COVID-19: 3 reasons why online advertising remains critical for your business

The effects of COVID-19 continue to evolve around the world, impacting all aspects of life and business as we adapt to this new reality. Plus, the pandemic has also had an interesting effect on digital strategy and performance,  particularly when it comes to paid advertising.

While executing a marketing campaign during a crisis may seem a bit tricky, there is a hidden opportunity for brands that do have some budget to spend to use digital ads to maintain brand awareness with consumers.

Here are three reasons why it’s beneficial to amplify your content right now.

1. Companies are reducing their ad spend

Due to the frenzy of the pandemic-induced quarantines, media consumption has seen a massive increase, and in particular, social media usage is soaring. Although time spent on social media is rising, companies are scaling back their ad spend or pausing their ad campaigns because of the crisis.

In a recent report created by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, 82 per cent of media planners said they are either adjusting or pausing ad spend for the second quarter, up from 74 per cent when compared to the same last month.

With companies backing down, you may think that your business should follow suit, but the opposite couldn’t be more true. Presently, the amount of impressions available to build brand awareness is on the rise, which means the capacity for your digital assets to reach your target audience will significantly increase as well.

One of Fifth Story’s clients in the home improvement space, recently saw a 40% increase in impressions and a 17% rise in clicks with their Google ads campaign during COVID-19 because many advertisers pulled back their spending and we saw less bidding.

A decrease in bids increases the chances of advertisers successfully ranking for their selected keywords, gaining higher ad placements, and an added boost in impressions and traffic.

Smaller competition results in lower operating costs, thus making your ad spend even more impactful, while also increasing the visibility of your content.

2. Maintain your relevancy and increase market share

While many companies are realigning their marketing funds due to the pandemic, this is a prime opportunity to invest your paid budget into sustaining direct connections with your audience through digital advertising.

If your product or service can provide immediate solutions to consumers’ pain points, then it’s important to get that messaging out with a tailored and time-sensitive ad campaign to inform customers on how you can help them in their time of need.

With top-of-funnel brand awareness social ads or Google display ads, there is a great chance you will break through, gather attention and gain an edge over your competitors.

3. Serve people now, win business later

Brand perception is a very important factor to consider when it comes to your paid strategy during the pandemic. Changing your approach in the short term can help you win the trust and admiration of consumers in the long term.

Your paid amplification plan can be empathetic to the uncertain times your customers are in by providing discounts, longer trial periods to premium products or services, or even hosting a free webinar to educate your audience on how to navigate the current landscape in relation to your industry.

Also, executing brand awareness ads can help grow your digital remarketing list at a lower cost and will pay off once the pandemic has passed.

The brands that build thoughtful and respectful ad campaigns and offers, while making the extra effort to be supportive for their customers, have the most to gain when business goes back to normal.

If you need help with your paid digital strategy, feel free to contact us at info@fifthstory.com.