Once you’ve carefully crafted your content marketing strategy, consistency is key. That’s the general rule. But as we’ve learned recently, sometimes major events begin to shape social media conversations and the overall collective consciousness to such a degree that it seems everyone is discussing and perseverating on the same topic.
Adjusting Content During the Pandemic
Lately, that topic has been the Covid-19 pandemic. The worldwide emergency has taken social media by storm, and has drastically altered most of our daily lives. In the face of such a pressing social and economic issue, it would almost feel bizarre not to mention it in some way. So you might be wondering whether your audience wants to hear from you regarding the outbreak, whether you should adjust your content, and what you should say.
Generally speaking, at times like this we ask ourselves two big questions when deciding whether to release content related to the news.
How does the current news concern your target audience?
Let’s take a look at that first question. Some news events, no matter how significant, don’t necessarily concern or affect everyone. More to the point, they might not affect your target audience.
A good example of those events might be a controversial Super Bowl halftime show, a surprising Oscar win, a mass lettuce recall, or a new royal baby. In such cases, you should only release special content if the event is of particular interest to your target demographic.
For example, if your target demographic is people who collect memorabilia of the royal family, then obviously you would want to mention the new baby. But if your target audience is people who purchase lawn maintenance equipment, then releasing such content would seem irrelevant or even silly.
If the answer to the above question is yes, then scheduling a special series of articles, videos or social media posts is a good idea.
Of course, some events affect almost everyone in some way. Our current pandemic situation is a good example of that, which brings us to our second question…
Does this news relate to your company’s mission, products, or services?
If it does, then adjusting your content is almost always the right thing to do. For example, right now most companies are reaching out to their audiences to reassure them of continued service, notify them of closings or limited store hours, or to update them on new procedures to keep us all safer from infectious disease.
For other companies, the issue at hand is even more connected to their specific business. A doctor, for example, would certainly want to reach out to their patients at this time.
On the other hand, some events might take social media by storm, and yet have nothing to do with your business. The Super Bowl halftime show is a good example. A hotly contested election would be another. Even though these issues drastically impact social media discourse, and your audience might be concerned with them, addressing the subject might seem to come out of left field and be regarded as unnecessary or inconsistent.
For example, a plumbing business wouldn’t have any logical reason to blog about the Super Bowl, and it can be a bad idea for almost anyone to delve too deeply into politics!
Again, we recommend that you ask yourself the above two questions. If the answer to one or both is “yes”, then it’s a good idea to adjust your content production schedule. Go ahead and release a timely email blast, blog, or social media post (ideally all three, so that you reach as much of your audience as possible).
Then, gear the content to address your audience’s concerns on the topic, or answer pressing questions that they might have (as they relate to your business).
Need help adjusting or creating the right messaging for your company?
Get in touch with us for more information on adjusting your content strategy in light of current events. We can help you decide whether to reach out to your audience, what to say, and how to respond to their concerns.
