Times have changed. Rapidly. Outside of the physical dangers that COVID-19 presents, many of us are numb with fear and anxiety on the inside. Which means there’s never been a trickier time in modern memory to market your business on social media.

But now is not the time to retreat. Experts agree that brands should do everything possible not to vanish from the social landscape, even if their retail doors are temporarily shuttered. In this time of mass quarantine, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and even TikTok are where all the eyeballs are. And if you’ve been marketing successfully on social these past few years, you’ve built up social currency, brand equity, and an actual sizable following. Don’t fritter those things away by slinking off without a trace.

At some point, society will resume—we won’t be living like aboveground moles forever! And when it does, you’ll want to have created an aura of desirability around your brand or store.

But posting to social can’t be business as usual right now. It’s important to adjust your tone and your messaging. Yes, you want to continue showing beautiful, covetable jewelry on your platforms. These eye-candy posts provide a much-needed escape—which we all sorely need right now—and promote your brand partners.

But resist pairing those product shots with easy-breezy captions—those in the vein of “Tanzanite is what dreams are made of” (too woo-woo for this nitty-gritty moment) and “Get your bling on this spring!” (too head-in-the-sand clueless). Copy that’s not warm, empathetic, and free of hyperbole and sales speak feels painfully tone-deaf right now. Continue with messaging as usual and you run the risk of appearing superfluous, clueless, or even money-grubbing.

What to post? Here are four post types to consider.

Be Useful
Sharing helpful information with your community on your social channels goes way beyond marketing. In fact, it may not even occur to you that pointing followers to the Walmart that just restocked its toilet paper has any marketing value (and you won’t care either way). But being involved and helping out in your town relays to your community that you’re a business that cares about people. Which is likely to result in increased cultural currency on the other side of this crisis. Is there a makeshift respiratory clinic being set up in your town? Is there a health care worker who needs childcare? Post it.

Be Charitable
Many jewelry brands have rallied to help with imminent emergencies, including making sure the hungry get fed through nonprofits such as Meals on Wheels and No Kid Hungry. We’ve also seen several donations to the COVID-19 Response Fund, which has been erected by the World Health Organization. There’s never been a better time to give (if you can), and aligning yourself with a charity will offer greater incentive for consumers to shop with you online. 

Reframe Jewelry
Beauty and art are important—they uplift and energize the soul and our society. And jewelry is both: beautiful and an ancient art. When posting photos of merchandise, emphasize the people and skills that go into creating it and the small details that make pieces inspiring and investment-worthy.

Show Your Humans/Humanity
Your company is made up of people (including you) who are struggling with and acclimating to the current environment in the same ways so many of us are. Make them main characters in your communications—with pictures of people working from home, taking fun jogs, social distancing in the park, loving on their pets. We’re all craving connection. Pull back the curtain for your followers and get real now. Now is the time to strengthen your customer relationships by sharing your vulnerability with them.

(Photo: Pexels)

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