Unprecedented times..

The everyday tragedies of COVID-19 are with us all each day now even at a personal level. The long-term survival chances for most business sectors are uncertain, but for some, like travel, hospitality and entertainment the consequences could be terminal.

The vast majority of companies are suffering from the effects of the economic shutdown imposed by governments all over the world. Everyone is pulling in the financial strings and most likely the marketing budget is being slashed. It is patently obvious that spending plans have radically changed, and it doesn’t matter if your business is B2C or B2B - the creditors will come calling.

Is it misguided to stop spending on Google, Facebook or Twitter Ads?

Well.. without being glib - yes. If you still have a company in a few months’ time it is possible that you will have been forgotten if you don’t trickle in the message.

But you must survive. The marketing team is in furlough and you’ve told the agency to stop all activity, payroll day is looming as well as that big tax bill. What do you do?

How can you assure your business’ survival?

It has been reported that only 14% of UK marketing campaigns are now continuing ‘as planned’. Meanwhile, 85% of organisations have claimed that they are delaying or reviewing new hires, and an even larger 90% are doing the same with their budgeting commitment. 69% of UK organisations see demand drop for their products and services. Interestingly, Retail email open rates are 40% higher than they were pre-COVID-19 but the UK retail industry is set to lose £12.6bn in 2020.

As most would expect, the worldwide pandemic has had an effect on brands’ social media strategy and performance. This can be seen in a variety of areas, including a lower demand for paid ads on Facebook, the increased performance of organic content, and perhaps a hidden opportunity for brands that do have some budget to spend and increase their reach because of the lower costs of ads on Facebook. Not surprisingly, the Facebook CPC has decreased, making the cost to advertise much lower for nearly every industry.

It is also becoming apparent that COVID-19 related content is brand safe despite many brands actively blocking keywords linked with the virus, such as ‘COVID-19’, ‘coronavirus’, ‘pandemic’ and ‘quarantine’, in order to avoid negative associations. As a result, in just one week alone, analysed brands that depend on keyword-based tools are missing out on around 1.5 billion impressions on their ads.

So – if you can – Keep Calm & Carry On.

Stay Home, Stay Safe