Briquelle Neyens, Skyline Exhibits
As people are stuck at home, distancing from loved ones and longing for what used to be their normal daily activities, they are seeking out positivity in any way possible.
As a business with a platform, you have the opportunity to be that light and hope for your audience. You may have already seen it; businesses finding ways to make their social media a light in the darkness. And although your business can’t reverse the loss of loved ones or lost jobs, it can still find ways to spread a little bit of joy.
As people now turn to social media to pass the time, to take their mind off of things, or because they are running out of activities to keep them preoccupied as they’re stuck at home, this is where you can reach them.
Here is a list of ideas to get you moving on your social media strategy so that your audience is seeing more than just repetitive and gloomy coronavirus related posts everywhere they look.
1. Offer a giveaway!
This gives people something to look forward to and spreads a little positivity while growing awareness of your brand. Businesses conducting giveaways often ask their audience to tag friends in the comments and follow their page, resulting in more followers for you as more and more people are tagged and want to enter!
2. Fun Ideas
Share fun ideas for people at home to make the most of quarantine life. This could be a partner workout that you share, a recipe your employees love making, or a tip for drinking more water throughout the day.
3. DIY Projects
This one is dependent on your industry, but you could share a DIY project that requires materials from your store that they can order online with quick shipping. Share a ‘how-to’ video so they can see from start to finish and picture their own finished project.
4. Share how a product could help
Share how a product that you sell can offer your audience some relaxation among all of the stress. For example, if you are a company that sells essential oils and/ or diffusers, share the benefits and how they can be effective at a time like this. If your industry doesn’t sell the most ‘relaxing’ products, you can still create a list for the perfect at-home spa day and link to other positive brands outside of your industry. They might even return the favor and link back to your products at some point!
5. Themed Gift Baskets
You could create themed gift baskets filled with your products that people can order for themselves or send to a loved one. For example, depending on your industry, you could create a plant lover box, a dog mom basket, a spa day treatment in a box, or a baker’s box filled with ingredients to cook something that won’t require them going to the store.
6. COVID-19 Updates
Post only positive COVID-19 updates every day. For example, share positive stories of people beating the virus, air pollution being down, studies showing progress in a vaccine. These are just to name a few! Just be sure that you’re pulling from reliable sources before sharing.
7. Team input!
Share positive updates about your employees/team. Share to your Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat stories how they’re finding ways to stay busy and be productive from home. Let them be the ones to speak on camera and walk through their day so your audience can relate to a face rather than just reading about it in a post.
8. Work from Home Tips!
Give some good tips on working from home. A large majority of people are now faced with working from home, which is a new territory for many. Share what’s worked well for your employees and make sure it’s applicable for your audience.
9. Support Local
In a time when it’s difficult to support many of the businesses we love, reviews are an easy thing to do that make a big impact on businesses. Encourage your followers to leave positive reviews for their favorite shops and businesses and explain to them how much of an effect that they can have by doing that. People love feeling like they can make a positive impact, no matter how big or small.
10. Offer knowledge
To be an industry leader, share tips to those who look up to your business. Your audience will see that you know what you’re talking about and this creates credibility while being a positive light in your industry.
11. Go Live
Get some face time with your audience. If your doors are currently closed, go live on one of your social media channels, answer questions, and chat with your audience on the spot. To get people excited, let your audience know about your plans to go live ahead of time by posting to your social media. Tell them you’ll be sharing some exciting news about your company or that you’ll be choosing someone from the comments to receive a free product or service from you.
12. Think Outside
Give your audience ideas on how to get outside so they don’t feel so cooped up in their homes. Rather than just telling people, ‘Don’t forget to get outside for some sunshine and take a walk!’ a handful of more unique examples are: creating an outdoor working space for a day in the yard, reading outside on the porch or on a blanket in the grass, enjoying coffee on the porch, or waking up to catch the sunrise.
13. Share or suggest Positive Music
Share a positive music playlist on Spotify and ask for recommendations from your audience. Music has the ability to be powerful, so being reminded to listen to upbeat, positive music could be a great mood booster for your audience! Share the recommendations you get so your audience can find a playlist for a genre they love.
14. Encourage Engagement
As you spread good energy, encourage your followers to do the same by sharing photos that will enter them in a drawing to win something from your company. You can then share some of these photos on your own social platforms! Feel free to get unique and ask them to use your hashtag so you can easily find the photos and so it also spreads some brand awareness.
15. Questions
Ask your audience an open-ended question on one of your posts. For example, you could ask them to let you know in the comments, ‘What’s something that made you smile today?” or “What’s one thing that gave you hope today?” Putting a spotlight on the little things that make us happy can be a reminder for your audience to do more of those things that give them feelings of positivity.
Finding small ways each day to spread a little bit of positivity can go a long way for your business and your brand. Your audience will take notice of these efforts and appreciate the daily positivity amid chaos and uncertainty.
If you’re seeking out ways to navigate your trade show marketing efforts during this pandemic, Skyline has many other great resources at your disposal. Please reach out if you have any additional questions or needs!
