Turning the Corner: Post-Pandemic Communications

Summer has never looked so good. COVID infection rates are plummeting, vaccinations are on the rise, in-person events are beginning, international travel to some countries has commenced, and saying goodbye to masks seems to be just around the corner for many. We are not out of the woods, yet, but normalcy is well within view. For the past 15 months, we have been communicating through a pandemic filter, and it’s time to begin adjusting this. Here are some ideas to ponder as you reevaluate your communication for a post-pandemic world.

Content

It’s convenient to begin this planning at the halfway point in the calendar year. In addition to evaluating and adjusting your content related to health, safety and the pandemic, you can also treat this time as a mid-year reset. Do you want to go back exactly to how things were pre-pandemic, or are there some aspects of your business that have changed forever? For example, if your business now only offers a touchless payment system or contactless delivery/pick-up, you’ll need to continue to share that information, but you might want to drop any references to COVID and instead share other reasons why these modifications are a benefit to your customers.

Visuals

A year ago, it didn’t seem right to use photos of large groups of people gathered in a non-socially distant manner, at least not without noting that the photo was taken pre-pandemic. Seeing a crowd of unmasked people was repulsive to many. Now, it is likely okay to relax those unwritten rules and show people together again in groups. One possible exception: if you are marketing for education or another company/organization serving groups of young children who are not yet eligible for vaccination, you may want to reconsider. When in doubt, always err on the side of caution when it comes to health and safety.

Events

Events held by businesses, organizations and educational institutions continue to be challenging. There are different rules imposed by various governments, event venues and companies/organizations. Even if you live in an area where there are no mask mandates, and your organization is okay with vaccinated people mingling unmasked, the venue might still require masks. There are a lot of questions, but the best thing to do is to again err on the side of caution and be clear, communicating and even over-communicating rules to attendees. Hybrid events that are virtual and in-person may be the answer for many organizations in the short term, as comfort levels within audiences continue to vary.

As we all emerge from a very unexpected and unusual year, we have opportunities to change and adapt for the better. We can go back to what worked best for us in “the before times,” and only focus on what is truly worth our time, effort and energy moving forward. The great COVID reset of 2020 and 2021 has put us all on new trajectories in one way or another. Please contact us to assist in determining how you can best use this reset for your marketing and communication.

Kristine Gobbo is the founder/president of Spectrum Public Relations, a full-service marketing and PR firm located in South Florida. Contact: 561-463-0777 or [email protected].