Businesses around the world now find themselves in a situation unlike what most have ever seen. With so many trying to keep their distance from one another, many workplaces have deemed it necessary to close down for the time being or to operate remotely in order to reduce the risk they present to their clients and customers… but it isn’t as though these clients and customers are going to expect radio silence from these businesses.

As a result of this, maintaining a presence on social media has perhaps never been more important for businesses to prioritize. Let’s go over why this is, and how you can best use social media to your advantage during any kind of crisis.

How Can Social Media Assist My Business in Times of Crisis?

There are a few ways that social media has benefited businesses—as well as society as a whole—during the COVID-19 crisis that we are all facing. For one, it is a highly effective means to get a message out to the people who are meant to hear it, while completely abiding by the recommended social distancing guidelines that so many people are strictly subscribing to. In the same vein, social media has also proven to be exceptionally effective as an educational tool (for better and for worse) for governments, businesses, and other organizations to use to educate their clientele.

Ideally, this would all be old news to you, and you would be one of the businesses that are currently using social media as the tool it has the potential to be. However, many other businesses have yet to fully embrace the capabilities of social media in a time like this, while others are still resistant to adopting it in the first place or have refused outright. Those businesses are missing out on a significant opportunity to reach out to the people they need to communicate with.

Therefore, if you are in one of the latter categories of business social media use you need to make some significant adjustments to your stance on social media now - before it is too late.

Ways to Use Social Media During a Crisis

Let’s consider how a social media presence can prove useful to a business when a serious issue of any kind is at hand.

Communication

While we don’t wish to be flippant, this one should be tremendously obvious. If people aren’t coming to you or calling you for updates, broadcasting them is the only way that you can reach out. Social media platforms are the perfect place to do that, as they allow you to keep anyone looking at your business page up to speed on how your business is coping. You can share news that explains any changes to your business hours and other pertinent topics in one of the first places many people today look for such things.

Take, for example, restaurants - not technically designated as an essential business - have managed to continue their operations relatively by subscribing to certain practices, like accepting orders for takeout or delivery exclusively, or operating for fewer hours. Other businesses have shifted to largely remote operations. Social media is a great way to inform clients and customers of these measures, ensuring that they know of everything that is going on.

Value and Insights

While it may seem a little silly, especially considering the gravity of the present situation, just keeping a dialogue open on social media can prove to be extremely useful for a business to keep the attention of those that follow them. This can be as simple as, again, simply keeping their clientele aware of how the business is working in response to the situation at hand or doing what they can to provide other kinds of value. While the way this value takes shape is very reliant on what this business offers, there are plenty of ways it can be expressed.

For example, a cleaning company might share useful tips and best practices to staying hygienic and healthy, while a daycare center could offer some fun games and activities for families as they social distance. Any business could simply share some engaging content of what their employees are doing during this time.

In short, social media is just another technology that businesses can and should use to their advantage. 415 IT can provide other tools that help your business operate, even remotely, to help you sustain it. Give us a call at (415) 295-4898 to discuss your options.