It has been a couple of months since the outbreak of the pandemic and - let’s face it - we have learned a couple of useful skills and re-thought some of our lifestyle choices.

Let’s not talk about the downsides of the crisis. Rather, let’s be productive and see what else we can learn and how we can improve our lives and productivity (and anything else that might be improved).

Live Every Day Like It’s Your Last

This statement we have heard numerous times, but until something scary happens, many of us simply regard it as a platitude. Now that we’re witnessing people losing lives, jobs, any security all around, it might be a good time to re-think it.

Start from your priorities. Usually these comprise something to do with more money, but if we cannot actually use money to make our lives better, what’s the point?

Certainly, there’s no denying that without monetary means (unfortunately significant), we cannot realize most of our dreams. But if we can lose our jobs just any time regardless of our performance (as this pandemic has shown), how can we make our prospects more stable?

There’s an easy way to do this - work on your brand’s online visibility.

We have seen in the past couple of months that businesses offering online services of any kind have fared way better than traditional businesses. It is also reasonable to believe that many people will change their habits after the crisis has passed, simply because they have learned that many things can be done in an easier way. Online grocery shopping, for example, has witnessed a boom and is likely to remain popular in months and years to come.

Focus on Digital Marketing

Online visibility and communication with clients are the two crucial factors for a business’ success. If you think about it, this is by no means the first pandemic or indeed crisis to have hit global industries dramatically.

From the Spanish influenza to the Great Depression, history teaches us that disasters can hit anytime, anywhere. Still, some businesses managed to survive the crises, like Coca-Cola for example. The giant navigated the Great Depression skillfully and, albeit witnessing some losses, managed to outlive the danger.

What did the company do?

It created their iconic Saint Nick campaign, which is still alive and kicking almost one century later.

This example goes on to show how important marketing is. In the midst of the 4th industrial revolution, naturally it has to be - digital marketing.

Let’s see how you can utilize digital marketing to the best of its potential and never again be afraid of losing your job, no matter the situation.

1. SEO Is Your Friend

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the first step to creating a successful digital marketing strategy. Because SEO-optimized content boosts your brand’s visibility, it is necessary to continually brainstorm:

• Keywords
• Blog posts
• Backlinks
• Internal links
• Organic rankings

2. Optimize Your Content for Mobile Devices

Next on, you absolutely must optimize your website and email campaigns for mobile devices. After all, 53% of all emails are being accessed on mobile devices, with the trend showing a sharp rise (the number of mobile users keeps increasing rather than decreasing).

Here are some tips on how to do that:

• Make certain your email campaign subject lines don’t exceed 30 characters.
• Be careful with emojis (they display differently on different devices, so make certain to test them on most popular devices).
• Use mobile-friendly templates.
• Use one font only and format your content so that it is easy to scan and read.

3. Work on Your Content Strategy

Blog Posts

The most popular content type comes in the shape of blog posts. These are great for promoting your brand and increasing its online invisibility and they are also shareable across the board.

In order for blog posts to be most efficient, they need to be:

1. Published on a regular basis

2. Feature insightful, well-researched and literate content

3. Kept up to date (update older posts where applicable)

4. Consistent with your brand’s message

While blog posts are a great way to keep your audience updated, they are only the tip of the iceberg, content-wise. Different audiences prefer different content types, and some types are gaining popularity because they take less time than reading.

Social Media Posts

Social media channels are the fastest way to getting your content seen by a multitude of people. It is best utilized jointly with new blog posts and special offers (email marketing campaigns). Sharing these is definitely recommended, but to maximize your brand’s online presence, also consider re-sharing older posts that may be interesting to new followers, or things that might empower your team.

In addition to blog and social media posts, you may also consider the following content types:

• Infographics
• Video content
• Podcasts
• Ebooks

Infographics

Infographics are tremendously popular because they come in handy when there’s statistics involved. They help with visualization and also break your content so that it’s easier to read and digest. Consider using infographics when publishing longer posts and when using any kind of stats.

Video Content

As mentioned above, content types that are less time-consuming than reading are quite popular. People seem to be in a rush all the time, so video- and audio content are often appreciated. It is also useful for people who commute and travel a lot.

Admittedly, video content is more difficult to create than, say, a blog post, but it’s definitely worth your time. According to HubSpot, video content is 40x more likely to get a share than any other content type.

Podcasts

Podcasts are another great content type for busy people. Content involving listening is often accessed in people’s spare time, quite similar to audio books.

Podcasts are a great choice when the content is to lengthy to be put into the written form, for interviews and trending topics.

According to Statista, podcasts reach over 100 million Americans every month.

Ebooks

Ebooks are normally used in four ways:

1. To promote a business

2. To promote an offer

3. To attract new subscribers

4. As a reward for any other desired action

Ebooks should feature your brand’s contact info for best results, and they don’t have to be necessarily long. They may serve as pamphlets for special promotions or as additional information for your blog posts, for example.

Cheer Up - We Are Stronger Than Before

These tips should be sufficient to keep you busy during the pandemic, but don’t forget to live your life to the fullest meanwhile. Keep in touch with your friends and family online. Enjoy your favorite food. Learn a new skill and improve your peak performance. Attend an online workout lesson. Travel the world from your living room. Visit a museum online.

Possibilities are endless, and now’s the time to try out new things we never seemed to have enough time to try. After all, the pandemic will pass one day - it’s up to us to apply what we’ve learned to enrich our lives on all levels.