Innovation and lateral thinking are coming into their own at the moment. Businesses in every sector are finding new ways to operate. And we’re not just talking about remote working and video calls.
In the UK, we’re seeing restaurants, bars and cafes preparing to reopen with one-way systems and socially distanced tables. And global brands are diversifying their work. Flip-flop king, Havaianas has been producing face masks, hand sanitiser and COVID-19 testing kits, while retail giant H&M has switched its production lines to make PPE.
The easing of restrictions may be creeping us towards ‘business-as-usual’, but businesses simply won’t be operating as they usually do – many will be offering new services, products and service commitments. As companies across many sectors find new ways to be relevant, communications will need to keep up to drive engagement and get results.
To make sure your communications are fit-for-purpose in the post-lockdown world, here are five key things to think about.
One: Speed
Companies that quickly evolve to stay relevant will be successful amidst ongoing uncertainty. Communications will need to be speedy too. We have already seen how our world of instant access means content can become quickly out of date – see our recent blog for examples from big brands.
We’re recommending clients be quick off the mark with product and service launches, supported with fast-paced content such as blogs, social posts and emails. Quality should never be a sacrifice, though, and outsourcing high-volume content will help if you’re short on time and team members.
Two: Agility
Businesses will need to quickly start, stop and change direction as the situation continues to evolve. Taking an equally flexible approach to your content strategy will enable you to make the most of new opportunities as and when they arise.
Even if time is not on your side, communicating any changes in your services both internally and externally should be a priority as it’s essential for maintaining stakeholder trust. If you need to create these communications quickly, here are five tips to help.
Three: Knowledge
Your expertise and understanding of the unique challenges of your sector will be key to navigating uncertainty and protecting stakeholder confidence. Opinion pieces and whitepapers work well in positioning your business as a thought leader, but such weighty tasks can take time – which can be difficult to find if your resources are low.
When it comes to outsourcing these kinds of tasks, make sure you highlight your expertise and brand positioning during the briefing process. Being clear from the outset will help your agency can choose a writer with relevant subject knowledge. And that means the writer will quickly get to grips with the topic and position your insights and opinions in a logical, engaging way.
Four: Scale
As you look to increase new leads, you’ll need to amplify your external communications and show you’re able to keep up with demand. Creating more high-quality content will demonstrate that you’re ready to kickstart business, but fluctuating team resource will understandably make the task difficult.
Planning your content now will help you determine where you might need extra support, so you can prepare as well as possible.
Five: Strategy
Tactical marketing through short-term, one-off campaigns is a great way to push new products – especially those that may only be around for a few months. You can also use this type of marketing to measure which products are working and the promotions that are having the most impact.
However, be careful not to neglect your overall strategy. It’s important your short-term marketing is still on-brand. And you need to continue communicating your proposition to build brand awareness and engagement over the long-term. If you’ve put your content strategy on the backburner while you’ve been responsive, now’s the time to dig it back out again.
Speak to us
We’ve always taken a flexible approach, and it’s proving particularly valuable right now for clients who need to scale their resources up and down as things change. Our team is a varied one, which means we can match you to the best writers and/or content strategists to make the most of your time, budget and the messages you want to convey. So, if you would like some strategic advice or extra writing support to craft any amount of quality copy, get in touch.
