Today, we’re going to focus on COVID & your communication (or lack thereof) of it.

In the pandemic’s first few weeks, the news arrived loose and fast, often changing several times within a 24-hour span. It was difficult to keep track of as a business and I’m sure many things fell to the side. Depending on where you are, coffee businesses may be open with precautionary to extreme measures. I wrote about mental health and reopening back in June. Some of these tips still apply today. 

We’re going to do a quick digital audit today. Have on hand either a pen and paper or a text document ready to use.

If you’ve never done a digital audit before, you should know two rules:

  1. The idea of an audit is to document, not change things as you go. You can edit all that later.
  2. You should approach this with as little bias as possible and from different perspectives. Those perspectives should be your target audiences. For example, looking at your homepage, what’s the first thing your eyes land on – not where you want people to look.

This particular audit is for your COVID communications only, not an intensive strategy audit. The general idea is that it should take someone only a few seconds of looking and clicking around on your profile to know what your status is.

Facebook:

  • In your About section, check if your open status reflects current changes, including operating as usual. If not, go to your Settings > Page Info > Temporary Service Changes. You can select how you’re operating, including if there are online services or pickup available.
  • CTA button by the cover photo: Is it the most relevant button right now? Maybe you want to drive online orders – you should change it to “order food” and enter the ordering URL.
  • What’s your pinned post? Is it an update on current customer guidelines for your cafe or how COVID might impact purchases?
  • Do you have your FAQs set up? When people decide to send a message, they have the option of choosing from a four-item FAQ menu. Linking a page or post about how the pandemic is affecting business could be one of these menu items.

Instagram: 

  • Check your bio: Is there info on if you’re open, hours, ordering, and any relevant links?
  • Activate the “order food” button if it applies
  • Is there a saved highlight on your current status? Maybe another highlight on what customers should expect (such as a mask requirement or ordering ahead only)
  • Do you have shoppable products? If you sell online, anytime you’re talking about a product, they should be tagged.

Twitter/LinkedIn/Pinterest/Snapchat/TikTok/etc.

  • You should get the idea by now: is a quick look at your profile enough to communicate to the person what to expect from you? 

Website (conduct below from both a desktop and mobile phone):

  • Is there a banner or alert that quickly describes how COVID–19 has affected your business? If it’s more than a line, does it link to a blog post or page with additional details? This is especially important if you ship products – couriers are getting overwhelmed and delays are almost expected.
  • Are shipping restrictions or delays updated in all the relevant areas? (shipping page, FAQ, checkout, etc.)
  • If you’re a brick-and-mortar, can people tell you’re open?
  • If you’re doing online orders or pickups or limited menus, is that communicated and do you have the menu published?

Google (conduct below from both a desktop and mobile phone):

  • When you Google your business in an incognito browser window, does it have updated info on dine-in, takeout, and delivery?
  • If you do online ordering, is that linked in the “order” section?