Which Side of History Will You Be on after the Coronavirus is over?

Have you seen the GIF of the man who was given a choice as he was being quarantined during the Coronavirus?  Of course you have.  As a recap, the narrator gave the man a choice between - A - you can be quarantine with his wife and child or - B – and before he the narrator could state the second choice, the man answered B with authority!  How many Coronavirus Memes have you seen which reference toilet paper?  It’s Okay.  This blog is a “Safe Place” for those of you who went out and bought extra rolls or overpaid for single ply.  I actually had a good friend who brought me a roll.  Maybe my wife shared some private details, and my friend wanted to make sure my family was safe during the quarantine.

Make no mistake, this Coronavirus has serious consequences.  Yesterday, I scrolled through Facebook and saw a message from one of my old college fraternity brothers who posted, “If you don't think what's going on is serious that's on you and it's your choice... if I get this virus, the next time you will be seeing me, is at my funeral! Point blank no questions asked not being dramatic or looking for empathy or sympathy... I currently take immunosuppressant in the morning then again at night. My immune system is intentionally in a weakened state. I am in the highest risk level! This time unlike cancer there will be no coming back because at least with cancer there was a protocol, not so much with Covid-19... while I'm doing my part I ask you do yours.”  Because of the business I am in; each day I am talking with clients who have to lay off or furlough employees due to their business being declared nonessential or even worse closing their doors.  This doesn’t just effect the business owner.  It actually hurts the workers who need their job to support their family.  It hurts the vendors who need clients to keep their doors open.  Depression already affects 20-25% of Americans of working age and according to CDC and WHO approximately 123 Americans die by suicide each day.  This crisis will potentially add to those numbers.

There are countless of mixed messages being stated on the internet.  County Judges across Texas have used their authority to put a “Shelter in Place” for many areas while others have allowed the citizens to police themselves highly encouraging them to stay isolated.  The mom and pop antique business was told to shut down while the Big Box electronics store is allowed to stay open.  Gas stations and liquor stores are allowed to sell their products while churches and restaurants cannot serve in their normal capacity.  Each day we see breaking news of a politician standing at a podium with several other officials next to them while 10-50 of the news media reports on them saying that everyone should stay at home.  We still have Democrats and Republicans trying to blame each other for the outbreak and even trying to “one up” the other on how to ease the angst this is causing.  In short, good friends, family members, colleagues, business partners and others, all with good intentions, have disagreed on the response to how we can solve this crisis.

Let’s be clear on one thing.  If One person (and at the time of this blog 1037 people have died from this virus) dies that is too many.

That being said, this crisis will pass.  There is discrepancy on how long it will take and what measures will need to be put in place to help the millions of Americans who are affected directly or indirectly by the virus.  My prediction is the CDC will have to tackle the obesity epidemic next since we are all staying at home and probably not rationing our food.  Some people look at a Coronavirus chart every day.  My kids have a chart that identifies how many Oreo Cookies I devour and even created a point of no return!  That’s a scary graph!

Back to my first paragraph on the GIF and Meme.  You might be one who is worried about who might get sick and upset at those who are still able to work and not holding true to “social distancing.”  You might be one who is worried about the lasting effects of the economy or one who thinks that economist are being too callous in their fear of the ramifications of how the virus will negatively affect our society.  No matter which side of the debate you are on; everyone has seen the depictions of how many are reacting at this time.  Thankfully, many of these bring humor in a time of fear and the unknown.  The reason we can all think of our favorite GIF or Meme is we have increased the amount of time we spend on Social Media.  My favorite post since I am a Texas Rangers Baseball fan was talking about players on the Houston Astros not testing positive for Covid-19 because they all saw the sings early.  Wish we were back in those days when that was the biggest debate in the country!

Today, social media has given everyone a platform to share their opinion.  Whether you make a comment, post a picture/video, LIKE, Share, retweet or put some type of emoji on a post you are sharing your opinion.  Because we feel safe behind a keyboard or our face buried in our phones; we feel empowered that others truly value what we have to say.  Google Reviews, Yelp and Facebook have all made millions on this concept as the consumer will instantly take to giving their Online Review.

Now more than ever, all eyes are on social media.  As a matter of fact, 66% of social media users believe their social media usage habit will increase in the event they are confined to their home due to the Coronavirus.  Several states across the Nation have already implemented this strategy to contain the virus spread.  Over 60% of both YouTube and Facebook users expect an increase while only 2% expect a decrease.

Some key statistics for how Coronavirus impacts E-Commerce include: 99% of social media users believe there is a chance they will purchase something online if they are confined to their home during a Coronavirus outbreak, 92% of consumers who have “a great deal of say” on purchasing decisions believe they will purchase grocery store items online (versus in-store) during confinement, 79% of consumers with children ages 3-17 at home believe they may purchase home improvement or DIY items online while confined to home and 76% of consumers who have a “great deal of say” on purchasing decisions believe they will order restaurant food delivery online.

There is no question that as more consumers are confined to their home, there will be a significant surge of social media content and consumption.  That surge will present an increased opportunity for brands to connect with an audience that is hungry for content, education, and online social experiences.  Brands will see their marketing dollars go further than they have in recent years and certain sectors stand to benefit greatly from these marketing savings.

History will judge your business on how you adapt to the surge in social media consumption as it unfolds.

DeliveryMaxx has been the leader in this arena over the last decade and continues to help businesses in all sectors reach their potential customers through the most innovative digital strategy utilizing common sense and today’s technology.  Our clients experience positive Online Reputation, stronger SEO, concise content management, increase in social media engagement and advertisement and higher customer retention.  We are able to customize and create a strategy for any entity that is trying to gain more exposure on the web.  With clients in multiple industries and across the country such as Automotive Dealerships, Real-Estate Brokers & Agents, Churches, Service Industry, Sports Teams, Non-Profit Organizations and more; we utilize our Patent-Pending Program to develop a digital strategy that will meet the needs of sales, service and messaging to the masses.  DeliveryMaxx is one of the only digital media company that provides a simple to use app which will allow to immediately collect online reviews, post engaging videos and online content with branding and advertising.  The program is embedded with digital code helping increase SEO which provides first page results on the Search Engines.  It is a tool that is implanted with a complete digital strategy giving their clients a competitive advantage over the competition.  For more information about DeliveryMaxx contact (888) 938-6299 or watch the DeliveryMaxx Introduction Video!