So here we are again! Lockdown two, which somehow doesn’t seem as shocking as first time round – but is equally devastating for many businesses.

This week, Pink Labrador have been working hard to ensure that our clients are continuing to put out the right messages, to the right audiences at the right time – and this is more important now than ever.

But what should they say? Who should they say it to? Is it appropriate?

We’ve put together a handy guide to address all these questions and how to respond in a professional manner.

Step one – unschedule all scheduled content. Being organised and planning your content is to be applauded. It saves lots of time and means that you are never short of something to say.

Unless there is a global crisis, that is.

Several businesses have already found themselves in hot water for publishing pre-planned content that at the time of scheduling was perfectly fine, yet in these uncertain times is actually pretty insensitive. Indeed, this week we’ve had to “unschedule” content from restaurants, education centres and even ourselves!

Take a bit of time to go over everything you have scheduled for the next few weeks and ask “is this still appropriate?”.

Step two – Put out a positioning statement. This is your stance on the current situation. Customers on the whole want to know if it’s business as usual or not – and it is, how are you operating safely.

Try to be positive – although times are incredibly tough, an image shouting “we’re closed due to Covid” is very negative. Add a little heart in to your statement and make it personal. Thank your customers and end with a battle cry – you will be back bigger and stronger than ever.

Step three – connect with your customers. It’s really important to be supportive and show solidarity. You can do this by sharing their social posts, commenting on their social posts, write plenty of great reviews for them and maybe send a few checking in emails. Or go old school, and pick up the phone!

Step four – produce and share content that meets your audience’s needs. There are two types of content to be considered here: Practical and emotional

PRACTICAL: Posts that focus on the key questions customers are asking at the moment

Posts that solve any problems the customer have

Posts that teach them new things

EMOTIONAL: Posts that give a sense of community

Posts that will inspire – lockdown 2 is a huge blow - but let’s help each other out. You can even inspire your clients to actively promote other local businesses

Posts to entertain – even in tough times, a little light hearted humor is often welcomed. Worried about running put of loo roll again? Talk about it!

Step five – continue to sell! The key mistake that businesses make is saying nothing at all. The second is being scared to promote their products and services. It’s perfectly ok to continue to do what you do best and let people know that you are still in business.

For more information please call Grace on 07821 776555