Tag: coronavirus

Food, glorious food. It’s one of the few things that isn’t cancelled right now, and for that, we’re incredibly grateful. If we have to be at home all the time, at least we can take comfort in a hot plate of mac ‘n’ cheese or chocolate chip cookies, right? 

Seriously, though, we’re all grateful for the people working tirelessly to make sure everyone has food to eat — not only the grocery store employees putting in extra hours and risking their own health, but also the restaurants and quick-service eateries remaining open for takeout and delivery.

If you operate a food business, this is truly your time to shine on social media. As you’re making, serving and delivering delicious meals, you can also be delivering messages of positivity and hope as you grow your business even in these challenging times. This article, the third in a four-part series exploring how businesses can pivot right now, will help you highlight the great work you’re doing as a restaurateur during the COVID-19 crisis.

Key Takeaways:

1. If your business is still open, you need to communicate with your customers about what to expect when ordering from you — from your hours of operation to the safety precautions you’re taking.
2. Customers aren’t just craving your food; they’re craving mouth-watering posts that tell them about your deals, free delivery and family specials. Feature your employees and customers for a hyper-local feel.
3. Now is the time to be creative rather than letting COVID-19 limit your thinking. You can partner with local businesses digitally on social media, or host live happy hours and food pairings to create greater connection with your audience.

But First, Some Housekeeping

By now, you’ve had to make some tough decisions about closing your doors to dine-in patrons. You’re either closed altogether — in which case you should still keep up with your social media marketing if you hope to reopen — or you’re staying open for pickup and delivery. 

It’s critical that you let your customers know what’s happening so they know what to expect. For starters, make sure you’ve communicated your hours of operation. You can do this in a couple of different ways: 

1. Post about it on your social media pages to tell customers when you’re open and make it clear you’re offering only pickup or delivery. Many businesses are offering free delivery right now, either directly from their restaurant or through third-party delivery apps.
2. You should also update your hours anywhere your business is listed online. Rallio has a Business Listings feature that will let you quickly update your hours across the web — a real time-saver, especially considering Google My Business has limited functionality currently due to COVID-19-related staff shortages at Google. 

And Now for the Fun Stuff

Aside from posting about your hours, you can have a lot of fun with your social media. Here are just a few ideas of what you can post.

• Obviously, at a restaurant, it’s all about the food. Snap photos of your mouth-watering creations! Include the chef in your posts — maybe shoot a video of him describing what ingredients he used. You can also include your employees: Take photos of them with their favorite dishes! Or share any photos your customers have posted with their favorite meals.
• Take advantage of trending hashtags like #TakeoutTuesday and #TheGreatAmericanTakeout. Invite your customers to support local business by ordering takeout from you instead of crowding into grocery stores. Ask them to upload photos of their dishes with the hashtag — you could even turn it into a contest by selecting a random winner of a gift card to your location.

https://twitter.com/junebugcleary/status/1247658070353862658

• What kind of safety precautions are you taking in light of COVID-19? Tell your customers about your cleaning and food preparation protocols. Let them know all your options for pickup and delivery.
• With customers’ permission and proper social distancing, you can snap photos of customers as they pick up their food. Tell them “thank you” for supporting your business!
• Don’t forget about reviews — both asking for them and posting them on your social media! As we wrote in this article about online reviews, it’s critical that you have current reviews posted, not reviews from several months ago. Customers want to know what to expect from your business today, and your reviews give them the confidence they need to place an order. With GMB not posting new reviews currently, you may have to take other measures, like directing customers to other review platforms. You can also use our Revv app to send out surveys and gather positive feedback right after a sale.
• Now is the perfect time to lean into family-friendly options that bring households together. All-in-one meal kits and take-and-bake meals with instructions give families something to do together as they’re sheltering at home. Snap photos of your meal kits and caption them with what’s included, prices and why families will love eating these dishes together. For instance, Rubio’s posted a fun video of their Family Taco Kit featuring Ralph Rubio’s tips on washing hands and assembling meals — as well as what he’s binge-watching right now!

