Coronavirus content strategy: How to prioritize amid chaos (Content Lab, Ep. 43)

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a large number of businesses here in the United States and around the world having to completely reimagine their digital sales and marketing strategies.

And this is on top many of them also having to adjust to the new reality of having their entire company working from home.

🔎 Related: See all of our coronavirus insights and strategic recommendations

One of the more specific consequences of this upheaval, however, is that content managers, editorial directors (like moi!), and other digital marketers are now left with a lot of questions about how to manage their content strategies. 

Should they be making changes? Should they be publishing coronavirus content at all? Should they be embracing more video? Should they simply stay the course?

To be honest, these are questions I've been wrestling with myself, as the director of our content team at IMPACT. 

I'm not alone, either.

Here's a message I received earlier this week from Cody Turner. Cody is one of my favorite humans, in addition to being the content rockstar for Office Interiors in Canada: 

"I could use some pointers on how to prioritize my growing content calendar. I’ve suddenly become one of the busier employees at my office since content marketing is very much needed in an office supply company. Suddenly, home office equipment is in high demand."

Upon receiving this, I immediately thought to myself:

"Well, in the spirit of They Ask, You Answer, Cody asked... now, it's our job to answer this as honestly and thoroughly as possible!"

In order to do this properly, however, John and I knew we needed reinforcements.

We have a ton of insight on how IMPACT is managing current events with our content calendar — which we talk about in this episode — but we also know we have more resources, are in a different industry than most, and publish at a much greater volume... the last of which gives us a lot of flexibility.

So, we invited IMPACT Content Marketing Consultant Brian Casey and IMPACT Video Trainer Will Schultz (also of Film School for Marketers fame) to talk about how they're coaching their clients on managing an integrated written and video content strategy in the wake of coronavirus. 

More specifically, we talk about:

• How much, if at all, you should pivot your strategy in light of recent events.
• How this is the best time to get started with video, and why the quality thresholds have shifted. 
• Why you shouldn't abandon your content strategy entirely, and why you need that foundational content strategy to see success in the long run.
• Best practices that shouldn't be compromised during this time.
• How we're adapting our strategies at IMPACT, and the tactics we're using to generate coronavirus-related content without gutting our strategy.
• How we've made choices to kill or set aside pieces based on recent events.
• Why there is a big opportunity here for an integrated video and written content strategy, if you plan and execute properly.
• Lessons we've learned about ourselves since the world turned upside down.

Enjoy! 

Listen to the episode

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Related links and resources

• The Big 5 blog topics guaranteed to drive traffic, leads, and sales
• The Selling 7 sales and marketing videos that get results
• Film School for Marketers podcast
• Content calendar template for content managers
• Blogging tips ungated guide for content managers and marketers
• How to get started with video for sales right now (ungated guide)

Until next week! 👋