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Everyone is approaching life day-by-day.  We can’t plan ahead too much because the COVID-19 situation is rapidly evolving.  It’s easy to feel confused, anxious, and to despair, but we always feel better when we make lists, how about you? 

Lists help us feel like we have a sense of control amidst chaos, so we’ve created a list for what businesses can do during this time to stay on top of the evolving situation, and what people can do to help keep their sanity as well.

Business Checklist for COVID-19 Response

  1. Facebook Pinned Posts
    • Has your business changed at all in the wake of social distancing?  Are your hours changed?  Your services changed?  Consider creating a post explaining those changes and pinning it to the top of your page.
  2. Instagram Bio
    • If your business has changed significantly, consider adding the message you pinned to the top of your Facebook page in your Instagram bio temporarily as well.  If you’re a restaurant or bar, consider putting your big updates right there in your bio so people can quickly ingest the changes.
  3. Instagram Story Highlights
    • Consider creating an Instagram story highlight for a longer form dialogue explaining the changes and your business’ response to social distancing, etc.
  4. Google Business Listing Updates and Posts
    • If your hours are changing, update your Google Business Listing to reflect this.  Consider creating posts on your Google Business Listing as well.
  5. Choose One Main Channel
    • If you’re feeling overwhelmed with all the channels, you can set boundaries and choose one channel you’ll focus on.  Take an audit of all the channels you communicate with your customers on: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, email… After you’ve taken stock of the channels, analyze which channel is getting the most traffic and focus on that channel.  Put a message out on the other channels directing people to follow that channel for more detailed information.
  6. Start Live Streaming
    • Now that we are on a day-to-day roll (or a ‘new normal’ as we call it), it is time to start thinking creatively about reaching followers who are sheltering in their homes. We highly recommend live streaming any type of activity that you can – just to get people engaged. Think about the purpose of the live stream (ex: sharing the menu of the day) and be consistent with it. Now that people are stuck at home, they will be turning to social media for entertainment, and if you’re there to greet them, that is perfect!

Maintaining Personal Sanity During COVID-19 Social Distancing

  1. Set Social Media Boundaries
    • Consider setting yourself a timer of 30 minutes for independent social media time.  It’s easy to tunnel and read articles for hours, but we’ve found that it increases anxiety exponentially.  Perhaps you will choose to NOT share coronavirus memes, no matter how heartwarming or funny.  We recommend taking a half-day a week to reflect on your space in this world – IRL and digitally.  Your boundaries protect your sanity.  We suggest re-evaluating boundaries once a week, because, well, things are changing by the day. 
  2. Prepare Your Digital Workspace for your Heart
    • What do we mean by this? We mean unfollowing any news organization, person, or brand that gives you anxiety. Unsubscribe, unfollow, or even delete platforms that you can’t deal with right now. Don’t worry about what others think – we guarantee that everyone is panicked as well right now and won’t stew too long over your absence. In today’s world of digital personalization, we can make a safe space online as well as in our homes. 
  3. Don’t Overdo It
    • It’s important to serve and help your community, but make sure you don’t sacrifice your own physical or mental health in service to others.  They tell you to put your own oxygen mask on in an airplane before putting on your dependents’ because you can’t help others if you can’t breathe yourself.  Keep this in mind for yourself during this time.

Our hearts are with all of you.  We are grateful you are in our community and want to support you as much as possible.  Was this helpful to you?  What other support do you need during this time?  Let us know and we will be here to help as much as we can.