https://www.facebook.com/rubios/posts/10156906825916976

• Are you giving back to healthcare workers, police, families in need, any other people in your community? Maybe you supply lunch once or twice a week and post all your photos of these special deliveries.
• How about a live happy hour on Facebook or Zoom where you walk your patrons through a meal and how to pair it with a good wine or beer? Make menu recommendations for all the different people who might be in a household, from little kids who eat nothing but chicken nuggets to adults wanting a gourmet experience at home. Create opportunities for live interaction in a time when people are eager for human connection more than ever before.
• Could you partner with other businesses for giveaways and promotions? In another post, Rubio’s gave fans a chance to win a yearlong Disney+ subscription in exchange for follows, likes and tagging friends. It doesn’t have to be a big business like Disney, either. You could partner with local businesses, tag each other in content, and help support each other and extend your reach even further.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-p1ggUHeBe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Read more: Social Media Marketing, the Quarantine Edition: How to Pivot When Times Get Tough

Tap Into the Power of Social Media

As you’re taking care of social distancing, Rallio is here to take care of your social media engagement — with no initial fees. We have many different solutions for all types of businesses to help them navigate the COVID-19 crisis with greater ease.

• Rallio Dashboard — Our social media management tool was built specifically for franchises and multi-unit businesses. It lets you control your brand’s social and review pages from one simple spot, as well as syndicate content to different types of franchisees and set permissions. 
• Rallio Local — Technology is great, but humans are better. Rallio Local combines the power of the Rallio technology with the creativity of real people. Receive weekly custom, local content, custom responses to your online reviews, social ad campaigns and community management. We pair you with a Social Strategist to deliver hyper-local content that gets seen by your audience through fully managed ad campaigns.
• Rallio Activate — Leverage the power of your employees to reach customers like never before. Incentivize them with rewards programs that you create, and collect assets into your brands image library. Have them submit their own photos and videos to earn points, and publish your brand-approved content on their personal profiles. 

To get started, fill out our online form or reach out to sales@rallio.com. Let’s keep you growing even as we navigate the current challenges.

This article is the third in a four-part series exploring ways to respond to changing times, digitize your business and blow up your social media presence. Watch for our future vertical-specific articles to learn how to adapt for the current economy.

Earlier this week, we covered the different ways pet-related businesses can pivot during the COVID-19 crisis and how social media marketing can help them make an impact in their communities. This article, the second in a four-part series, is dedicated to online education — a hot-button topic for educators, parents and children learning at home right now. Let’s dive right in!

Key Takeaways:

1. You don’t need to be a video or branding expert to teach your audience something on social media. Prop your phone up on a chair, work out a math problem on a whiteboard and viola! You just added so much value to a parent’s day.
2. Now more than ever, people are craving rich content, and you absolutely have something to offer. The only way you can use social media wrong as an educator is by not using it at all.
3. You can partner with local schools and businesses digitally on social media. Tag them in your content, start a Facebook Group with them, organize Zoom webinars and co-host them as an event on Facebook. The COVID-19 crisis might feel like it’s hindered your reach, but actually it’s only allowing you to think more creatively.

For Tutoring Businesses and Educators

Let’s face it: Parents have a lot on their plates right now. They’re trying to be both parent and teacher, not to mention chef, house cleaner, coach and all the many other hats they must wear. 

Children have a lot on their plates, too. For many of them, this is the first time they’ve had to learn in an exclusively online environment. And although they’re no strangers to the internet, they’re not necessarily going to have a seamless transition to online learning. 

Moreover, they’re isolated from their friends. Graduating seniors are having an especially rough end of the year, missing out on social activities, spring sports, grad nights and graduation ceremonies. There are no do-overs when it comes to these precious moments.

However, here’s where tutoring businesses, retailers of educational materials, music and art teachers, and other educators have an incredible opportunity to not only ease the burden on parents, but also offer extra support to students as they shift to online education. While you can’t replace the moments they’re missing out on at school, you can give them the one-on-one support they need to feel successful with their academics. 

Even if you don’t have an online learning platform in place for your business, you can use other tools like Zoom, Google Classroom and your own social media pages to connect with students. In addition to providing virtual tutoring sessions, you can go live on Facebook and Instagram with fun videos, downloadable organizers and tips to entertain your audience. Why not solve a math problem or recite a children’s book in a creative video?

Connect with your local schools, too, to offer support services for educators and further your reach. Offer to create tutoring lessons tailored to teachers’ lessons plans that they can then share with their students. Use your social media pages to share all the great work you’re doing with hyper-local posts featuring your tutors and the people they serve.

https://www.facebook.com/TutorDoctor/posts/10157089037597374

For Any Business With Something to Teach

As people pick up new hobbies and strive to further their education at home, all different types of businesses can provide online lessons related to their business. Some people are simply looking to pass the time in ways that involve more than sitting on the couch and binging the latest reality show (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Others are jobless and looking to expand their skill sets as they look for new work. 

