How Social Media Marketing Has Changed After Covid-19
Has social media changed in the last six months? Is it only social media? Or every other branch of marketing? It is true that the Covid-19 pandemic have changed the very structure of many industries. Even social media marketing and digital marketing saw a change in fortunes, but for the better. With people maintaining a minimum distance of six feet between each other, with malls and supermarkets getting closed due to lockdown, digital marketing agencies and free lancers saw an upsurge in their getting new projects. As more persons started shifting to online websites for purchasing products and opting for services, social media has become an integral part of communication between customers and brands. In this article, let us focus on how social media marketing has changed after Covid-19.
How the Posting Times have changed
Those were the times when posts were made in Facebook on Monday (after 3 pm) and on Friday before 12 pm. Similar practices were followed for other social media platforms such as Twitter, Pinterest and Snapchat. But now the trend has changed. With more people commuting to office at irregular intervals and logging in social media platforms during their free times, the posts for Facebook have changed from 11 am to 2 pm every day.
On weekdays, every industry professional took rest, but it used to be a hectic day for social media marketing executives and digital marketing experts. The reason, these days, many among the public checked their social media platforms and were active at least after Sunday evening 5 pm. So, they rattled their minds, brains to come up with the best call-to-action phrases to get leads and get conversions. But now, with many companies in India and the globe offering work-from-home options, every individual working from home has got the time to check their social media profiles each day. Now, everyone can post at their will on their break timings on social media platforms.
Updates to Instagram times to post
The changes also happened for the other social media platforms. Now, Instagram post timings have shifted from 10 am to 11 am. But the timings have extended till 2 pm. It was only for the party events that logins and postings were carried out as late as 2 am in the morning, but now, the postings have stopped after 6 pm.
Updates to Twitter times to post
The elegant Twitterati community used to tweet as early as 7 am, but post Covid-19, the posting starts only after 8 am. Only the late-night working people sometimes stop in to put a harsh tweet, but usually the postings usually stop after 4 pm.
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How the Behavior has changed for Social Media Marketers
It is strange, with people not venturing out to buy products, the social media marketing executives must be making posts left, right and center. But, it did not happen. At the beginning of the epidemic, the posts were mainly on staying safe, and later it shifting to marketing messages.
Since the epidemic was sudden, the public looked for information everywhere, and so every branded company put a post with maximum information on Covid-19 and just a logo or two lines about their company products/services. Also, many industries suffered a severe decline in their business interests. The best examples are sports, gyms, travel, cinema halls, stand-up comedy shows and others. The best examples for prosperity came to retail, education, consumer goods and more.
Changes Made
The above-mentioned changes have made clear the fact, that social media marketing is an industry which can be prone to changes in audience behavior and routines.
Yes, the panic has reduced among the world population, but still the economy has come to its normal self. So, if you have an online business with a loyal audience in Bangalore (for example), and if you have not taken social media marketing or digital marketing experts in the team, then your venture is at risk. Imagine you are an entrepreneur with a million-dollar business in apparels. Then you can select the company offering social media marketing services in Bangalore to promote your products. They can draw the best campaigns and ensure your products reach the global population with less investment.
No One Can Predict the Future
The discovery of a Covid-19 vaccine is always going round and round, but in 12 August 2020, news of Russia having made the break-through is in the newspapers. Hope, it serves the entire global populations problem. Then, once again, the change will happen. So, companies in every industry depending on social media will continue to face challenges for the next six months.
Since many people refrained from venturing out of their homes, platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram lost revenue on their ads. The reason, during the time from February to mid of April 2020, no one was willing to buy new products, and so no business was willing to invest in ads. In fact, Facebook loss comes close to more than billion dollars.
Less Posts/More Engagements
So, the social media guys have hit upon a new plan. With more companies reducing their budget for social media advertising and digital marketing, their new plan is like – making new posts, getting more engagement from the target audience. So, the experts do have to rack their brains and design call-to-action words for the posts. And yes, it may be a social media post, but it should not be more than two sentences.
Whatsapp Posts
Whatsapp was meant for making family groups, student groups and work groups to promote engagement, but now the paradigm has changed. Some brands also started promoting their products or services on Whatsapp in the form of eight-line messages that can be seen in a smart mobile. The words were written with a trigger-of-action purpose in mind. The reader need not swipe once again to read the next line. This type of marketing worked well, until Whatsapp found its own business division. Now, with the app specially designed for small businesses, the entrepreneur can chat with the customers with the many available tools.
Conclusion
So, these are some changes that have happened for social media marketing post the Covid-19 epidemic. While it is true, that every company in recent times, do need to have a profile in the most popular platforms, it is also true that the posts have to be relevant and make the audience feel engaged to convert to prospects/leads and then clients. Or else, posting the images of your products/services does not mean your business will sustain in the market. The fact is, your posts need to gain more visibility, but also should have enough ammunition to make the audience go for the call-to-action mode.
There is one point, which a company must understand when it comes to the marketing part. The marketing team (digital marketing or social media marketing) can make the company’s products/services visible to the target audience. But the other departments are equally responsible for making the products and services meeting international standards. Then, the real concept of social media marketing is achieved.
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