Social media to be more valuable post-crisis as marketing budgets are cut

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 10, 2020

One consequence of the coronavirus outbreak has been that many consumers are spending more time on social media than ever. In fact, GlobalData’s weekly Covid-19 tracker that looks at 11 countries, said 43.7% of consumers are doing so and the company thinks that’s unlikely to change any time soon.

That's good news for companies. The impact of the pandemic has caused many to rein-in their marketing spend and to look for affordable ways to make a big impact, which usually means social media. GlobalData said the move makes sense given that social media channels help brands promote purchasing and build shopper loyalty.

Retail analyst Emily Salter said: “Social media will play an even more important role in marketing post-Covid-19, as many retailers are slashing marketing budgets to preserve cash to cope with the crisis, especially those that previously relied on traditional forms of marketing such as television and billboard adverts. Social media is a far cheaper method, especially if brands can leverage user-generated content and rely less on sponsored posts and collaborations.”

But she thinks retailers “need to approach social media with sensitivity and strike the right balance with the number of posts and messaging”. 

It means they should focus on engaging with consumers rather than just trying to drive sales. And she said they must ensure that “content is not too heavily skewed towards purchase-focused posts as they will have a significant number of followers who do not feel financially stable enough to buy non-essential items as unemployment rates have soared globally”.

Salter said building brand loyalty and influencing shoppers’ choices in the long term should be the goal so “retailers need to focus on aspects beyond products: elements of their brand identity that resonate with shoppers, the positive actions they have taken during the crisis, and building engagement to foster a sense of community. These are all elements that shoppers will be able to relate to whether they are in a position to purchase items or not.”