You can step in and be of service during the COVID-19 crisis. As Forbes writes: “While many Americans will be forced to reevaluate their career options in the months and years to come, some will undoubtedly use this time of uncertainty and isolation to acquire practical skills that will increase their chances of finding employment once companies are hiring again.”

These online classes, many of them free, may be focused on a specific career outcome, like a technology skill, or they may be simply a dose of positivity in a time of crisis. Even higher education institutions are hopping on board. For instance, Yale is currently offering its most popular class, “The Science of Well-Being,” for free — something we all want to learn more about, right?

As a business owner, you’re an expert in something that your customers will want to learn more about. Think about some of the FAQ you tend to get over and over again. How can you answer those questions in an online learning environment while creating more engagement and connection with your customers? 

You can use the same tools that tutors and educators use to teach your audience something new. Add in webinars and YouTube videos and share those on your social media channels as links or downloads, branded with your company name. When they have a question about your area of expertise, guess who they’re going to turn to? That’s right, you. 

So don’t think of it as giving something away for free; think of it as building brand trust and awareness — not to mention just being a good human being in these challenging times.

For Cybersecurity Firms

With online platforms, there’s always a risk of hackers and unsafe situations, for children and parents alike. Cybersafety firms have an opportunity to teach consumers how to protect their personal information online, avoid cyberbullying and online predators, prevent hackers from accessing their online meetings, and protect themselves as well as seniors and children from the many scams that are arising out of COVID-19.

For cybersafety experts, social media provides an ideal platform to share safety tips and best practices. People of all ages can benefit from your posts and quick videos addressing some of the most common concerns and scams that have arisen from the COVID-19 crisis.

You can also partner with a variety of different businesses and institutions to further your reach, including schools, corporations and those serving elderly populations. For many people, technology is the only means to connecting with loved ones and accessing the information they need for work, school and social activities. You can step in and be of service to keep everyone safe online.

Tap Into the Power of Social Media

As you’re taking care of social distancing, Rallio is here to take care of your social media engagement — with no initial fees. We have many different solutions for all types of businesses to help them navigate the COVID-19 crisis with greater ease.

• Rallio Dashboard — Our social media management tool was built specifically for franchises and multi-unit businesses. It lets you control your brand’s social and review pages from one simple spot, as well as syndicate content to different types of franchisees and set permissions. 
• Rallio Local — Technology is great, but humans are better. Rallio Local combines the power of the Rallio technology with the creativity of real people. Receive weekly custom, local content, custom responses to your online reviews, social ad campaigns and community management. We pair you with a Social Strategist to deliver hyper-local content that gets seen by your audience through fully managed ad campaigns.
• Rallio Activate — Leverage the power of your employees to reach customers like never before. Incentivize them with rewards programs that you create, and collect assets into your brands image library. Have them submit their own photos and videos to earn points, and publish your brand-approved content on their personal profiles.

To get started, fill out our online form or reach out to sales@rallio.com. Let’s keep you growing even as we navigate the current challenges.

This article was the second in a four-part series exploring ways to respond to changing times, digitize your business and blow up your social media presence. Watch for our future vertical-specific articles to learn how to adapt for the current economy.

You’ve probably heard it said by now that the real winners in the COVID-19 crisis are the dogs. As you’re sheltering at home and spending more time with them than perhaps ever before, they’re blissfully unaware of the pandemic wreaking havoc around the globe. 

That goes for cats, too — though they won’t admit it. Really, any kind of animal companion you have at home is probably extremely happy you’re at their side 24/7. 

For retailers and pet clinics or shelters providing products and services to our fur babies, there’s an incredible opportunity to connect with pet owners on social media throughout this time of need. Just as we humans need to get to the grocery store for food or to the doctor for certain medical needs, we have to be able to supply the basic necessities and healthcare — and all the treats and toys — for our precious pets.

Many retailers and providers are remaining open during the COVID-19 crisis, ensuring that all our pets’ needs are met. However, at the same time, they are operating under restrictions to ensure social distancing and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. If you have a pet-related business, this first article in a four-part series will specifically help you to pivot your business model, connect with a captive digital audience and even grow your business despite COVID-19.

For Retailers

If you have a retail location selling pet products and services, you can easily pivot to offer curbside pickup, online ordering with in-store pickup and even free local delivery if you have the resources to do so. Give your customers plenty of options to get the products they need without having to leave their cars or their homes.

