Understandably there is an abundance of information in cyberspace about the Corona Virus. Much of it is a rehash of existing news that is being shared by different sources and it’s getting to a point of ‘oh no, not more doom & gloom’. I know that is how I am feeling.

Yes, we need to be informed and updated but we also need to stay calm and remain focused on business. If we all do things, we can minimise impacts.

With events being canceled in all industries across the globe, and no indication when they may be able to start up again, content marketing is going to be vital for lead generation.

During this time, I am trying to share as much practical, free advice as I can to help anyone in business.

This post is focused on content, specifically how much COVID-19 related content you should be sharing.

Let’s start by asking these two questions:

1. How relevant is it to your clients & industry?

Certainly, any industry directly impacted like travel, hospitality and some retail, the issue is highly relevant. Using social media and content to communicate is going to be vital over the coming weeks.

If you are in professional services business, then consider how it impacts your clients and what those impacts might be. How much information do people need from you?

2. How does it impact your target audience?

What issues and challenges are coming up for people in your target audience? This is an opportunity for you to address those issues and provide practical solutions that can help them

 

What content should you share?

Now you have established how relevant it is, think about what types of content should you share

• Consider newsjacking (when relevant) – Newsjacking is the process of adding your thoughts and opinions into breaking news stories. It’s piggybacking on trending news topics to get yourself noticed. If you choose to newsjack, be make sure it is relevant, non-offensive and makes sense to your audience. Simply mentioning something about Corona virus as an add on to an article, doesn’t cut it and isn’t newsjacking.
• What questions do people have that you can answer? – due to the amount of uncertainty in the world, there are lot of questions being asked of experts. There is an opportunity to educate on many topics, the most obvious being gig economy & flexible work, HR & Employment policies, law, self help and online learning, customer service training ….
• Try to share positive messages that educate your target market and clients – doom & gloom helps no one, least of all the economy. Try to share positive stories of creative ways people around the world are managing the current issues. I have seen stories about book stores delivering books to households, bakeries creating ‘Make your own Sourdough’ kits, overall businesses getting creative with how they deliver their products and services.

• Practical tips and how to’s offer the most value – share posts & articles that educate your audience and give practical advice, much like I am trying to do with my free blogs & content.
• Opportunities to remain relevant and be the ‘go to expert’ – Recruitment, financial advisers, lawyers, super experts…. Now is the time to position yourself as someone who solves problems. Your content should reflect
• Produce relevant and compelling strategic insights – before you share existing content, do some research to validate that it is correct. Make sure you add your expert insights with any shared content to give it context
• Share positive news stories from clients who are taking advantage of market conditions to redefine their business offering or find new revenue streams

 

My poor phone and laptop have been running hot and I have had to charge again during the day just because I am on it so much.

We are online, not just getting our news & updates but shopping online, looking for entertainment, doing Zoom calls to stay connected, enrolling in online learning to upskill, looking for positive stories, downloading movies & books, and trying to continue business as usual so now is the time to take advantage of that and look for ways to spread joy not fear.