No one needs to be convinced that the outbreak of the COVID19 virus has had a significant impact on almost every area of our lives. In the same way, every business or company will feel the effects. That's why we'd like to share with you some tips on what social media communication should look like during this challenging period. What content to post? 

First of all, don't panic. This is the worst advisor, whispering in your ear tips like "Change your strategy quickly". Every time you see an obstacle on your way, do you try to go through it instead of overcoming it? Do you think doing business this way is effective in the long run? Who is stronger: those who avoid confrontation or those who effectively overcome all obstacles?

What do consumers expect during a coronavirus outbreak?

Thinking in Excel spreadsheets can kill you. During an epidemic, you should be a psychologist, not a mathematician. In a period of prosperity, a mathematician will help you optimize a well-functioning business by increasing revenue or profit by 2 percent, which will put an extra million in your safe. At the moment, there is nothing for the mathematician to optimize, because the car you are driving is going in the opposite direction than you dreamed. To change your path, you need a person with empathy, you need a psychologist.

Therefore, even using your own example, think about what values are most important to you now. Security, stability, support, health. Perhaps momentary forgetfulness of problems and distraction from more pleasant things? Then think about which of these needs you have as a company and how you can meet and incorporate these actions into your strategy (but don't change it quickly!). The above needs are some of the most basic, which is why we strive to meet them in a very decisive way. By doing these activities during the epidemic, we are working on our image in the future, when the virus is already defeated and consumer behavior slowly returns to normal.

You can't bury your head in the sand either. For many industries, the end of the epidemic will be a new deal, a time to establish a new order, and to divide market share. Guess who will be the first to get the privilege of filling the void created: of course, those who were active during the crisis were visible and thought about what will happen, not what is now.

How to be active in social media during a crisis?

First and foremost, satisfying the needs mentioned above. This can be done by highlighting certain features of your service or product or by providing different types of advice or information. In general, information is the most desirable good in the current situation. The largest news sites in the world have seen a significant increase in the number of visits to their websites in March. This is very easy to explain, as we provide a sense of security with information about what is happening in the world and around us.

What information is more important during an epidemic?

It won't be overly showy, but look for ideas on how to join a popular social media action or challenge, such as #ay Stay Home. It should be spontaneous, creative and surprising. A simple graphic with a hashtag and company logo is not enough. Show your employees working remotely your products that can help with #homeoffice and further cover them with promotion. You can also offer interesting activities that will make the next week at home more enjoyable.

Examples of activities:

• cooking competitions and challenges. When we are grounded, we have more time to cook, and we look forward to exploring interesting recipes that will break the routine of a pizza ordered for 4 days
• live puns on Facebook or Instagram
• games, puzzles, tests and quizzes in graphical form
• video webinars. We tend to watch a lot of things out of boredom, but not passively stare at a wall
• move into the virtual world, for example, online games - offer another company a duel in FIFA or Call of Duty. By the way, for each goal (or fragment) scored, transfer funds to fight COVID19
• An exceptional situation calls for exceptional action, so it may be worthwhile to involve the president or CEO of the company in the company's social channels. This type of activity gives customers a sense of security and stability. 
• Build relationships with fans by commenting on your posts or replying to their comments. You've probably fallen behind in these activities in the past, so now you have time to catch up. Such comments or responses from brands will now have a greater impact and show consumers that you are with them even during a crisis
• use Instagram Stories and their potential. Ask questions, take polls. Prepare a field with noughts and crosses and start playing with your fans, sending each other stories after each character posted. Share the results of these matches by tagging your followers

What NOT to do in social media and communication during the coronavirus epidemic

First of all, remember that people are scared and uncertain about the future. In no case should you resort to this and increase negative emotions. This, of course, does not mean that the brand should communicate as if nothing has happened, which can be interpreted by many customers as a lack of acceptance of the problem. From this point, there is a simple way to ensure that an irresponsible patch is stuck to the company.

The first step is to review your prepared and planned creations for the coming weeks. For peace of mind, check where you've used a stock photo of smiling people on a walk, a kissing couple, or a group of 20 people having fun at a party. If you don't want to harm your image, be sure to remove graphic elements that don't fit the current situation. One day, you'll make your recipients feel sad by showing happy people out for a walk when they're sitting on the couch for the second week and there's no telling how much longer they'll have to live like this. Check not only your social media creations, but also those in newsletters or media campaigns.

Don't try to teach yourself how to avoid infection. As a matter of fact, almost everything has already been said about hand hygiene, masks, keeping the right distance or symptoms. The dissemination of this type of information should be left to the national media, which also verifies such information. Constantly reminding people to wash their hands is a reminder of the dangers associated with the virus, and as we have already agreed, you don't want to do that. Leave it to others.

In addition, do not try to be a joke on social media and do not try to make jokes about the events related to the outbreak. Avoid posting memes, jokes like "toilet paper will replace the official currency" or quotes like "In the end, by doing nothing, we can save the world." 

In addition to the points mentioned above, there are other things to consider:

• paid advertising. Do previously planned campaigns make sense? Especially when they are sales-oriented. This does not mean that you have to stop your campaigns completely - on the contrary! However, change your goal: from now on, they should help create an image of your company as a place of stability, security, and support. Also, think twice about advertising materials that have minimal coronavirus impact. There will probably be people for whom this will be an attempt to build coverage of the epidemic
• stop advertising products that are not very useful during the epidemic and quarantine. By promoting sportswear, bicycles, or holidays (even by offering a big discount), you won't get money out of consumers' pockets. Living in ignorance of when everything ends, we reduce costs. In addition, you remember once again how cool it is to go somewhere or ride a bike, when you leave the house without an excuse, you can get a fine
• Don't give it away for free. This is not a good way to build your position. At least not in every industry and product category. You may win the favor of your customers in the beginning, but are you sure they will want to pay for what they got for free after the epidemic? 

...and when the dawn comes

As soon as official government agencies or the World Health Organization say the threat is over, people will be moving about in the streets, hungry for contact, intimacy, fun, and madness. Be ready for the moment and think about what you can give your customers to make the end of quarantine celebration even more impressive.