07 May 2020
If there is one question every digital marketing expert is thinking of during this COVID-19 epidemic, what do you think that would be?
Yes, you’re right if you are thinking about the impact it will have on the Digital Marketing world. This deadly virus has not only brought the nation but the world to a standstill. The impact it is causing on economies is enormous.
People are spending more time indoors, which has increased the attention span of a normal user and is heavily influencing digital marketing trends. So, let’s have a look at how these have changed over the past months and translate the effects of this pandemic on the field of the digital marketing strategy of companies as they rely to a vast extent.
1. Search Patterns Are Transformed
People are not just searching for general information, unlike past. Still, information related to COVID 19, the Economy and the Stock market is being searched for on Google at a high rate. Yes, other terms are being searched for as well, but COVID 19 related searches are here to stay, as its impact on topics of daily concern like schools, banks, hospitals, and institutions, to name a few. This is the reason marketers need to be careful with the keywords.
Tip: Just passing on information related to medical terminologies is of not much use as people rely more on government-approved medical websites for those, and Google also automatically shows only those in the search engine.
2. Change in Social Media Consumption
Social distancing is an opportunity for an organic ranking of your website at the top position. It is the need right now. So, naturally, the only way to take care of this need to socialize is through online networking. As many people are working from home due to the locked down and needing frequent breaks, social media consumption has seen a spike.
Quarantine measures recommended across countries have increased around 30% of social media marketing activities in March 2020 as compared to the previous quarter, according to studies. Because almost all social sites like Facebook, Twitter and Reddit have reported a spike in their traffic, session durations, as well as new sign-ups.
It is beyond doubt that the focus of marketing campaigns is hence going to move higher towards search engines, media websites, and social media.
3. Online Shopping Has Seen A Steady Change
The focus of e-commerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart, and others has shifted their focus to delivering essentials first.
People are becoming more vigilant about their purchases and avoid buying unnecessary items. As a result, Sanitary and Food items are all dominating the digital market.
Though it’s certain that this trend will go back to normal post the COVID 19 situation, it’s evident as more and more countries put their cities in lockdown, dependence on digital platforms will only increase.
4. Content Consumption Has Deviated:
As per the government directives, many digital streaming platforms like Netflix have reduced the quality of content from HD to standard to minimize the load that web services carry. It is an indicator of the rising consumption of content, mainly videos.
This is not just restricted to online streaming, as Nielsen reported a 22% total increase in TV usage in the US alone. Video-heavy platforms like Twitter and Facebook saw an uptick in live-streaming by 66%.