A study has been conducted to understand brand content strategy during the COVID19 crisis and draw inferences from the brands performing the best and the worst on social media.

The content strategy and engagement has been studied for the months of April and May for a set of brands from India. A representative sample of categories and brands across diverse sectors has been taken up. It includes:

• E-Commerce
• TV Channels
• Food Delivery
• Cabs OTT Platforms
• Telecom
• Personal care
• Online Jewellery
• Life Insurance
• Two-wheeler
• Chocolates
• Watches

Overall observations

• Social media is one channel of communication that has not experienced a slowdown. In fact, online activity on social channels has increased because it has become the primary means of communication for many brands.
• The best-performing brands are keeping an active eye on the changes in consumer sentiment and behavior and they are understanding consumers’ needs and concerns in real-time.
• The best brands are not stopping their social media communication, they are rather contextualizing their communication for the current situation.
• Brands should craft a message that is sensitive of the current situation, takes into account the customers’ concerns, and promotes transparency.
• While it is critical that the brands keep their customers engaged, generic COVID19 content is a strict no-no and shows the lowest engagement.

Suggestions: Brands should keep showcasing their services to the users, it helps improve the brand’s perception even if consumers are not able to buy from the brand at this point of time.

Brands should keep communicating. They should offer virtual services if possible, keep consumers updated with any information related to their brand / domain, talk about their crisis management strategy, include the steps they are taking to protect your employees and customers, communicate changes in business policies / business hours etc.