Staying Social While Social Distancing

My Friday nights are usually spent at a local restaurant, enjoying a burger, fries, and a drink with my boyfriend. COVID-19 has since begun and has closed this establishment indefinitely. What coronavirus didn’t close was the ability for this restaurant to post throwback photos of their food on social media and make me crave their pickle monster burger. The first thing I’ll do when quarantine is over… dine at Lucky’s Last Chance.  

Your business, like my favorite restaurant, may have to distance themselves from customers temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stay social while you’re social distancing! Check out these easy and helpful ways you can use social media to keep your customers in the loop with your business!  

Operation Hours 

Many social media sites, including Manta, Bing Places, Google My Business, and Yelp, have added features that temporarily mark your business as closed or allow you to add temporary hours along with a COVID-19 statement from your business to inform customers about changes.  

COVID-19 Statements 

Most businesses have issued a formal statement about how their business will operate during the pandemic and have posted it to their website. Create a graphic with that notice and get it up on social media. For Facebook and Twitter, pin this post to the top of your page’s feed so it is the first thing customers see when visiting your page. For Instagram, you can create a highlight for COVID-19 information.  

Post, Post, Post 

With the world being confined to their home, social media is more important for your business now than ever before. People are bored and are turning to social media to pass the time.  

If Your Business Is Open: 

• Keep your profiles active by posting a few times a week or daily. 
• Post services you are currently offering. 
• Post links to online shops, products, and blog articles. 
• Create fun posts that customers can do in their home that relate to your business.  
  • EX: A gym can post in-home workouts. 

If Your Business Is Closed: 

• Don’t disappear; continue posting a few times a week to stay relevant. 
• Post throwbacks. 
• Ask customers to share memories and photos with you so you can repost to your company page. 

Respond Quickly To Direct Messages 

If your business is operating from home or has different business hours than usual, customers may try and get in touch with you via social media. Make sure you have your notifications turned on for when your page receives a new direct message and get back to the potential customer as quickly as possible with answers to their questions. It is also a good idea to set up an automated response on Facebook so the customer knows you are operating under different circumstances due to coronavirus. 

 When boredom strikes, I too turn to social media and browse for entertainment, memories, and something to look forward to when this is over. Don’t let your business’s presence disappear because your establishment is temporarily closed or has different operation methods. Keep your presence current and relevant and stay connected to customers so that they can crave visiting your business when this pandemic ends.