How should you write content during a pandemic?

It has become obvious over the past couple of months that original, engaging content provides a big opportunity for businesses to nurture customer connections and brand awareness at a time when this has felt impossible to do. Those brands that are prioritising original content creation and paid advertising are reaping the benefits of adding value to customers’ lives at a difficult time and, as a result, generating a lot of goodwill. If you’re keen to achieve this for your own business these are our content writing tips.

• Review your strategy. Goals will have shifted as audience need has changed during the pandemic. So, it’s essential to review strategy to take this into account.
• Use this as an opportunity to streamline. For many organisations this is a great time to identify wasted resources and cut them from the budget. Social content could be the first place to start. If your business is trying to juggle multiple social channels this is a good time to review. Look at whether you have goals for each channel, whether those goals are being achieved with your content and whether the content plan is working. Cull those where that is not the case.
• Focus on your committed audience. Now is a difficult time to convert people’s mindsets and behaviours en masse – it may be more productive to focus your content planning on those who are already committed to your brand and messaging.
• Look for ways to differentiate your brand via your content. For example, is there a content gap on a platform you have yet to explore, can you reposition your topics to make them more relevant or focus on a niche neglected audience to convert them to your cause?
• Don’t forget the value of internal content. Your employees are a huge marketing asset and investing in anything that helps to keep morale high is a good idea right now. Repurposing content initiatives for use internally can achieve this, whether it’s a newsletter setting out how the business is dealing with the pandemic or a weekly podcast that highlights opportunities and potential for change.
• Value the talent that you have. Quality content writers who have the ability to tell engaging stories are few and far between. If you are lucky enough to have a partnership with someone like this in place then nurture and use it during this time. Putting out poor quality content could damage your brand, especially at a time when many more people are online and competition for attention is high.
• Look for ways to increase your audience share. Given the current lockdown conditions your audience is highly likely to be online, more often and with more intensity. This is an opportunity for any business, whether you choose to try to take advantage of this with a greater range of content or by working with an influencer who could subtly promote your brand via their own content.

Content remains key during the pandemic and offers significant opportunities for businesses keen to maintain momentum and continue to grow.