How To Create Content During a Pandemic

While teaching (Re)Building Your Brand Online workshops in April, a question kept popping up: “What I should post about with all this going on?”

Great question. And small business owners weren’t the only ones asking.

It was what numerous brands were grappling with as Covid-19 spread throughout the world and into their immediate communities. Not only were several upcoming campaigns cancelled but also basic day-to-day marketing plans had to be completely reworked. Brands ranging from Jeep to Oscar Mayer to Bon Appétit had to strategize their Covid-19 response, making sure it best fit their community’s* needs and while keeping their employees and partners safe.

How? Read on.

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We are committed to supporting teachers and students around the globe as they face unprecedented new learning challenges. The Smithsonian Education team is providing free, quality resources and personalized help at learninglab.si.edu/distancelearning (link in bio). Our resources focus on pre-K through 12 education, and include lesson plans tied to national learning standards and a variety of low-tech and no-tech solutions for students without reliable internet access. We worked with @dcpublicschools to curate distance-learning opportunities tied specifically to the schools’ curriculum goals, drawing on content and expertise from across our museums, research centers, and libraries. Teachers can find these recommended activities broken down by grade and subject. Caregivers can also find activities designed specifically for them to work with their children at home. The Smithsonian Learning Lab will expand its online office hours with experts to answer questions and help identify lessons and activities for specific needs. While our spaces are closed, you can explore millions of our objects and materials, from this box of crayons from 1919 in our @amhistorymuseum to whale bones to historic books at si.edu/collections. #SmithsonianEdu

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Each brand understood they needed to answer this second question: what solutions do we offer our audience?

Or, if easier to slightly alter for your brand: what problems do you need to solve while helping your community?

Here are two examples: 1) Museums realized by going online they could engage audiences by sharing their exhibits virtually, and by doing this, they were able to not only able to help educators who were now teaching online, but also reach and entertain a much broader audience. 2) Numerous restaurants quickly realized their “normal” ala carte menu had too many options and with a skeleton crew in place they needed to streamline their operations, so menus were changed to offer family-style meals, complete with sides and a dessert, while quickly updating their online and phone ordering systems to ensure they were able to still connect with their customers.

While the immediate blow was hard, it took a willingness to be creatively agile to answer those questions. The willingness to adopt truly made a difference for so many brands.

What else did they do? They reviewed their message to ensure it best fit with their key audience.

How? Review and update your client personas so you know who and how to reach your audience. If you haven’t already done this, it’s not too late. Do it ASAP.

A key point to remember while reviewing the personas: Not all of your community is/was able to work from or stay at home during this time. Depending on your brand's community, some - or many - may have had their income severely impacted.⁠ And they may have a different point of view than you about the pandemic.

While considering each of these scenarios, it is very important to take a step back and realistically consider how current circumstances may have affected your audience. Here are a few situations to consider: ⁠

They're a member of the essential services work force, including medical professionals, food/beverage production and distribution, grocery clerks, etc; ⁠
Their employer may have had to completely shut-down due to the stay-at-home order and not be able to reopen; ⁠
Due to their work situation, they're unable to live at home because a member of their household is considered a high-risk individual due to age, health condition, or other concern.⁠ ⁠

Also, when looking at the personas, consider their work status. Were they laid off? Are they concerned about finances? How has their income been impacted?⁠ ⁠

If your brand is heavily followed by those in the food/beverage or hospitality service industry, are they now navigating the unemployment system or trying to find work?⁠ ⁠

I went through all of my clients' personas and easily found at least a third were most likely not working; many now have kids home due to school and college closures; and some were isolated due to age or health risk. Yes. This level of detail is extremely important in crafting content for your brand especially right now.

Now ask: how can my brand help each of these personas?

Write down 3 ways your brand can help or offer solutions for each client persona.

And that, my dear friend, is the content you now need to create for your community.

Want more insight on why it’s important to rebuild - or at the very least edit and update - your brand’s strategy right now? Listen to my recent interview on Renia Carsillo’s podcast about Brand & Messaging Management in Difficult Times.

* Your brand's community is made up of: your current clients or customers; brand loyalists, ambassadors, and partners; and others who may have found your posts inspiring, engaging, and/or educational. Client personas simply highlight 3-5 individuals from your community - an ideal client, a realistic client, and a future client - to help streamline your message & content creation.⁠

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