How small businesses can generate brand awareness in the age of COVID [Podcast]

The Great Lock Down, as it’s being called out by the news junkies as a historical reference to the challenges of the 1930s, is a challenging, tricky time for small businesses and how to communicate effectively. If you’re not being thoughtful about what you’re saying and how you’re saying it, you run the risk of alienating your audience.

While our impulse is to be reactive and quickly respond to immediate needs—and with the extra time that some might have on their hands—it’s a good opportunity to pause, step back, and assess what can be most impactful with your audience. So ask the following questions:

• What can I do that’s going to resonate with my audience that aligns with my business and values?

• How can I add value to their experience right now?

• How can I maintain a connection with my clients at a time when we’re physically apart?

• How do I remain relevant and keep my business going?

Let’s first acknowledge what we’re feeling, which some experts have likened to the stages of grief. Some might be fearful and panicking. Others might be angry. And many feel down and helpless. At a time when most of us are inclined to help, we also have a limitation. Physically helping can be dangerous and, for the most vulnerable, deadly.

We have to find a way to use our brand and our services to help, contribute, and entertain safely. But if you overthink it, you will end up in a “paralysis by analysis” situation. We have the opportunity to do great things for our customers and our community.

In terms of building brand awareness, consumers are keenly aware of how brands are helping solve their problems. When it comes to messaging, follow these three simple rules:

Be mindful of your tone and activities

Be thoughtful in your approach. You don’t have to rush to get something out as this isn’t a time where the first to market wins. Take a look at what some of your peers in other markets are doing and be creative with what you want to say and how you want to say it. Most importantly, have an ongoing plan rather than a one-off approach to making a positive impact.

It’s not your job to usher people through the crisis. Leave health advice to the medical professionals and policy guidance to the politicians. Don’t stick your nose in that jar.

Extend your brand genuinely beyond where it lives

Imagine you’re a pizza shop. On a given day you might be making hundreds of pizzas for takeout and delivery. But seeing as people at home are looking for things to do on their own or with their families, a local pizza shop had the brilliant idea to sell pizza kits with ingredients and instructions. The company’s thoughtful creativity also made them stand out from the noisy pizza and restaurant industry, which had an unintended consequence—media attention. While this was a product they were selling, what they offered solved a problem and helped families connect.

What if you’re a venue that offers lots of onsite programming. Think about ways you can bring that experience home to the people, whether online, email, live video conferencing and learning course. These virtual event extensions keep consumers connected to the space and people that make it special, helping your consumers keep a sense of normalcy. Video is the next best thing to experiencing something live, and with video consumption at an all-time high, the medium is a perfect fit for today’s limitations. Best of all, it doesn’t have to be beautifully produced.

Stop selling and use this time to do good

If you don’t have a corporate social responsibility program in place, take some time to create one. If you have one, activate it safely. Having that mindset and letting your brand values drive your community investment. A great example is Houston’s fashion industry, which has stepped away from couture to hand-make masks to donate to first responders and healthcare workers as well as providing them to the local community.

Kids Meals Inc., which provides free meals to children in Houston in areas where food insecurity abounds, found itself with food vendors dropping support because of logistical issues as a result of the virus. McDonald’s, which prides itself on being family-focused, helped fill a need by shipping food directly from its supplier to Kids Meals to solve that problem. Kids Meals now keeps on talking about the partnership with McDonald’s on its social media channels, further amplifying messaging through a third-party endorsement.

Such initiatives reinforce brand loyalty, reinforce brand values, and create a connection.

People are going to remember brands that did good and did so in the right way, being mindful of employees, clients, and the community. Conversely, people will remember those who are tone-deaf.

Listen to Carey on PR After Hours with host Alex Greenwood: