Industries as we know it have halted and it seems like the world is standing still, holding on with bated breath to see when the next shoe will drop or if relief is around the corner. The reality is that life is not on pause, it has just dramatically shifted so we must shift with it.
We are lucky and take comfort in the fact that one aspect of our business has not changed and that is the fundamentals of marketing. We still focus on the who. Who are you trying to connect with, engage and speak to, who is your core audience? What has changed is the behaviors of this audience. With everyone staying at home, social platforms are seeing a surge in user engagement, “a study of 25,000 consumers across 30 markets showed engagement increasing 61% over normal usage rates. Messaging across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp has increased 50% in countries hardest hit by the virus. Twitter is seeing 23% more daily users than a year ago.”( Forbes) With that surge comes an influx of new demographics previously segmented to different mediums. We could once confidently say Facebook was for Gen X and Tik Tok was for Gen Z and while that may be true for now, segmentation may become evenly mixed as more content is shared across platforms and across demographics.
We also know that there is currently a group psychology of a mass audience unlike anything we have seen before. Across demographics there is a feeling of instability and fear. Brands who can show resiliency and continuity will have more success easing consumer fears. That being said, brands actively using social media and doing live Facebook and Instagram events to talk to their consumers directly will continue to see engagement and costumer loyalty through these tough times.
At Scream Agency, our mantra of Be Seen, Be Heard, Be Good is true now more than ever and while we continue to track the changing behaviors of consumers, our core business practices will continue to be the bedrock in which we help businesses thrive.