Crisis Response Guide for Digital Marketing Activities

A key in making decisions, especially during the challenging times you find yourself under when creating a crisis response plan, is to eliminate variables and get to the core of the issue. By removing questions, you can gain clarity and make sound, less emotional decisions that are likely to provide the best long-term results.

To aid in that process, we’ve put together the following infographic with five different scenarios you may be facing as part of creating a crisis response plan for your marketing and communications. You’ll see tips as well as the digital marketing and advertising tactics that may make the most sense to you depending on how you classify yourself.

View the graphic by scrolling below or click here to download the infographic in PDF format.

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Need more business-related advice for preparing for response to a crisis? Check out this guide with 10 effective elements to include from Harvard Business School.

A Crisis Response Guide for Digital Marketing Activities

When uncertain times hit, it’s best to narrow your view. Eliminating as many variables as possible from your decision-making will help you proceed with clarity as you take critical steps to position your business to persevere or even thrive.

Start By Categorizing Your Position

Category 1: Survival (Liquidity Crisis)

• Pause all advertising campaigns
• Identify what you are confident will bring in revenue in time
• Boost “free” messaging on social media, email, and PR
  • Suggested digital marketing strategies during this time period: organic social media, email marketing, video creation, and app store optimization

Category 2: Downturn (Declining Revenue)

• Maintain a lean marketing presence and evaluate new opportunities
• Pause all but the most effective ROAS ad campaigns
• Built SEO and develop content to reap the benefits down the road
  • Suggested digital marketing strategies during this time period: eCommerce advertising, SEO, PPC

Category 3: Flat (Even-Steven)

• Use the relative stability to take stock of challenges and opportunities
• Advertise new products/services and invest in SEO
• Be poised to acquire competitors and talent that may not survive market challenges
  • Suggested digital marketing strategies during this time period: PPC, SEO, eCommerce advertising, social media advertising

Category 4: Uptick in Growth (Revenue Increase)

• Try new ads, with profits going to testing further tactics
• Advertise aggressively and loosen cost-per-acquisition targets
• Attain market share – this is an opportunity to capture future value
  • Suggested digital marketing strategies during this time period: PPC, SEO, eCommerce advertising, display retargeting, social media

Category 5: Opportunity (Explosive Growth)

• Work quickly to plant the most seeds for long term growth
• Use PPC to reach people looking for you and amplify messaging in all channels (video, social media, display)
• Promote charitable endeavors and post jobs – publicize those via PR, social media, and a robust presence on Glassdoor
  • Suggested digital marketing strategies during this time period: video, social media, PPC, SEO, display, eCommerce advertising, job boards

Note: we’ve created this guide to help with planning your digital marketing and advertising efforts. Factors like your financial position, whether the crisis is unique to your business or industry, and current marketing efforts should influence your decisions.

Times of crisis are stressful. Gain as much clarity around your situation as possible. Seek information from trusted sources and input from valued advisors. Be decisive – make early moves to provide you the most future flexibility. Above all: breathe. We are much more likely to make poor decisions when afraid, angry, or depressed.

Need Feedback Customized to Your Marketing Activities?

We’ve put a lot of time and thought into the infographic guide below and hope you find it valuable.

Sometimes it’s helpful to actually talk with someone about the specifics of your situation. To aid in that regard, we are offering a complimentary digital marketing strategy consultation with advice to navigate through tough times.

We don’t want there to be any hesitation in utilizing our expertise during this situation, so we’ve put a process in place to ensure you won’t receive any sales pitches or future contact from us unless you specifically ask for it.

To learn more about this process and sign up, please click here.