You could also develop an autoship program to put customers on repeat orders — creating recurring revenue without you having to do any extra work to earn their business. With so many options available for pet products, find ways to differentiate yourself so you become the retailer of choice.

If you have in-store services you’re having to put on hold right now, such as grooming and dog training, you can also offer exclusive discounts for customers to “buy now and use later.” Let your customers know they can buy gift cards or services at a discount, for instance, and save them to use once you reopen. These extra purchases can help you maintain your operations as you manage the reduction in revenue in certain areas of business.

However you’re addressing the changes, be sure to spread the word on social media. Throw in a few cute puppy pics while you’re at it — that’s key for social engagement!

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2749303651849108&id=831710390275120&substory_index=0

Read more: Why You Need to Keep Up Your Marketing Despite the Coronavirus

For Animal Shelters

The upside of COVID-19 is that some animal shelters are completely clearing out their animal populations. As people shelter in place, they understandably want a fur buddy to help pass the time while they catch up on their Netflix binging. 

Other shelters may be experiencing a greater need for foster parents and adoptions. With fewer people venturing outside the home and some shelters closing to the public as well as canceling public events, there are also those shelters that have fewer pets being adopted out. It’s a concerning situation, as shelters want to adopt out as many animals as possible in the event they experience staffing shortages due to COVID-19 (and of course they want to help their animal populations find their forever homes!).

Some shelters are replacing in-person adoptions with more creative solutions to address the COVID-19 crisis. Virtual adoptions are becoming more commonplace — with online interviews of potential pet parents and digital adoption applications. In some cases, animal shelters may be booking private appointments for a meet-and-greet outside the building’s front doors to allow for social distancing.

In place of live fundraisers and adoptions, animal shelters could go live on Facebook and Instagram. Ask for online donations and set up a system to match animals with their humans. Reach out to your usual adoption partners, like your local pet store, to collaborate online and drive more business.

https://www.facebook.com/humanesociety/posts/10157295291192842

For Veterinary Providers

If your vet clinic is staying open to provide essential pet services, you can adjust your operations to ensure the safety of your staff, customers and patients. Many providers have implemented limited-contact policies where they have pet parents call from their vehicles once they arrive in the parking lot. Staff members then retrieve pets to provide veterinary care and return them afterward, helping to limit the contact between the clinic and outside parties.

You may also be able to offer telehealth services to your patients to deliver remote care for basic health needs. As noted in this article from Today’s Veterinary Practice (TVP), veterinary telehealth is an evolving area of healthcare with the laws varying from state to state. 

However, COVID-19 has given rise to discussions about how telehealth may be used in veterinary practices. Another TVP article notes, “Over the past few weeks, several states have amended their laws to allow the use of telehealth in an effort to provide patients and doctors with a way to interact without physical contact. The FDA temporarily suspended enforcement of some federal veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) requirements.”

Make sure you understand the rules in your state and how they apply to your practice. And, if and when you’re able to offer telehealth services, let your customers know through your social channels how to access those services. If you’re not in a position to do so at this time, tell your customers what you can do instead and how you’re taking the proper precautions to keep everyone safe.

https://www.facebook.com/MyAirvet/posts/587036491901298

Tap Into the Power of Social Media

As you’re taking care of social distancing, Rallio is here to take care of your social media engagement — with no initial fees. We have many different solutions for all types of businesses to help them navigate the COVID-19 crisis with greater ease.

• Rallio Dashboard — Our social media management tool was built specifically for franchises and multi-unit businesses. It lets you control your brand’s social and review pages from one simple spot, as well as syndicate content to different types of franchisees and set permissions.

• Rallio Local — Technology is great, but humans are better. Rallio Local combines the power of the Rallio technology with the creativity of real people. Receive weekly custom, local content, custom responses to your online reviews, social ad campaigns and community management. We pair you with a Social Strategist to deliver hyper-local content that gets seen by your audience through fully managed ad campaigns.
• Rallio Activate — Leverage the power of your employees to reach customers like never before. Incentivize them with rewards programs that you create, and collect assets into your brands image library. Have them submit their own photos and videos to earn points, and publish your brand-approved content on their personal profiles. 

To get started, fill out our online form or reach out to sales@www.rallio.com. Remember, we’re all in this together — and Rallio is here to help you keep growing even as we navigate the current challenges.

This article was the first in a four-part series exploring ways to respond to changing times, digitize your business and blow up your social media presence. Watch for our future vertical-specific articles to learn how to adapt for the current economy.