What impact has Covid-19 had on marketing communications?

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the pandemic has completely changed the world we live in. We’ve had to adapt to new ways of working, socialising, exercising, and entertaining ourselves.

One thing that has changed significantly is the way we shop. Gone are the days of dropping in at the local craft store to buy fingerpaint for the kids or visiting the hair salon for a tub of your favourite gel.

Enter Amazon. Now we can order whatever we need at the touch of a button and have it conveniently arrive on our doorstep.

Given the new approach to buying, it makes sense that the way we market what we sell has changed too. Here’s how marketing has changed in response to the ‘new normal’ we find ourselves in.

 

Increased sales

While non-essential shops were closed during the periods of lockdown, online sales in the UK skyrocketed.

With in-person events canceled and social distancing enforced, people took it upon themselves to try new hobbies, investing in all the necessary tools for outdoor running, calligraphy, or banana bread baking.

Lockdown was also a time for virtual events to shine, encouraging the purchase of cocktail mixing kits and decadent cheese boards.

 

Website optimisation

Due to the increase in online sales, many companies took the opportunity to revamp their websites with a new design, improved usability and stronger optimisation for SEO.

Businesses also became smarter in the way they marketed the products and services on their websites. A survey conducted by Mapp Digital found one-third of business respondents in the UK provide content specifically personalised to individual customers, therefore significantly improving the chance of a sale.

It seems likely the trend of website optimising is here to stay, with a further 13% of UK respondents in the study voicing plans to introduce the practice later in 2021.

 

Adapting to trends

During the pandemic, customer wants and needs have fluctuated, depending on everything from the most sought-after hobby to the latest TikTok video.

Marketers have had to learn to adapt to constantly changing circumstances, making them more aware of the importance of keeping ahead of trends.

An excellent example of a trend that gained huge popularity in 2020 was the sourdough bread craze.

 

Marketing automation is now at the forefront

While certain businesses were fortunate enough to increase sales during the pandemic, many companies understandably experienced a drop in income.

This led many firms that experienced a financial blow to take a more creative approach to their marketing communications. Automated marketing quickly became popular, as it enabled businesses to achieve more while spending less.

Marketing automation platforms streamline a business’ marketing campaigns to make them more efficient and effective. The platform manages every aspect of each strategy, from email and social media marketing to SMS and advertisements.

It’s expected that the use of marketing automation will increase further in 2022, enabling marketers to invest more time in tasks that require precision thinking and a high level of skill.

Amy Birch, operations director at Wired Plus says: “We can give our clients a platform that provides the basics plus all of the exciting, new and advanced features that modern marketing teams need. We can support them along the way with our experience, by offering managed services, custom training and a friendly voice on the other end of the phone to bridge the skillset gap.”