Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, your marketing strategies for your brand have likely boiled down to two essential goals: stay alive and be profitable. Now it's time to start shifting the nuance of your approach a bit.

In order to thrive and increase your brand's profits as your customers accept their "new normal," you need to read some tea leaves. Specifically, you need to understand how to navigate five crucial e-commerce conditions that will determine how well your messaging reaches your audience — and meet their shifting needs in real time.

Context

COVID-19 has created a wildly fluid environment regarding the information your customers are reading online, especially in terms of whether the news on the virus they receive is accurate. Google has analyzed this situation extensively, and its approach has been to ask of its key personnel, “In what instances are we comfortable putting our brand alongside news content?”

This debate, and local nuance, has helped Google choose how to place and tailor ads on a granular local level, especially in terms of paid advertising. How you should evaluate a website for accuracy, slant, and COVID-19 language sensitivity before pairing with it?

First, do a deep dive and see what the voice and philosophy of both online and print news outlets in your target areas is like. Next, when you decide on an outlet that reflects the values and principals of your brand, choose content to run with it that speaks authentically to your audience's viewpoints and needs.

Fluctuating consumer technology choices

According to Social Media Today, social media platforms will have to continually update their platforms to meet the demands of constantly plugged-in consumers during the pandemic. Your brand's messaging needs to fit the speed of these changes, and you need to adjust your specific targeting campaigns to reflect changes to privacy and data restrictions as well.

Expect your customers to get a little "fidgety" when it comes to their tech security in particular during lockdown. They will be seeking safety at this uncertain time in every way, and that extends to their device and personal info security features as well.

Innovative referrals

Data from SCORE suggests that link building is the most neglected digital channel. This is because backlinks are going to both generate more traffic to your site and create authority for your brand profile. Pursue "high authority" referral partnerships in a daring and expansive way.

Pitch the potential partners you've always wanted to collaborate with fearlessly and quickly so you can take advantage of these important benefits. You may find these partners are eager to get maximum exposure right now and that it will be easier to attract them than you may have expected.

Affiliate marketing

This is a swift way to boost your revenue, because affiliate marketing liaisons are extra-hot in today's COVID-19-driven climate. Additional data from SCORE suggests mining options like Google’s Pay Per Click; you also want to expand your reach across Facebook and Instagram.

Don't worry about oversaturation with your ads right now — you have a captive audience of consumers who might not know about the great products you have to offer. Let them know in a bold way.

Tone

When you do let those consumers know about your brand, though, you have to do it appropriately. Tactful, positive, truthful messaging is the only way to go.

Be humane, and let your audience know you understand their needs, and want to fill them. Striking the right tone at this unprecedented time so you entice, not alienate, your emotionally sensitive demographic is the way forward.