In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic gripping the world in the spring and summer of 2020, consumers around the globe have dramatically altered their purchasing habits. With stay-at-home orders and restricted movements caused by concern over the spread of COVID-19, many consumers have moved online to do their purchasing research and shopping transactions. It can be argued that the pandemic points to digital marketing as more important than ever – and will be long after the pandemic is over.
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COVID-19 & Digital Marketing Considerations
Unfortunately, many retailers are eying ways to reduce their expenses during the economic downturn associated with the pandemic. This may include slashing digital marketing budgets. For insurance agencies, this may be a costly mistake. In this guide, we will explore ways to maximize digital marketing efforts, allowing for agencies to get the most out of their budgets.
Economic Shifts and Web Traffic
As retailers continue to wait out closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several interesting patterns have emerged in both economic shifts and in website traffic. In general, many businesses are seeing drops in website performance of 20% or more, coupled with a corresponding decline in revenues. For insurance agencies, however, not all is bleak: certain insurance sectors have seen substantial increases in both market demand and in website traffic. Industry analysts watching Google search trends have seen search volume increases of up to 50% in the first few months of 2020.
Life insurance and commercial business insurance are two of the “essential” insurance niches experiencing increased interest from consumers. Those consumers are increasingly using search engines to learn about insurance products, to find information on filing claims, and to explore potential coverage gaps in their existing policies. Here, digital marketing investments both now and after COVID-19 begin to make economic sense.
Expanding Reach with Email and Social Media Campaigns
For companies seeing downturns in revenue, ad spending is no longer a priority as it was pre-pandemic. Other companies that provide essential products or services haven’t experienced the same economic hardships, but getting the most out of marketing budgets has become necessary all the same. To ensure that marketing dollars are being well-spent, it is critical that companies monitor performance metrics like conversion rate, return on advertising spend (ROAS) and organic site traffic numbers. Google analytics are also a great source of performance information for digital marketing professionals.
In order to continue to develop brand and product/service awareness among consumers, many companies may wish to explore digital marketing alternatives. These alternatives, particularly social media and email marketing campaigns, tend to be very cost-effective, and can work in conjunction with traditional marketing efforts like advertising and online awareness campaigns.
For email campaigns, adding details about how a given company is handling its COVID-19 response and how it is supporting customers during difficult times is recommended; this tactic builds trust. Social media promotion should also offer information about coronavirus responses and support; it is imperative that companies don’t fall into a potential pitfall by promoting special COVID-19 deals on products and services.
Focusing on SEO Practices
For the foreseeable future, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to be felt. These impacts will influence consumer spending and preferences as well as the way companies do business. Both consumers and businesses will rely more on online tools going into the future. Digital marketing, therefore, will continue to provide positive benefits for those companies that embrace this valuable service.
Regardless of the dynamics of consumer habits, organic search results drive website traffic. It is important for companies to continue to refine their search engine optimization (SEO) strategies in order to maintain or even improve in search visibility as consumers do more of their product/service shopping online. By taking advantage of tools like Google analytics and time-honored SEO practices, insurance companies can continue to connect with customers, regardless of economic conditions.
About Neilson Marketing Services
Since 1988, Neilson Marketing Services has been implementing innovative marketing solutions and strategies for our clients in all areas of marketing. Contact us today at (866) 816-1849 to put our talent, expertise, and vast resources to work for you. Let’s make things happen, together!
