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 difficult period. What content to publish?

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 rather than overcome 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 the coronavirus outbreak?

Thinking in Excel spreadsheets can kill you. During an epidemic, you should be a psychologist, not a mathematician. In times of prosperity, a mathematician can help you optimize a well-functioning business by increasing revenue or profit by 2 percent. This will put an extra million in your safe. Now there is nothing for a 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 by your own example, think about what values are most important to you now. Safety, stability, support, health. Perhaps instant 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 needs mentioned above are among the most basic needs, so we are striving to meet them in a very crucial way. By conducting such 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 agreement, a time to establish a new order, and to divide the market share. Guess who will be the first to get the advantage of filling the void created: of course, those who were active during the crisis, were visible and thought about what would happen, not what is happening now.

How to be active in social media during a crisis?

First and foremost, satisfying the needs identified 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 a welcome boon in the current situation. The largest news sites in the world have significantly increased 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 too revealing, but look for ideas on how to join a popular social media action or challenge, such as #oStayHome. It should be spontaneous, creative and surprising. A simple graphic with a hashtag and company logo is not enough. Show your remote employees your products that can help with #homeoffice and additionally cover them with promotion. You can also offer interesting activities that will make the next week at home more enjoyable.

Examples of activities:

• Cooking contests and challenges. Now we have more time for cooking, and we are looking forward to trying out interesting recipes that will break the routine of 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 many things out of boredom, but not passively stare at a wall.
• Go to the virtual world, for example, online games - offer another company a duel in FIFA or Call of Duty. By the way, for every goal (or fragment) you score, donate funds to fight COVID-19
• 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 keeps customers feeling safe and stable.
• Build relationships with fans by commenting on your posts or responding to their comments. You may have fallen behind in these activities in the past, so now you have time to catch up. Such comments or responses from brands now have more impact and will show consumers that you are with them even during a crisis.
• Utilize Instagram Stories and their potential. Ask a question, take a poll, prepare a field with noughts and crosses, and start playing with your fans, sending each other stories after each character you post. 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 unsure of the future. Under no circumstances should you resort to this and amplify negative emotions. This, of course, does not mean that the brand should communicate as if nothing happened, which can be interpreted by many customers as not accepting the problem. From here, there is a simple way to ensure that an irresponsible patch sticks with 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 photos of smiling people on a walk, kissing couples, 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 match the current situation. You may make your recipients feel sad one day by showing happy people on a walk when they themselves are sitting on the couch for the second week and don't know how much longer they will have to live like this. Check not only the creations intended for social media, but also those contained in newsletters or media campaigns.

Don't try to teach yourself how to avoid infection. In 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 this information. Constantly reminding people to wash their hands is a reminder of the danger 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 outbreak. Avoid posting memes, jokes such as "toilet paper will replace the official currency" or quotes such as "In the end, by doing nothing, we can save the world."

In addition to the points mentioned above, you should 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 sense of stability, security, and support. Also, think twice about whether to advertise 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 offering a big discount), you won't get money out of consumers' pockets. By living in ignorance of when it will end, we reduce costs. In addition, you remember once again how great it is to drive 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 area and product category. You may get the favor of your customers in the beginning, but you are sure that after the epidemic they will want to pay for what they got for free

...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 craziness. Be prepared for this moment and think about what you can give your customers to make the end of quarantine celebrations even more impressive.