As the Covid-19 pandemic shook the world and forced businesses and cities into lockdown, local economies took a major hit. Tourism, dining, shopping, and community events came to a rapid halt. Finally, communities are just now beginning to shift into the “new normal”. In an evolving market with countless municipalities opening their communities for residents and visitors alike, what truly makes a community stand out? Community recovery post-pandemic can be tricky. Here are three key strategies to aid in the recovery of both municipalities and consumer communities post-pandemic.
Emphasizing Covid-Safety
While businesses are opening their doors and people are slowly beginning to travel again, continued caution is still recommended. If your town was previously a great spot for tourists, you may reclaim that reputation safely by emphasizing the community’s dedication to public safety. This can be done by continuing to offer outdoor dining options, outdoor or well-ventilated social events, and encouraging folks to practice social distancing and mask-wearing behaviors when appropriate. This will put unvaccinated or high-risk people at ease, increasing the chances they will choose to visit your town over others.
Promoting Family-Friendly Activities
After a year and a half of lockdowns, families are eager to get out and make new memories together. Coordinating outdoor events and activities will encourage families to explore your town. You may bring the community park back to life with an outdoor concert series. Perhaps showcase the local lake by offering paddleboard rentals. By offering safe but exciting family-fun activities, the likelihood of adventure-seeking families visiting your town will increase.
Showcasing Dining & Shopping Hot Spots
If dining or shopping is your town’s biggest offering, that’s a great way to get consumer attention. In this “new normal”, people are ready for a change of scenery, so a hip new restaurant or trendy downtown shopping area will be happily received. You may offer dining deals through social media or plan an outdoor downtown event promoted by flyers posted around town. Your communities will thank you!
There’s no denying that social media and the digital age that we’re in has negatively affected mental health. Time and time again, studies show a negative correlation between mental health and social media, especially with the younger generations.
Whether you’re a content creator or marketing specialist, chances are the marketing tactics you use are related to psychology. Marketing can contribute positively or negatively to your audience’s mental health and wellbeing. Knowing what psychological tricks in marketing do can help you market more mindfully, especially in the age of COVID-19.
How is marketing related to psychology?
Marketing that uses psychological tricks to evoke emotion is known as neuromarketing. This form of marketing uses neuroscience to understand how consumers’ brains react to certain marketing stimuli.
All marketing is psychology. Every advertisement aims to elicit an emotional response from the consumer, persuading them to buy into the product or service. A few examples of marketing psychology include:
FOMO Effect
FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out, is a popular marketing technique that relates to loss aversion. This tactic is a big part of many marketing campaigns, from phrases like “don’t miss out” to advertising time-sensitive sales. FOMO creates a sense of urgency to persuade the consumer that they’ll regret not buying your product or service.
Social Proof
“Social proof” is a technique that pressures consumers to do something because everyone else is doing it. You probably use this technique already through categories like “best sellers” or showcasing reviews on your website or socials. One of the more prominent examples of social proof is the recent rise of influencer marketing.
Check out how influencer marketing can help your business in our previous blog post.
Pro-Innovation Bias
This is the wording high-tech or innovative companies use pro-innovation bias to convince consumers they need their product. Phrases like “the world’s first…” or “introducing the revolutionary…” are designed to make you feel that you have to be one of the first to buy this new piece of technology or product.
What can marketing do to your mental health?
Of course, many of these techniques are harmless. However, many ads use techniques that tell consumers they’re inadequate without that product or service. There is a constant stream of advertisements that tell you your body isn’t good enough or clothes aren’t trendy enough – that you’re not enough. They then advertise their product as helping you live a more satisfying life. These can subconsciously damage your self-esteem and your perception of yourself and the world.
Even some products meant to improve your life can shame you. For example, eco-friendly products persuade you by making the average consumer feel responsible for saving the environment. In reality, corporations and big businesses account for most of the pollution and plastic waste in our oceans. Buying a reusable straw is great for reducing your own carbon footprint, but won’t do much in terms of tangible change – but it sure is a good marketing tactic.
Despite the knowledge that some marketing tactics impact your mental health, the fact still remains that marketing is rooted in psychology. So what can we do?
How can we improve?
All of this isn’t to say that marketing is inherently bad or intentionally manipulative. Instead, marketers need to be more aware of the marketing strategies they use and how they use them. Taking into account the mental health and wellbeing of your target audience can benefit consumers as well as companies.
Balancing ethics with profit can show that you care about the messages you’re putting into the world, and the people you’re selling to. In fact, offering support and being authentic about something so stigmatized can help you build trust with customers.
You can’t untangle psychology from marketing, but you can make it shift to focus more on what your service or product provides rather than what the consumer lacks.
If you want to create more meaningful marketing, contact us to request a free digital assessment.
Alison Roller is a recent graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania where she earned a B.A. in English with a minor in journalism. When she’s not writing, she can be found wherever her cats are. Check out her LinkedIn profile here to connect.
