you would have benefited by adding value to potential customers without any compulsion to push sales of your products and services. In the meantime, you can continue to keep them updated on the timeline for reopening your business, changed hours of business, in case you have already reopened as well as your brand philosophy and the reasons why the business was set up in the first place. It may be possible to repurpose much of the content you have already posted to make them relevant to the current scenario.
Use the Opportunity to Be Open and Transparent
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit both individuals and businesses equally hard. Apart from its devastating impact on the health of hundreds of thousands of people in America, the closure or suspension of businesses has also resulted in over six million Americans registering for unemployment benefits. If like many businesses, your business has been negatively impacted, it can be a great idea not to hide it but instead come clean as to how your fortunes have been affected and how your customers can support you during these trying times. Instagram has also made available a “Support Small Business” sticker feature that can be used by small businesses to get more prominence for attracting more support. At a time when many small businesses have dived deep into the red, this kind of advertising effort can get some additional business that can be invaluable for survival. According to Entrepreneur, these new stickers can assist businesses to stay connected with the social media community during these times of business upheaval.
Conclusion
The common tendency for most businesses that are closed temporarily would be to stop communicating with their target audiences simply because they have nothing to sell. However, this lull is the perfect opportunity for you to step up your posting activity on Instagram. While you may not be able to push sales of your products, it is the ideal time to give a peek into the new products and services that you have on the anvil once business resumes. It is also a very good time to offer your target audience value-added information and advice that normally you would have had the opportunity of sharing such as the processes you follow in your business for employee and customer safety, how the supply chain works, white papers on burning issues in your industry, your care and concern for the preservation of the environment, and much more.
