Content Marketing during Covid-19

Even though the doors of your business may be shut at this time, there is still a lot to be getting on with behind the scenes, and content marketing is just one of them.

Engaging with your guests is still just as important now as when you are open. You want to show your positive attitude and encouragement during this time through social media, emails or blogs to keep in touch with your locals and regulars, along with reaching out to guests from further afield. You still want your locals to see you as the heart of the community, being supportive and providing entertainment in an alternative way to keep them occupied in their days of ‘lockdown’.

Content marketing is sometimes overlooked as there is no direct ROI (return on investment), but not every part of marketing must lead to a direct booking or enquiry. Content marketing is important for standing out against competitors and can be used to attract people to create an interest in your offering along with creating customer loyalty. Content that is added onto your website will also assist in increased visibility through SEO.

When deciding what content to use in your marketing strategy, you need to know who your target audience is. The bonus to inns and pubs is you can target all: from the kids to the elderly, from the men to the women and from the dogs to the humans. If you are a bar, boutique hotel or a late-night destination your audience is going to be more specific. Find out what your audience’s interests are and how this influences their spending, leisure and business behaviour. Investigate what else your audience is liking and engaging with on social media and use the data that you already have on customers in your database.

When using a content marketing strategy, it is good to keep a good balance of content vs sale pieces. You want to have more content to keep your audience engaged and active, but you want to also show information about your business and what you have to offer.

It is sometimes good to have a focus for your content marketing such as something that makes you stand out from the crowd. Look at your USPs (unique selling points). Don’t overdo one topic to the point at which the majority of your audience stops following you or they switch off to anything you might have to say.

I have compiled some ideas for content pieces for your audience to read and for engaging with your audience that you may want to use:

• Create a blog section on your website, there are many different blogs you could write about (blog coming on this soon)

• Provide recipes, tips and tricks for your audience. Not just for food but for cocktails too or maybe a tip from housekeeping of how to clean something. A good opportunity to mention local suppliers and brands. People don’t want to see a recipe for every dish on the menu, so just a glimpse will do

• Insight into other cities and cultures around the world – this could then lead into a future supper club event that you do once you re-open

• Kid’s food/recipes and maybe a brainstorm/ask the audience of what they would like to see on the kid’s menu

• What you offer to kids to keep them entertained when dining with you - again could ask the audience of what would be useful for you to provide

• Create a snapchat filter for the younger audience

• A post on dogs and what you offer them – eg. Pigs Ears for sale behind the bar, water bowls round the edge of the room, dog beds and treats when a dog comes to stay

• Share an attention-grabbing statistic – maybe about your industry

• Share a playlist that is normally playing in the background, or create one especially for your audience

• Recommend other trendy establishments

• Recommend gins and garnishes (maybe not just gin, whiskys or something a bit different like Mezcal)

• Recommend travel tips and ideas – the 'staycation'

• Events that you plan to do when you re-open – talk about these with the date still to be confirmed, but ask for ideas of what others would like to see

• Virtual Pub Quizzes – one for the adults and one for all the family

• Organise a kids colouring competition

• Create a bake off for the elderly (maybe not mentioning it is for them)

• Ask for suggestions of what your audience would like to see on the food menu or drinks list when you open again

• Get to know your locals – you may know of one of your locals that plays an instrument, why not post them playing it. Maybe run a competition and get your locals to post something that they are doing or an instrument that they play with a specific hashtag and tagging you. Create a personal touch to your page

• Show behind the scenes – what the staff are up to when you are shut such as painting the benches ready for the summer or other improvements that are going to benefit your guests

• Ask your audience questions

• Organise a #throwbackthursday competition

• Post a picture and get your audience to ‘fill in the blank’ or ‘create a caption’

• Interview a customer and post about it, just find an interesting one!

• Add polls to your story

• Share content such as things that can be streamed either on the internet or on tv like indoor workouts

• Run competitions which enables your customers to like and share along with post their own content.

If you can get your followers engaged and reactive this will help you still feel and be the center of the community just in a different way than before. With these guests sharing interesting content that you are posting, it is boosting awareness of your business and engaging others to join in which creates more followers for you.

Content marketing is important at all times not just now. Now is a good time to really turn up your content as you don't have your everyday things to post and currently nothing to sell. Maybe now is the time to get the marketing behind your vouchers and get these selling for you. It may not be Christmas, but there will be many people looking for gifts for loved ones at this time for birthdays, '‘just because’', ''cheer up'' and ''something to look forward to'' presents. With having to stay inside (and the royal mail service reduced), vouchers make an easy gift to give and something guests can look forward to using in the future. It's a good opportunity to get some guaranteed revenue through the door for when you re-open.

Good content will create memorable social media campaigns. Without engaging and interesting content, what reason do people have to follow you. Make your website and social media platforms a destination where people want to visit on a regular basis to have a read.

It is important to review how your content is performing and to see if and where it needs improving. What are guests engaging with more and what are they not engaging with at all. To analyse this you can use google analytics and social media stats.

If you need a hand with your content marketing, please do not hesitate to ask for help. Any questions, please shout also.

Stay safe and stay positive.