COVID-19 & Movement Control Order affecting your business? Revenue is dropping and business operations are stagnant due to this inevitable pandemic disease. Should we just accept how it is and just wait for the crisis to pass through or can we do something about it with a change of mindset and operation model to turn this crisis to a brand new business opportunity?

In the times of crisis, a lot of businesses had stopped running their ads as the common thinking is that lesser people will be interested in their products/services at this time being.

However is this the truth?  A crisis is composed of two characters, challenge & opportunity that exist at the same time. It was once said that out of crises can emerge new and incredible opportunities which is the same with our current situations.

Facebook:

Here are some COVID 19 Outbreak statistics released in Facebook Official Statement

• Up to 70% increased time spent across our apps since the outbreak
• Instagram and Facebook Live views doubled in a week. 
• Messaging increased over 50% and time in group calling increased by over 1,000%.

These statistics let us understand that more users are being more active on social platforms than ever during this COVID-19 Outbreak which means there is a higher number of users that can be reached at a lower cost than usual.

So, what are the best campaign types to run during this COVID-19 period?

1. Page Like – Why?

The base of every business on Facebook. The number of page likes doesn’t necessarily influence the sales number but it does influence the consumer confidence level towards your business on Facebook. Because of the high volume & activity rate of the followers & fans will help to build credibility & trust as the business foundation on Facebook which made it easier to reach out to the new & existing audience in future.

2. Post Engagement –  Why?

More active users are on Facebook right now which means this is the best time to increase the engagement rate with your fans and new users with the right content. Users will be more willing to take time to understand your business and the information you provide to them. By Increasing the engagement rate, it also helps in the long term business branding whereas the exposure rate of your organic posts will be increased as well.

3. Video View – Why?

In this particular period, Facebook users are consuming more video content than usual due to the extra leisure time that is available. Videos are the main content that the users will consume especially in this particular period.⁣⁣⁣ Engaging and interesting content will encourage users to share which further increases the business exposure organically. Furthermore, the users who viewed the video can be further retargeted in the future with remarketing methods. Building the potential audience pool for long term marketing purposes.

4. Lead Generation – Why?

This is the best time to expand your leads database by collecting their information and segregating them into different levels of interest and follow up with them to provide them with the necessary information and convert them. Majority of users will be more willing to understand your products/services with the less hassle lifestyle during this particular period.

Google:

Other than the solutions provided by Facebook above, Google also provides a few solutions that can help your similar result but with different features. You may find more about it here:

1. Google Display Network (GDN) – Why?

GDN is known as Google’s No. 1 ad platform that can reach billions of internet users globally via its numerous participating websites, videos & apps.⁣

This platform allows advertisers to reach different audiences based on their interest, type of content or specifically targeting a specific website or video at a very competitive cost!⁣

2. YouTube Ads (Video) – Why?

There is a type of video ads called Trueview In-Stream Ads that allows you to reach people & only pay when your audience interact with your ads! You can go as low as RM 0.01 per view when running this type of ad. More importantly, Malaysian users treating YouTube as their TV rather than watching the usual TV channels.

This means you can show your video ads when people are paying their attention at a very low cost than using normal traditional media! Now, this true than ever because there are more people watching video on YouTube during this MCO period on their smartphone, tablets, laptops & smart TVs.

In conclusion, this might be the best time for some industries such as eCommerce to be more aggressive to spend on Digital Ads but for most other industries, this is definitely the best time to start doing your brand awareness & engagement campaign while also finding out an alternative way to expand your business model to overcome the current restrictions and continue to generate additional value even after this particular period. ⁣⁣⁣

So what are your thoughts on this?⁣⁣

Share with us in the comment section below!