The Covid-19 pandemic threw the Irish economy into a spin. It led to both small and large businesses experiencing massive losses. While large businesses may have the warchest to ride out the pandemic, small businesses will have to fight for their survival. They will need to rethink their marketing strategies and adapt their communication to the ever-changing customer needs. Social media and SEO are going to become more important than ever for the survival of small businesses.

Your business is going to become more reliant on well-developed digital marketing strategies for survival. In most cases, it will be the deciding factor on whether you ride out the pandemic and survive post-coronavirus. It’s important to establish a strong social media presence and deploy proper search engine optimization beyond your website.

Here are reasons why social media and SEO are more important to your business more than ever:

People are moving online

In the past, people asked friends and family for referrals to services they needed. They now search online. The use of search engines peaked during the pandemic. People went online to look for answers about coronavirus and how to protect themselves and their loved ones. They also searched for entertainment, services, and even online grocery shops. You now know where people are looking for your services, you just need to put yourself there so they can find you.

Social media marketing is peaking

At the beginning of 2020, Facebook usage in Ireland stood at 84.36 percent. It closed the year at 88.74 percent. Social media use during the lockdown spiked as people had to find alternative sources of news and ways of keeping in touch. This isn’t a temporary trend that will soon pass. The importance of social media is growing everyday. It should be an essential part of your marketing strategy going forward. It will help you to engage your audience, increase brand visibility and awareness, and grow your leads and sales. 

SEO will do more than just increase your website traffic

Most people believe that search engine optimization (SEO) is all about increasing organic traffic to your website. It’s not. Any reputable SEO agency in Ireland will tell you so. SEO is becoming multifunctional and is doing more than just website traffic. It’s also about the quality of traffic that you attract to your website. An effective SEO strategy will help you to increase the quality of the leads you generate, leading to higher conversion rates and revenue generation. All you have to do is perform keyword research and optimize your content with relevant keywords.

If you’re going to survive the storm and grow your business post-pandemic, it’s essential to first establish a strong online presence. Ranking high on search engine results pages is one of the best ways to achieve that.

The rewards of SEO are long-term

Unlike pay-per-click (PPC) marketing which depends on how deep your pockets are, the benefits you gain from social media and SEO last for a longer time. The use of evergreen content will ensure that your website stays relevant through all seasons and your brand is visible for longer periods of time. Building partnerships with authoritative websites and players in your industry through backlinking also contributes to a higher rating on search engines and among your audiences. 

The bottom line is that SEO has a longer shelf life and will have a big impact on your brand perception online if you do it correctly.

Besides evergreen content, this is the best time to leverage seasonal content for increased traffic and growth. Provide your visitors with relevant information on the current situation and measures your business is taking to protect them from becoming infected. 

Social media marketing and SEO are budget-friendly

The pandemic had an impact not only on consumers’ spending power but also businesses’. Most businesses don’t have a huge budget for an expansive marketing strategy. But businesses still have to do marketing nonetheless. Social media and SEO are the most effective ways to market on a budget. They’re practical and inexpensive. Well-developed and focused social media and SEO campaigns will save you money while delivering predictable results compared to PPC campaigns. The only major resources you’ll be required to dedicate is your time and energy and the return on investment is massive.

Restrictions on movement are driving people to local businesses

There are widespread restrictions on movement globally. Lockdowns aren’t only driving people to online businesses but also those that are within their locality. Mail services have slowed down to crawling levels while long journeys are almost impractical. This means that deliveries that need shipping could experience delays for days. As a result, people are turning to local businesses that can make immediate deliveries. 

This timely change in shopping trends can help your small business to grow during and after the pandemic. You can only leverage this trend for your business growth by localizing your SEO strategy to attract consumers near you. The more locations you operate, the more localizing you’ll have to do. Each location should have its own local SEO. It’s the only way to significantly increase your sales during these tough times.

Social media platforms are offering support to small businesses

Social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook are offering support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help them ride out the pandemic. Instagram introduced a campaign aimed at supporting small businesses during the pandemic. It launched a “support small business” sticker that helps SMEs to reach new audiences and customers. It also helps them to stay connected to their existing customers and build brand loyalty. If your business gets mentioned in the sticker, you can repost it to your timeline. It’s like showing off your business’ testimonials to a wider audience.

Facebook also launched Facebook Shops to enable small businesses to display and sell their products online. It was targeted at retailers who’d been forced to shut down their physical stores due to the coronavirus pandemic.

SEO is here to stay

Lastly, just like email marketing, SEO is here to stay. It’s never going anywhere. SEO trends may evolve over time, but the core principles will always remain the same. In fact, they’ll become more important. Your audiences will still need quality content, quality backlinks, and a good web design. A smart business will recognize the values of SEO and keep up to date with the constant changes in order to benefit from them. If you can provide value to your visitors, then you will flourish and grow your business. Establish a strong online presence now for future growth.

Furthermore, new social media platforms such as TikTok are emerging and providing more avenues for growing your SEO strategy. These are opportunities that you’ll need to leverage, especially if your business targets younger audiences that find these new platforms a hit.

This is the best time to invest in your SEO and social media marketing. Focus on meeting your customers online in order to beat Covid-19 disruptions. Make use of local SEO on your website, blogs, and social media content. You will not only overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic but also boom post-pandemic. 

Our social media and SEO experts have helped thousands of businesses like yourself and we would love to show you how Salt Marketing could skyrocket your lead generation and conversion rates with effective SEO and social media marketing strategies. Click below for a free consultation with our experts. 

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