Business Struggles in Quarantine: Marketing During COVID-19 in the Philippines

By: Chiara Quiocho, Digital Marketing Associate

Marketing during COVID-19 in the Philippines will be the deciding factor for the future of a lot of brands. Even with quarantine and the disruption of general operations, you need to maintain your communications and nurture your connection with your audience. These disruptions mean consumer behavior is changing, which also means that brands need to re-evaluate their marketing strategies. After all, most people are stuck at home.

Digital channels have become necessary for staying in touch with your audience amidst this crisis. Whether you’re a marketer or the owner of a small business, navigating the pandemic and learning how to utilize marketing during COVID-19 in the Philippines could make or break your brand or business.

Here are some tips that you can consider:

1. Keep an eye out on the latest trends and news

This pandemic is rapidly evolving, and there are constant updates from the government, your business’ suppliers, and so on. Being agile and adaptable is going to be a key trait that you need in order to effectively market your brand during these difficult times. This doesn’t just apply to making relevant, up-to-date posts for users but also to changes in the digital landscape due to the virus.

For example, in the realm of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Google’s algorithm prefers webpages with exceptional expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. In other words, organic search visibility for big news outlets like The New Yorker and Forbes appear lower on search engine results. Despite these being reputable news outlets, Google’s algorithm prioritizes showing information from government agencies or global health organizations.

Pay attention to the trends that appear on social media platforms, search engines, and other digital channels. These will give you a good indication of the landscape and how to use it to your advantage. It also gives you a better indication of what people are feeling at the moment. Consider talking to an agency, because an agency would have access to tools that can listen to online conversations, hashtags, and sentiments.

2. Show your support

Continuing to sell your products or services might end up working against you. People are nervous, and many people might see such sales-heavy messaging as insensitive or tiresome. And for a lot of businesses, even work-from-home arrangements aren’t business as usual due to delays or stoppages in the supply chain or delivery services. When there’s no one in your warehouse to manage your e-commerce activities, how can you even market your services or products online?

Instead of hard-selling, focus your content on supporting your audiences. Give them inspirational content or show how your brand is doing its part to help people during the quarantine period. Make your content matter.

In a time of uncertainty, people look for reassurance to cope with the upheaval of their daily routines, such as video messages from a key opinion leader or a quote card from the brand’s founders.

3. Create content that matters

People trapped at home are hungry for content as they sit and scroll on their phones, but brands that continue posting their regular content might fail.

Be creative and find ways to create content that’s valuable for your targeted audience. For example, during the quarantine period in China, activewear brands like Nike posted workout videos that people could do at home. The bottom line is that you need to be able to position your brand and communication strategy to provide valuable content to your audiences.

Quarantine creates a craving for social interactions. It’s the perfect opportunity to engage users with video content or live streaming. TikTok has seen a surge of downloads since the rise of COVID-19. The app is nearly at 2 billion downloads and was the top-downloaded app in February 2020. People bored at home can easily create and watch short videos using the app.

The World Health Organization took advantage of TikTok’s popularity. It partnered with the app to create informational content in order to get vital information and news out to more audiences, especially the younger ones.

With more people on their phones during this time of uncertainty, creating an agile, adaptable marketing strategy will determine your brand’s success in the coming months. Marketing during the COVID-19 in the Philippines will be pivotal with consumer behavior and business models shifting to adapt to this worldwide crisis.

Collaborate with a Digital Marketer Philippines like TeamAsia today. Contact us now.