By Jay Baer
Source: Convince and Convert
Coronavirus has changed just about everything, but you still need to connect to your customers, prospects, partners, and team members. And now more than ever, social media may be the best way to do so.
But you cannot just continue with your regular social media strategy, content, and cadence. What works is different. What people want is different.
You must consider these 11 changes to your social media to continue – possibly even accelerate – your social media success during the pandemic.
11 Social Media Changes to Make in a Coronavirus World
1. Change Your Bios
If your operations have been impacted in a meaningful way, your social media bios should reflect that reality. For example, even though all Best Buy locations in the United States are now pickup only, their Twitter bio doesn’t reference that information.
Although all Best Buy locations in the United States are now pickup only, their Twitter bio doesn’t reference that information.
Also, if you have key updates for your audiences, a good place to keep them front and center are pinned posts on Twitter and Facebook, and Highlights on Instagram.
2. Listen Harder
In times like these, everywhere you exist in digital is a potential customer service channel. You simply must expand your efforts to find, engage, and answer customers everywhere online. In fact, in our webinar, more than half of the 500 attendees said that customer communication via social media had increased since the Coronavirus outbreak.
3. Only Post with a Purpose
This is not the time for frivolous posts that are sent because they are “due” per the social media editorial calendar. That doesn’t mean you can’t be lighthearted, or even funny. It does mean, however, that you must carefully consider WHY you are posting in social media.
For whom is this post intended?
How does it entertain, inform, educate, or benefit that audience?
What specific behavior change or thinking change are we trying to effectuate with this post?
I love what Cardinal Spirits is doing in this regard. Located in Bloomington, Indiana where I live, it’s a small distillery run by some very smart friends.
Each day, they post on their Instagram exactly what they need in carryout sales to support their new mission, which is to make as much hand sanitizer as possible.
And then, when they reach that goal for the day (they’ve made it almost every day) they immediately add a new post that says “We’ve reached out goal for today. Please go support a different local business.” Spectacular.
Each day, Cardinal Spirits posts on their Instagram exactly what they need in carryout sales to support their new mission, which is to make as much hand sanitizer as possible. Amazing!
4. Make it About People, not Logos
This was true before coronavirus, but it’s especially true right now:
We care about and trust people more than we care about and trust companies or organizations.
Every business and every organization is comprised of exceptional PEOPLE and now is the time to showcase that. Use humans in as much of your social media as you possibly can right now. It’s the one problem I have with the Cardinal Spirits post above: I’d rather it show their team (although they do so in their IG Stories).