With lockdown underway, businesses – especially those forced to close – are asking but one question: with the populace forced to stay at home, will there be more online activity, and will they in turn see more return on advertising?
According to BBC News, Facebook (which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp) recorded an average 2.5 billion daily users on its platforms this September, 15% more than the same period last year, and 3% up from June. Although many business cut their advertising spend, we argued here that it was the ideal time to develop a digital marketing strategy, build an online presence and remind clients about key treatments and services – or even to build an estore on your clinic’s website and deliver skincare products directly to clients. Why should a second lockdown be any different?
Tentativeness by many businesses around advertising has paid off for those who stayed the course during lockdown number one – CPC (cost per click) declined in many regions during the first lockdown, which gave brands a 30% increase in page reach during April alone.
A May report also illustrated that, globally, Instagram’s total audience has become 28% larger than that of the biggest 50 brands on Facebook combined – and lockdown no doubt gave the platform the boost it needed. It’s worth knowing that data shows Instagram now has a billion monthly users, with 200m of these visiting business profiles every day.
As well as social media, Google saw a similar jump. Revenue is currently up 14% YOY, with profits 59% YOY to over $11bn – and a share price increase of 6%.
It’s interesting that, through the first lockdown, a huge trend in wellness took off, with increased Google searches for mental wellbeing, home and online gym set-ups, and even veg boxes – proving that despite being under ‘house arrest’, clients still want to look and feel their best. That puts aesthetics clinics and dental practices in a valuable position for a second lockdown – especially if you have products or services you can offer at-home, such as teeth whitening.
Finally, as expected, searches and downloads around technology such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Workplace by Facebook and others grew – a pattern that will no doubt be repeated during this second lockdown. If you haven’t already implemented online consultations, now’s the time to do so – the online doctor consultation market is set to grow by 3.8bn in the next 4 years, with more than 6% growth anticipated for this year alone.
Help with your digital marketing strategy
During the first lockdown, we posted here about why the pandemic and lockdown are a key time for SEO and increasing your Google search ranking. During the second lockdown, we can help you to strategise long-term while being visibly present for your clients, beating the ‘resting’ competition and investing in your business for the future.
With 15 years’ in the industry and a team of experts across content, SEO, social, Google Ads, web development and more, we can devise the perfect marketing package for your clinic or dental practice – simply visit our contact page to find out how.