 Hi, I'm Darlene from GoDaddy's How To. And I'm Emma from The Journey and we're going to talk about why it's more important than ever to stay connected with your customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. With certain cities starting to implement shelter-in-place orders, you might be experiencing little to no foot traffic as customers opt to stay home or maybe you're only doing takeout or delivery orders. Yeah, during this difficult time, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram can help you stay in touch with your customers about important news and updates about your business. So here are five ways social media helps businesses send updates to customers. Number one, let your customers know that you're still here. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there's uncertainty about what's changed for businesses and customers alike. Use your social media platforms to let your customers know that you're here and thank them for continuing to support small businesses like yours. And to help customers find you, make sure all of your social media buttons are included on your website and vice versa. Don't make it harder for them to find you or the information you're sharing. Yeah, additionally, make sure you've updated Google My Business page with the most current information like your business hours, phone number, and don't forget those social media handles. Oh, actually, Darlene, I have an example of a business that I came across on Instagram that's located in Austin, Texas. I'd love to take you through their Instagram page and show you how they're using social media to still stay connected with their customers. One thing I want to point out was on their Instagram and I noticed that they have actually the information about their curbside pickup and their online ordering. And it's right here in the bio. I love that that's front and center. So any customer new or loyal customer knows like, okay, great, like this is an option for us to still get what we love from this business. And in addition to that, they even have some Instagram highlights about their curbside service and their catering. And their posts are keeping everyone up to date as well, which I really love. But I wanted to point out when I was checking out their Instagram stories that they have a lot of user generated content from their customers who have already started to order from them and take advantage of the specials. And one in particular that I really loved besides all the customer content here is they also did a little reshare of a post about their curbside pickup and a behind the scenes of them still putting together their delicious cakes and their bakery. Number two, promote your online store for customers who need to stay home. Since we're all practicing social distancing, we're not able to visit physical businesses right now. So take this opportunity to reach out to both your current and potential customers by promoting your online store on social media. Yeah, build on your brand social media presence with posts about featured products, positive customer reviews and current sales to drive visitors over to your online store. And this can be done via Instagram stories, tweets, Snapchat or good old Facebook. Also, like we mentioned earlier, make sure you've added links to your online store as part of your social media accounts, bios and posts. No use in posting about it if you don't tell them where to go. Yeah, actually, I saw an example that does a great job of this, ABA donation, small business that's promoting their online store through Instagram posts like you see here. So number three, run special deals to retain customers during the shutdown. Spread the word about good deals to get your customers talking similar to what we saw ABA donation doing. And social media promotions can bring in new customers to your online store. For example, a fun way is to encourage your customers to share photos of your products and tag your business. Then you can offer a chance to win a free item, online only discounts or wave shipping fees. These are great additional ways to get the word out on your online store. That's something you can handle. As customers like to like and share your posts, they spread awareness about your business. Your customers posts are visible to their friends, which can bring in more business to your store. Even if you don't have a physical or digital product, you can still post about deals on gift cards or uploading virtual classes. So number four, find ways to engage with customers despite social distancing. If your business relies on foot traffic, we understand you might be struggling with ways to communicate with your customers and your customers. Well, they're missing out on the face to face conversations about daily specials and products that offer solutions to their problems. This is where being active on social media comes in. Engage with your customers by frequently posting on your social media accounts at least a couple times each week so that your business stays present in your customer's mind. So try to respond to comments and direct messages so customers feel acknowledged. And now this is a good practice all the time, but it's especially important now that there's limited in-person contact. Number five, have customers follow you for updates. Your social media presence reminds current and prospective customers that you're still open or if you need to temporarily close your store fight, you'll be open again. Unfortunately, some businesses might need to close for a limited time. I know my hair salon is doing that. And if you're one of those businesses, urge customers to follow you on social media for important updates on your reopening. Post about any changes to your hours or any other differences in how you conduct your business and remind customers if you're available for takeout, delivery, curbside pickup, or any other ways that you're still operating. Creating content around your adjusted processes might be very interesting to your customers. I mean, I know that's helped me with one of my favorite pizza joints that's closed. So give them a peek behind the scenes as to how your business is running during this chaos. It could be the reason they continue following your journey long after COVID-19. Whether you're sheltering in place, following social distancing, or still figuring out your business's restrictions, it's tough for everyone. Thankfully, social media offers the ability to do more than just marketing your business, but it's a means to stay connected when in-person contact just isn't an option. Exactly. Remain active on your business's social media accounts to promote your online store and deliver updates to customers. And if nothing else, your social media presence can bring people together in a time when it's really needed. Stay safe and stay healthy.