We are in the middle of a pandemic, and as such it is not only affecting the everyday conversations we are having with people – it is affecting the digital world too.
It’s of no surprise to us that in the middle of a global crisis people are searching a little differently which is a disruptor.
It will affect different industries in different ways. For example, travel, entertainment and events companies will most likely be seeing revenue declines, and as such will be spending less money on Facebook and Google Ads. So far, we have seen that there has been a reduced ad spend when it comes to travel, retail, and entertainment. This could be problematic for social media giant Facebook as it accounts for more than 30% of their entire revenue stream.
The complete closure of pubs, restaurants and cafes will also have a massive effect on advertising spends – and deal websites that typically get traffic from social media or PPC campaigns may rethink their spending strategy – or else branch out on the types of deals they have on offer in the interim. Either way, it will no doubt cause a large dip.
There Could be Issues with Supply Chains
Online retailers also could be experiencing supply chain issues during this time. There will no doubt be a surge of people buying things from e-commerce websites, and it could become difficult to fulfil this demand.
The reality is – there will be a lot of online retailers who don’t need any additional orders placed, so won’t be spending money on Google AdWords. As time goes on, it could be that they improve the supply chain, however it is unlikely that prolific brands will need to actively seek out new clients.
Businesses are in Panic Mode
It’s understandable that some of the smaller businesses will feel a sense of panic when it comes to this situation as it remains uncertain. As a result – they are much less likely to invest in advertising on Google or other search engines when they aren’t sure when things will be “back to normal”.
The Government guidelines thus far have been increasingly stringent, which is causing a greater sense of unease. For now, we see SME’s reluctant to do too much in the way of advertising in a bid to reserve funds should they need it. Although the Government is outlining funding and grants for businesses, there’s nothing concrete as to how this will be implemented – so not doing much to ease the panic.
What about Organic Campaigns Instead?
Although paid campaigns may take a bit of a nosedive – there has been a lot of creativity when it comes to organic campaigns.
Although previously organic reach on social channels was poor – the community spirit we are starting to see from people is bolstering those percentages. We are finding that companies are rallying together to offer one another services in order to help each other’s businesses.
What we also need to take into account is that there are a lot more people online than there would be ordinarily with self-isolating and social distancing. This means there will be more traffic on social media channels and search engines than ever before.
The upturn in organic search means that companies that are working on their SEO will do better. This will most likely see an increase in the number of articles being published on websites and more collaboration between companies to credit one another as sources.
We need to take into account that there may be a little more time than before to execute these types of campaigns – and as there is no cost of sale making it an attractive option for business owners?
What’s Next?
As mentioned, it’s an evolving situation – and nobody really knows how long this will go on for. The realty is, there will be a lot of companies who don’t want to carry on investing money and resources when they are unsure of the future of their business – however when the country does get through this challenging time – we see a surge in people looking to get back to business and make sure their business is out there.