It’s extremely valuable to work with an agency that is on top of important marketing updates at all times. As every business is being forced to make changes due to current world circumstances and COVID-19 health and safety, it means providing ample technology for a remote workforce, moving to zero contact services when possible, and tightening the reins on business expenses.
Where to spend marketing dollars is crucial during these times. Businesses also have to get creative to stay relevant and continue offering useful products and services. Being healthy and safe, as to not expose more folks and to reduce the spread of the virus, has quickly become the new demand. There are a couple of points that we’d make about resources available.
Important Update for Google Ads Accounts
There are ad credits for Google Ads small and medium-sized businesses coming soon! Google has said they want to help alleviate some of the costs for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to stay in touch with their customers during this challenging time. That’s why they are giving our SMBs worldwide $340 million in ad credits, which can be used at any point until the end of 2020 across our Google Ads platforms. This is a small relief for those businesses that have already been marketing to a cold audience with Google Ads. SMBs who have been active advertisers since the beginning of 2019 will see a credit notification appear in their Google Ads account in the coming months.
Note: Advertisers receiving ad credits will be notified.
Google is in the process of building these specialized credits into Google Ads accounts, therefore notifications will not show immediately. Work with your digital marketing team to watch for these credits and start strategizing now on the best way to use them!
Also, other than the free marketing from Google or the age-old debate of whether to do Google ads or Facebook ads, we would point out that people are moving to Facebook ads during this time.
Businesses are Flocking to Facebook Ads
Because we are all staying home, more people are spending time on social media so it is a no-brainer that businesses want to market there more. With 2.5 billion profiles on Facebook, narrowing down or broadening Facebook ad audiences accordingly will yield a higher reach. Many businesses are looking to market services they didn’t offer or to let customers know about changes in their procedures. Facebook Ads are one way to drive customers.
Something else to note is that there may be delays in getting Facebook ads approved.
Omnichannel Marketing Remains the Best Approach
Running digital marketing ads alone is never a prime solution. For example, many businesses have increased their email marketing efforts, and while communication is key, be careful not to attempt to ‘sell’ too frequently or risk being counterproductive and losing your audience. For email marketing to be effective, there has to be a layered strategy and an active voice for gaining new subscribers. Best practices will always include an overall plan to implement and monitor several marketing channels actively.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for digital marketing. That means it is specific to industry, location, audience, and time. Omnichannel marketing will always be the healthiest marketing approach because it gives a bigger picture regarding results. Tracking data from all of the channels as accurately as possible and understanding that data will shape business decisions related to digital marketing spend.