Online marketing in times of coronavirus

COVID-19 Online marketing in times of coronavirus

Published on 14.07.2020 by Alexis Chappatte, Digital Commerce Consultant, Post CH Ltd

Amidst the pandemic and lockdown, the Swiss have turned to digital channels. They use the Internet for information and for working, making connections, chatting and shopping, and in doing so, fill the void that was created during this period. How does this new reality affect digital marketing?

Everyone is online

Given the protective measures that were taken, people shifted many of their activities online. Switzerland’s most important communication node, SwissIX, has recorded a 30 percent increase in data traffic since March. Infrastructure has been overwhelmed like never before.

Around 30 percent of the Swiss workforce were forced to work from home. This saw vendors of collaboration tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Skype recording a spectacular rise in their use. Access and data traffic rose significantly – including for private use.

According to a survey from RTS (link in French), there were clear winners from the growth in data traffic in March 2020:

  • Media and newspapers (swissinfo.ch +450%, admin.ch +198%, letemps.ch +116%, nzz.ch +102%)
  • E-commerce sites, especially food ones (leshop.ch +212%, coopathome.ch +182%) and delivery services (Smood, Uber Eats)
  • Video streaming services such as Netflix (+85%) and YouTube, as well as online and computer gaming

Among the losers were:

  • The travel and tourism industry (booking.com -54%, sbb.ch -28%)
  • Online classified ad providers (autoscout24.ch -23%, homegate.ch -22%, anibis.ch -17%) and the insurance industry

Boom of interaction on social media

Social distancing was the order of the day. It led to a veritable boom in the use of social networks. Facebook, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, recorded 50 percent growth in the use of its various services from the end of March, forcing it to make corresponding changes to its infrastructure.

Over recent months, social networks offered many ways for people to distract themselves from the boredom of the lockdown, with options including challenges on Instagram with childhood photos or favourite films, live sessions, virtual meet-ups, home fitness courses and more.

The first studies about the use of social media during the crisis (link to NZZ article in German) show that these networks (especially Instagram) were a major source of information. This was especially true for Millennials, but was also the case for other generations. The popularity of TikTok, an app used particularly by Generation Z, has also exploded in Switzerland and around the world since the start of the pandemic (+315 million downloads globally).

Advertising no longer works

The current crisis is defined by a significant decline in advertising spending: in April 2020, this fell by 42 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, according to the Swiss Foundation for Advertising Statistics.

The decline in advertising was particularly evident in traditional media (cinema -100%, print -43% and TV -38%), but also in online advertising (-25%). However, statistics do not take into account advertising on search engines (SEA) and social networks that are counted outside Switzerland.

Several marketing agencies have seen a decline in the conversion rate of SEA and the budgets provided, a sign that online advertising was also less effective over recent months. Swiss consumers are apparently reacting less to advertising messages and are steering away from impulse purchases. This withdrawal also has the effect of reducing the costs per click (CPC) for Internet advertising for less popular products. It will be interesting to see how campaigns restart after the crisis is over.

What to do now? Improve your SEO and boost your engagement in social networks.

During the pandemic (and beyond), two marketing measures are recommended for companies: search engine optimization (SEO) for your website/online shop and increased engagement with your customers on social networks.

It is generally always a good idea to ensure that there is organic SEO. During the crisis, organic traffic declined around the world, especially for less popular products (source: Neil Patel’s blog). It is therefore advisable especially now to increase the visibility of your offer and to make changes to your SEO to match changed online search habits.

At the height of COVID-19, companies that boosted their interaction on social media by showing more empathy (with the message “we’re here for you”) increased in relevance with their customers.

For example, the Swiss Association of Bakers and Confectioners (only in German and French) started a campaign on several social media channels to thank its customers for shopping locally. The latest campaign from Switzerland Tourism was also very successful. It used the hashtag #IneedSwitzerland to pick up on the desire from Swiss and international tourists to travel again.

It is never too late to boost customer relationships on digital channels and to increase visibility during a lockdown and beyond.

Alexis Chappatte, Digital Commerce Consultant, Post CH Ltd

Alexis Chappatte has long-standing experience in consulting and implementing digital transformation projects for all types of customers from SMEs to public administration. He helps them develop sustainable digital strategies, taking new consumer habits and end customer expectations into account.

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