Small businesses that are remaining open during the COVID-19 pandemic should still be blogging among other marketing activities. It is very important to keep your customers informed of what’s going on. Let them know you are still open and doing business, even if things aren’t exactly normal for the time being.
What if My Business Had to Close Temporarily?
Businesses that have been forced to temporarily close can also be blogging. You may consider cutting back on the frequency if budget is a concern. Some business owners are actually blogging more than ever right now because they have extra time to get involved. It’s still worthwhile to be putting quality content out there. You can let your customers know why you had to close, keep your employees up-to-date on future plans, provide helpful health and safety information for your community (whether it is related to your business or not), or just keep producing “evergreen” searchable content that will continue to help with your site’s organic SEO. Even though there’s no business right now, you are still building your web presence for when you ultimately are able to reopen.
What Should We Write About?
So, what should you be writing about right now? That is a good question to ask because there are different ways you can choose to approach it.
I can say that ignoring the elephant in the room (coronavirus) is probably a mistake. It’s literally the most important thing in the world right now. It’s a good idea to keep your customers, business partners and employees informed through this difficult time. Don’t be afraid to address how COVID-19 is affecting your business and what you are doing to deal with the challenges it presents (financially, physically and emotionally). This content will be very relatable and genuine, which can go a long way in helping build brand loyalty over time.
Stay Positive
Though you can get real in your blog posts, you still want to try staying focused on the positives. That may be hard to do, but it’s important not to add to the doom, gloom and panic already out there in the news. Talk about what’s going on and provide information, tips and resources to help others get through the situation. Of course, people will be coming to your website for insight on topics relating to your products and services. That should drive most of your content. Still, you can also just provide more general news, updates and information about what’s happening in your local community as it relates to COVID-19 “shelter in place” orders, social distancing, medical resources, etc. Don’t be afraid to provide something of value beyond just talking about your business.
At the same time, it’s still okay to weave in some more evergreen content that will have long-term SEO appeal. Coronavirus is the hot topic right now and will likely be for the next few months, but eventually (hopefully) it won’t be as relevant. Evergreen topics and information will always be relevant and will have value in the long run, even if it’s not as important while all this craziness is going on.
What Happens Next?
Nobody knows exactly what our future has in store. Coronavirus is likely to change how some businesses operate forever, while others will be able to quickly get back to normal (or at least a “new normal”) once the virus is contained and/or cured. For now, hang in there and stay safe. Keep your blog content flowing, but really think about what you what topics will have the most value (both short-term and long-term) to find the right overall balance of information to put out there.
Hopefully you find this blog helpful. If there is anything else you want to talk about when it comes to how to approach your blog during this unusual situation, contact NextGear Marketing today for a free initial content consultation.
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