Extraordinary times call in for extraordinary measures. While you\u2019ve always been told to stick to your editorial calendar, it\u2019s time now to take a pass on that.<\/p>\n
Amid COVID-19 pandemic, your target audience doesn\u2019t necessarily want to read \u201cWhy Austria is the New Favorite for the Travelers\u201d and \u201c10 Flannel Shirts We All Need This Summer\u201d.<\/p>\n
Owing to the fear, uncertainty, and doubt, their content consumption habit has changed. And it\u2019s essential that you incorporate this change in your short-term content strategy.<\/p>\n
There isn\u2019t any one-fit-for-all answer here.<\/p>\n
The question is essential, of course. What kind of content does the audience want to read, watch or listen to?<\/p>\n
But the answer varies, depending on so many different factors, including your niche, what you offer, and the people you target.<\/p>\n
A simple approach is to put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and figure out what they want to hear during this pandemic.<\/p>\n
Flexing some common sense would give you an essence of the answer\u2026<\/p>\n
For instance, if you\u2019re in finance, it\u2019s not hard to guess that people want to hear more about budget optimization, unemployment and making money during such time.<\/p>\n
If you cover healthcare, people want to read how they can protect themselves from falling sick and how they can keep themselves physically and psychologically healthier.<\/p>\n
If you cover food, people – who are locked down in their homes – want to watch easy-to-make recipes that don\u2019t include too many ingredients.<\/p>\n
Most of these aren\u2019t difficult to guess.<\/p>\n
So, the first step is simple: Put yourself in others\u2019 shoes, use common sense, and figure out what kind of content your target audience wants to consume.<\/p>\n
Outside common sense, you should also pull the tactical strings to underline how you should change your content strategy for maximum benefits.<\/p>\n
Here are 3 tactics:<\/p>\n
1. Look at your successful competitors-<\/strong> Audit how they have shifted their content strategy. And then take lessons. Remember, successful competitors are one of the best sources to learn from. This is just as true even in the current climate.<\/p>\n 2. Test on Social Media-<\/strong> Post bite-size content on different social media platforms and analyze the response from the audience. If it\u2019s good, that\u2019s the kind of content people want to consume. Create blog posts around them. If the engagement is poor, move on to something different.<\/p>\n 3. Do topic and keyword research-<\/strong> Spending some time on Google Trend, Keyword Planner, SEMrush and other similar tools will give you a fair idea of what kind of keywords and topics are popular in your industry at present. Change your content strategy accordingly.<\/p>\n