How is your content strategy working? Have you determined the challenges your clients now face? Is your content and messaging across all platforms resonating with your target market?<\/p>\n
Earlier this year in the Marketing Direction newsletter<\/a>, shortly after the pandemic struck, we cautioned against dialing back company messaging to clients. Not only does this tactic create a vacuum around what your brand believes, it may also lead others to draw their own conclusions about why your company has gone silent. We urged readers to address current circumstances appropriately and to do their best to control the message.<\/p>\n \u2018Appreciate<\/em>\u00a0what your prospects and clients are going through,\u00a0adapt<\/em>\u00a0your offering as it applies to their current needs and\u00a0connect<\/em>\u00a0with them throughout your company messaging.\u2019<\/p>\n Now, as we look ahead to what 2021 will bring, these words of advice are especially significant.<\/p>\n In the earliest days of the pandemic, a lot of companies put the brakes on new content. Several months later, we\u2019re seeing brands tip-toeing around the subject without any level of commitment. Those who have remained successful throughout these challenging times have redefined their content strategies to reflect an acceptance of a new \u2018business as usual.\u2019<\/p>\n While the events of 2020 have helped to create an immense amount of content potential, it has also led to a high degree of uncertainty regarding what to share. Brands have been hesitant to address current events for fear their messages will go viral for all the wrong reasons. The question remains, however: do you re-address the situation now at the end of the year?<\/p>\n \u201cThe answer is a resounding yes,\u201d says Kristen Thompson, Lead Marketer at Marketing Direction. \u201cEven though we\u2019re eight months into the pandemic, it is still top-of-mind for most people as it continues to affect our daily lives in one way or another.\u201d Most notably, Kristen adds, this pandemic affects everyone, regardless of age, race, income or geography. \u201cSo, there is a sense of \u2018we\u2019re all in this together\u2019 comradery. Therefore, brands shouldn\u2019t just ignore it and pretend it doesn\u2019t exist anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n A Forbes Agency Council<\/a> recently discussed some of the changes business marketing has to go through to succeed in a post-pandemic society. One of the key points outlined was on creating \u2018zero degrees of separation\u2019 between companies and their audiences. While traditional forms of customer interaction may not yet be possible, in-person sales calls, trade shows, and customer relationships are still essential.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can set up calls on Zoom, Teams, etc., but your real asset is engaging content,\u201d says Council member Mirella Vitale. \u201cLet your storytelling create the pull for customers to call you in.\u201d<\/p>\nSilence is not<\/u> golden<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Tell us a story<\/strong><\/h3>\n