Case Study: Managing Brand Social Channels In A Pandemic

In an unprecedented moment such as this one, many brands and retailers are trying to figure out how to strike the right balance when engaging with customers. What sort of message are you putting out across all your different communication channels? Kurt Ling, the owner and CEO of Posh+Lavish has been contemplating the best approach to managing social media during the pandemic—both for his own brand and to support his retail partners. He shared a few great rules of thumb that might help you as you work to virtually support your customers and followers during this time.

Don’t Keep Selling

Now is not the time. Trying to hard-sell right now will likely come off as tone deaf to the situation the world is in. There are greater needs right now. But just because you’re not using your messaging to sell, that doesn’t mean you can’t stay in touch or find ways to be helpful.

Think About What You Can Offer Your Audience

Because social media is fast-paced, consumers of it are eager to absorb content that speaks to them in the exact moment in time that they see a post. As a general rule of thumb, always think about what your audience needs right now when sharing on a social channel. It’s totally okay for your posts to be time bound. Whether your followers need something related to changing seasons, holidays, summer travel or in today’s present crisis—something about weathering a pandemic—offering it to them in a clear, interesting and dynamic way across platforms delivers value and will make them feel seen. 

Keep Your Approach Channel Specific

Each social media channel you utilize can and should serve a specific purpose and the content you share on each should be altered a little bit to fit the platform. For example, Instagram content should be eye-catching since it’s a more visual medium, while Facebook allows for more text so it’s an excellent platform for article sharing.

In the case of Posh+Lavish, the brand’s Facebook page has always been about quality sleep and how to get more. For the present moment, the focus on the brand’s social channel is on articles written about sleep issues people are currently having during the crisis—insomnia, how sleep supports the immune system and more.

The brand’s Twitter feed has historically featured beautiful bedrooms and bathrooms and places in the world to escape and retreat to. During the coronavirus crisis, the company recognizes that people are spending too much of their time looking at the inside walls of their homes and may need even more of a way to escape and fulfill their need for outside of the house hobbies. So, lately the brand has been linking followers to new escapes like virtual museum tours and events as well as recommending books they can savor in bed.

Not only does the brand use different channels for different things, but it has also remained true to its social media style and voice. If you don’t feel like your social media has a style or voice, you can absolutely take this time to develop one. Finding ways to stay top of mind in the virtual world is essential to the future of your business.

Ultimately, you want your social media to be relevant and serve a purpose beyond selling a mattress. Use these digital platforms to help people wherever they are—you can provide them with advice to help them sleep better and help them escape the pressure of the day and their cares in the world.

Ling shared this anecdote, “One of my friends said this to me, ‘Imagine calling a longtime friend who has been in their home for weeks on end and who has only been out of their house for groceries. Imagine telling them over and over and over it is time to refinance their house because interest rates are low, low, low. Even though that may be true, it is bad timing. It is not empathetic to the situation we are all in. It is brash.”

“I was told early on in my career the first step to making a sale is making a friend,” he continued. “At this time, we want to make friends, keep friends and catch up with friends.”

Try thinking about making, keeping and catching up with friends as the purpose of your branded social media in the coming weeks—better yet, take that mantra with you moving forward.

Visit poshandlavish.com and don’t miss POSH+LAVISH on the cover of the spring edition of Sleep Retailer