This past year has been challenging for all of us, both personally and professionally. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we worked, interacted with others and conducted our daily lives. One year later, there is certainly reason for optimism. More and more people are being vaccinated, giving us hope that a return to pre-COVID activities may not be too far away. We’re not quite back to the pre-pandemic world of 2019, but we’re a lot closer

Getting Back to “Normal” Normal

The “new normal” of lockdowns, mask mandates, and social distancing is giving way to reopening, masks optional (for the fully vaccinated) and a return to outdoor gatherings. It also means more people are shopping in stores and not just online.

During the pandemic, businesses couldn’t connect with customers in person and had to move much of their marketing and selling online to social media, websites and email. While not always ideal, these online channels proved invaluable to maintaining communication with clients, customers and other businesses.

As more and more business open (or reopen) their doors, customers are coming back. Travel is rebounding, vacations are up, bars, restaurants and gyms are mostly restriction-free, and concerts and tradeshows are on the schedule again. Can we get a “woo-hoo”?

Marketing is Still a Challenge

Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, realigning your marketing strategy may take a little time. The good news is that you can leverage many of the marketing tools you turned to in the pandemic to help strengthen your post-COVID strategy.

Don’t Social Distance from Social Media

During the pandemic, social media was a lifeline for most people. They posted, shared and stayed connected.

Even when the world opens back up again, consumers will continue to use their favorite platforms, which means investing in your social media strategy makes sense.

Facebook is always a winner, and it’s worth investigating Instagram and TikTok to see if they might work for you.

Your Message is Still Important

It was understandable to maintain a more serious and empathetic tone during the pandemic, and you don’t want to completely abandon that now. It’s important to be sensitive to those financially, emotionally and physically affected by the pandemic. This means striking a balance between the realization the past year has been difficult for many and excitement as we return to a sense of normalcy.

Cleaning up your lists

Email is a valuable resource in your marketing tool kit and ongoing email and address list hygiene is necessary for improving the deliverability of your messages and maintaining the quality of your database. Clean out inactive subscribers, hard bounces, seasonal addresses, no-longer valid addresses, and spam traps. It may seem like a daunting task, but list hygiene is an important factor in getting to your audience’s inbox.

Think about Out-of-Home Advertising

This tried-and-true advertising tactic had understandably been neglected during COVID. As more people are out and about, consider these ways to reach them:

• Billboards (digital or traditional).
• Street “furniture,” like park benches, bus stops, and kiosks.
• Public transit placements on buses

We hope you can use these marketing tips to improve your business and come back stronger than ever.

Farmhouse Creative is always here to help. So, feel free to contact us.