How to build a small business during COVID
There’s never been a better time for e-commerce brands
Now let’s be honest, I think most of us thought we would be done with the COVID talk by now.
We’re nearly at the end of 2021 and we think it’s safe to say that things are officially changed
forever and life before COVID won’t be returning.
So what does that mean for small businesses?
It might not mean what you think, because it’s actually good news for small businesses. Digital
consumption has increased so much in the last year and a half, with Instagram surpassing 1 billion
active users this year. This means now is the time for e-commerce brands to get moving, and
other brands to pivot to digital if they haven’t already.
So how do you cut through all the noise online and stand out? We’re giving you our top 3 tips for
building a small business during COVID that have been tried and tested by our clients.
1. POST QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
It goes without saying that to succeed online you need to be focusing on social media.
That doesn’t mean posting as much as you can on every platform. It means picking the top 2-3 platforms that your target audience spends the most time on and focusing on those. Posting for the sake of posting will do more damage to your business than good, which is why a social media strategy is key to your success. Knowing what content to post when to post it and how often to post will not only help in giving you direction but also ensure your content is effective.
Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri (@mosseri), actually recommends 2-3 feed posts and 2-3 stories per week to see results, confirming that you don’t need to be posting every day.
2. CONTENT IS KEY
With so many brands pivoting to online during COVID your content needs to stand out.
High-quality imagery that is styled beautifully is proven time and again to perform better on social media. It is also essential to have these quality images for your website, paid ads, EDMs and more. However, with the focus moving towards video on many social media platforms, images alone might not be enough. While campaign videography can be expensive, quick stop-motion videos are a great way to introduce moving content without spending thousands of dollars. We now include them in all our social media packages for this reason!
We also recommend using the downtime in lockdown to experiment with stories and reels, plus it’s a great reason to actually put on some proper clothes and feel semi-human again!
3. LET YOUR BRANDING SELL FOR YOU
Finally, the icing on the cake is your branding.
Without face-to-face interactions, the first impressions of your business and what you stand for will be in your branding. It’s often said that marketing is like asking someone on a date, and branding is the reason they say yes. You could be doing everything right, but without the right branding, you’re selling yourself short.
Your logo, fonts, colours, graphics etc need to align with your visual and written identity to create strong brand awareness to stay in the front of people’s minds.
Last but definitely not least, our advice is to go easy on yourself. We’re a small business too and we get it, it’s really hard out there right now. But keep pushing because the success you’re craving may just be a branding overhaul and social media strategy away!
If you need any help with these steps then get in touch with us to see how we can help you build your dream business.
