Marketing & Support During COVID-19

Website Notification Bars

It doesn't matter if your business is open or closed, people are still visiting your website. Your customers are wondering if you are open, what your business status is and how to contact you. Others could be looking to see if you are open and available for business. And you may have important communications to your online audience, such as changes in services or operating hours.

I have been helping my customers communicate these things using notification bars, which is an element on a web page that appear near or at the top of the home page of your website. With almost daily changes to COVID-19's impact on the economy, many customers are using these notification bars to provide current updates to their customers and partners.

Google and Bing My Business

You can update your Google My Business and Bing My Business listings with updated information, such as:

• Temporary Closures: If your business is temporarily closed, there are specific recommendations from Google on how and what to update.
• Change of Hours: You should review your hours of operation, listed in your Profile, and adjust if needed.
• Announcements to Customers: Create a post on your Profiles
• Enable Messaging: You can let customers message you directly from Google Maps and your Google listing in regular Google search results. This is done via the Google My Business app [Android | iPhone/iPad]. Make sure to turn on messaging as a way to help your customers reach you.

Social Media

People are looking for updates and ways to connect with family, friends, and the businesses they frequent. Now is a great time to leverage your business' social media platforms to update and engage your audience with relevant content similar to your updates on your website and My Business pages.