Marketers tend to think optimistically when planning their strategies, campaigns, and events. A lot of hard work goes into their efforts, and they try to cover every detail they can. Still, they think that in the end their work will pay off and they will see results. They might encounter a misstep or setback, but they can regroup and make the proper adjustments to their planning. Then, once it’s all done, they can look over the results and use the numbers to analyze what worked best and what didn’t and put those insights into improving future promotions.
However, things can happen that are beyond a marketing team’s control. World events, an internal crisis, or some type of disaster or tragedy can occur, at which point, a good number of plans and promotion grind to a halt or at the very least have to be altered or reconsidered. You can expect events to be put off, rescheduled, sometimes made into virtual events, or outright cancelled.
A great deal of how your marketing team goes about its business will have to be reassessed. Your team might have to work remotely (if they weren’t before), and you might have to consider what your priorities are at that time, as it will be more important to be there for customers rather than making a hard sell or introducing a new product, service, or offer.
So, then how does content marketing change during such a time?
After all, you can’t just pretend that it’s business as usual. If something is going on, you have to acknowledge it in some way, even if it’s only indirectly. At the same time, you might already have a few projects in the works that you can’t just drop or that your team (and brand) will eventually need. Of course, you will also have to pay strict attention to your tone, regardless of the project, and some content assets just might not be appropriate for the time being.
How can you decide though?
There is no easy answer for what to do in such a situation. Much of it will depend on you, the situation, what your team needs, and what your customers need. You will have to try and make the best judgement call you can, often in trying and confusing circumstances. Bearing all this in mind, I tried to put together a few general guidelines I thought might help:
Use common sense and double-and-triple-check everything to make sure that it’s all right. Remember that many people might be having a hard time at the moment, and patience and understanding will be required.
Learn more about how content ties into your organization’s goals and can help increase profitability. See how you can “Do More with Content Marketing.”
Michael McNichols is a Senior Content Manager for Oracle Digital Marketing. He has over ten years of experience in professional writing and has been widely published.