Top 11 Free Ways to Reach and Engage Your Audience Online During COVID-19

The pandemic situation has forced people to work from home. There is an increase in the dominance of online presence. With people spending more time online, it is easy to reach out to customers and relevant target audiences through strategic online marketing. Many platforms are using creative online marketing strategies through which you can easily connect your target audience. Engaging with the audience helps in reaching out to more people. Here are some amazing free strategies or ways to engage with your target audience online even during the COVID19 crisis.

1. Promote on Instagram

Instagram is a great platform to share pictures, videos, as well as create meaningful stories. Instagram marketing helps in connecting to your potential audience and increases visibility. The use of relevant COVID19 hashtags on the content uploaded on Instagram can give wide visibility to your brand.

The use of hashtags like #covidhomeworkout, #QuarantineIdeas,

#covidhomephotographyideas #QuarantineFoodRecipes etc. will help in reaching out to your target audience. The aim is to promote your engagement with the audience by suggesting ideas they can pursue at home.

2. Write informative and relatable content

With confinement within the four walls, there is an increase in the consumption of digital content. There is a huge pool of COVID19 blogs and articles on the internet. This is the best time to work on writing SEO-friendly content that’ll increase your ranking.

Use long-tail keywords to optimize your content for higher ranking. Stick to the niche. For example – “How to bake eggless pudding without an oven” or “30 Creative Home Photography Ideas using iPhone” will cater to a specific audience. It is also the best time to collaborate with fellow bloggers. Contribute to collaboration blogs with a backlink to your website.

3. Create interesting videos and share online

This is the right time to be creative and learn new skills to engage with more people. Videos are much more engaging as compared to other forms of content. Create a video promoting your business and share it on different platforms. This gives your business more visibility and spreads more awareness. Make sure the video is engaging, informative, and delivers the right message across. Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram IGTV are great for sharing video content.

4. Conduct a free webinar session 

The webinars are a great marketing tool as it helps people connect to the live video or audio conferencing remotely. This provides real-time connectivity and allows live interaction between a brand and its customers.

Webinars give you a platform to talk about your niche. Webinars are gaining popularity these days for the creative “How to” Tutorials. Conduct a webinar with a team of effective speakers to gain more audience. Use right platforms like GoToWebinar, ClickMeeting, WebinarJam, EverWebinar etc. to connect and engage with the audience.

5. Do a live session on Facebook

Facebook is used by billions of people across the globe. Post the COVID19 situation; it is found that more people watch Facebook Live sessions. With the Facebook Live Session, you have live viewers listening and watching you.

It is a great platform to talk about a topic, show a DIY tutorial, and connect with the audience during the live session. Facebook Live, for example, was used by Target for promoting their affordable range of home décor. A live Q&A session with the audience helps in gaining deeper connectivity with real-time questions and answers.

6. An old school barter system

This is a useful free marketing strategy to engage more people. This will also help to get more Instagram followers quickly through barter deals. An example of this is influencer marketing. This is rewarding for your business and can help in increasing exposure for the brand.

Most of the small clothing businesses connect with influencers over 100K followers to promote their products. This is mostly a barter where the brand sends a couple of items from their clothing line for free to the influencer. The influencer in return has to wear the clothes and promote the brand on their page. The influencer’s followers, in turn, are exposed to the brand.

7. Create Google My Business Page

Sign up for Google My Business Profile for marketing your business. This shows the listing of your business on Google Maps and local search results. This accurately shows the business listing based on specific areas. This is a great local SEO services technique and hence, shows up the business for local searches increasing your visibility.

Keep the Business Page updated with relevant information:

• Specify the hours of operation and status, if opened or closed.
• Update with phone number and website
• Specify the services provided so that customers know what to expect.
• Specify any special offering and deals during COVID situation

8. Collaborate with other local businesses

The COVID19 pandemic is a testing time for everyone. We can pass through it only when we support each other. Promote small businesses together by collaborating with other businesses and local communities. Share and promote each other’s business on a social media platform to reach a new audience. The hashtag #SupportSmallBusinesses is trending these days.

9. Send informative newsletters

Newsletters are a great way to stay connected to your audience and keep them updated with the latest and important information. A newsletter is an amazing way that helps in capturing leads. Make sure the newsletters are attractive and informative to catch the eyes of the receiver.

Running a creative email campaign and sending newsletters to keep the audience constantly engaged with the latest trends and offerings of your brand. Use tricks like “Subscribe to Newsletter” for exciting deals or Pop up newsletter templates to capture leads.

10. Create attractive pins for Pinterest

Pinterest is a social media platform that has gained popularity lately. It is an effective tool that you can use to grow your business. Create keyword-rich pins that are visually appealing to engage with more people. According to research, it is found that around 77% of regular users find new products or brands on Pinterest.

Always create Pinterest Rich Pins as it shows metadata and extra information on the pin. It has a meta description, publishes data, and author name. The use of rich pins gives insight into what the pin is all about and engages more people. Connect with the relevant audience by saving pins on your board and hence increasing the engagement.

11. Update Google Pages with Information

Apart from creating listings on Google My Business, make sure you update your Google Posts and publish relevant information. Google is a platform where people look for businesses or services they want to use. With updated Google Posts, customers can readily engage and connect with the business. This indeed is one of the most effective free marketing techniques which helps in retaining customers as well as bring new ones. You can connect with potential customers by updating deals or discounts or answering relevant questions.

Conclusion

The COVID19 situation has been tough, and there has been an increasing financial burden with loss in businesses and a crashing economy. However, with the increase in online presence, this crisis can be changed into an opportunity to connect and engage with target audiences through online marketing. These simple strategies will help in better engagement and increase the overall reach.