Impacts of COVID-19 on Small Business: Ways to cope

Government and financial resources

It’s important to familiarize yourself with the government resources that are available COVID-19. Loans can be tricky and complicated, and it can be hard to figure out which government programs are available and best for you. So what government resources are available for small business owners? Find out more on our site.

Leveraging social media

While it’s important to know the financial resources available to you, it’s also important to know other ways to keep your business afloat independently. Now more than ever, it’s vital to know your audience and grow your digital presence. Since we’re all staying #AloneTogether, you should leverage social networks to optimize, and maybe even salvage, your business. Find our advice on our site.

First off, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the government resources that are available due to COVID-19. Although you may not need them now, it’s good to know what your fallback options are. Loans can be tricky and complicated, and it can be hard to figure out which government programs are available and best for you. All over the news, we see terms like “government bail-out,” but know it only applies to big corporations. So what government resources are available for small business owners? Here’s what we found:

Main Street Business Lending Program

While the Trump Administration hasn’t released the details of this program, and it’s hard to know exactly what it will consist of, this program hopes to give low interest loans to small businesses throughout the country sometime in the near future.

US Small Business Administration

The US Small Business Administration is providing working capital loans to small businesses to cover financial obligations (paying salaries and vendors) and operating expenses (such as rent), at a rate of 3.75%.
These loans are to pay for basic necessities. Owners won’t have to repay portions spent on paying employees, a mortgage, rent, or utilities. The banks lending the money will be reimbursed for those portions by the Treasury Department, which is receiving $377 billion to fund the program.

You can also consult directly with your bank to find if they have any special offerings for small businesses. Banks like Citi, Wells Fargo, Barclays, and Capital One have announced special loan programs for small businesses affected by COVID-19.

While it’s important to know the financial resources available to you, it’s also important to know other ways to keep your business afloat independently. Now more than ever, it’s vital to know your audience and grow your digital presence. Since we’re all staying #AloneTogether, you should leverage social networks to optimize, and maybe even salvage, your business. As a digital marketing agency, here’s our advice to you:

Focus more on internet marketing and advertising than outlets like radio and physical advertising. Since everyones staying at home and working from home, they’ll traffic web browsers with far more frequency than city streets. One example of a good online marketing platform is Google Advertising and Facebook advertising. These platforms make streamlined internet marketing easy.

You can also take care of your own marketing through social networks like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.

If you haven’t already, familiarize yourself with these platforms. You shouldn’t only be posting, but adding to stories and sharing content across platforms. For example, posting a TikTok on your Facebook and Instagram stories, to make it more accessible.
Stories can not only be used to release content, but make announcements, for example, reminding people of your operating hours and available services.
Livestreams! Livestreams are incredibly important, now more than ever. TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook all have livestreaming options. Get creative, if your business is a restaurant, livestream a cooking class, if you run a clothing store, livestream a private fashion show!

Within these platforms, there are stickers, hashtags, and services that cater to small business, for example:

Facebook:

You can sell gift cards for your business via Facebook. This is a great way to bring money and more customers in, even if your doors are temporarily closed.

Instagram:

Instagram offers a number of services to business, but the newest feature is the updated stickers for Instagram Stories. If you go into your stories tab, you can see the “Order” and “Support small business” stickers. Using these stickers will help bring in more traffic and support for your business.

Now more than ever, it’s important to know your audience, and keep them engaged via content, even if you aren’t in the content industry. While financial resources are available and important, free resources, like social media, can also be your saving grace. At D&S Agency, we’re here to help. If you need any help leveraging your social platforms and growing your digital presence, reach out to us at info@dsagency.com.