Marketing lessons from the CDC’s COVID messaging
Marketing lessons from the CDC’s COVID messaging

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Marketing lessons from the CDC’s COVID messaging

COVID is arguably the greatest public health crisis of the past century. And for an organization like the CDC, an event of this magnitude doesn’t just require tremendous work on the scientific side of things. Communication is also a critical component.

Most folks are not infectious disease experts, so we laypeople need help interpreting the data and deciding what to do with it. We also need to understand the guidelines public health experts are handing down, and why it’s important we adhere to them.

What does this have to do with business? Many aspects of COVID communications have strong parallels to marketing challenges you might face.

The arrival of the first mRNA vaccines was like a giant new product launch. The shifting guidelines around masking were like SaaS product updates that altered the user experience. The changes to rules about isolation and quarantine were like revisions to your privacy policy.

As far as the CDC’s COVID comms went, it was a mixed bag. I’m not here to drag the CDC. COVID was a formidable challenge, and they tried lots of tactics to get information out there. Some were more successful than others. That’s life! But there are certainly useful learnings for us marketing or communications professionals.


The best thing about digital marketing is that it’s agile. You can easily update the content on a website landing page. It takes one push of the button to send out a tweet with a news flash. You can reach subscribers in seconds via your SMS marketing tool.

 

Anticipate questions and prepare messaging accordingly

Remember when the vaccine boosters first rolled out? One of the biggest questions lots of people had was whether or not we could receive the COVID vaccination at the same time as the flu shot.

Every person I spoke to–including healthcare workers–had a different answer, and it was really hard to find clear guidance online.

The arrival of the booster was kind of like a new product add-on. Consumers wanted to understand how this novel vaccine would integrate with a “product” they already had–namely, their annual flu shot.

It’s natural for your audience to have questions when you release something new. It’s your job to anticipate them. Public health officials probably should have guessed that a booster dropping in prime flu-shot season (Pfizer’s booster was granted EUA in late September) would of course lead folks to wonder about potential interactions between the two vaccinations.

If you find yourself facing a similar comms quandary, put yourself in your customers’ shoes. What would you ask if you were the customer? You probably have some good thoughts already, but speak with your customer-facing team members to get their input, too.

Then, proactively incorporate your answers into your messaging. You might:

  • Address an anticipated objection in your ad copy.
  • Create an FAQ page on your website.
  • Add an automated chat feature to your site with pre-programmed answers to the big questions.

You’ll likely get asked some curveballs along the way, but tackling the easy questions off the bat saves you time and your customers from confusion.

 

Make it easy to digest new information and stay up to date

The guidance around isolation and quarantine changed many times throughout the pandemic. Ten days, five days, depends on when symptoms wane–who knows anymore? As the rules shifted, outdated stats continued to circulate, and it became increasingly difficult to know what to do.

You can think of this kind of like updates to your tech product. SaaS businesses are often pushing through new features and making little tweaks here and there to the system. The changes are intended to be positive, but if things shift too drastically or too often–or without enough communication–it’s easy for your audience to grow frustrated.

I love the CDC’s current answer to their quarantine guidance issue. It created a simple calendar that spits out customized guidance based on a user’s input. You answer a few questions about your scenario: last date of close contact with someone who’s tested positive, date your symptoms started, etc. The calendar then tells you what to do: “Test on X date or earlier if no symptoms appear” or “You can leave home on X date.”

This is just what the public needs. Part of the stress around COVID has been the lack of certainty we’ve all experienced as a result of it. This calendar provides the clarity we’ve been craving.

How can you create clarity around changes in your business? Here are some ideas:

  • Create a microsite where people can learn about your big new initiative.
  • Invite folks to sign up for new product email updates that build anticipation and share benefits and features leading up to your launch day.
  • Build out a series of training videos to educate customers on updates to your product.
  • Set up a QR code in your brick-and-mortar locations that directs people to the information they need with a click point and click.

 

Tap into technology to facilitate clear communication

Isolation and quarantine guidelines aren’t the only things that have changed throughout the pandemic. Mask rules, vaccination status, booster guidelines–the list goes on.

As the creator of the guidelines, it’s up to public health officials to make sure things are clear. Here in New York, NYC Health has done an incredible job communicating via text message.

Things were really bad here in March 2020, and NYC Health wasted no time in getting the word out about their texting platform that would share important updates with anyone who signed up.

They texted residents about everything–from where families could get free lunches during initial lockdown to updates on vaccine availability to changes in public mask requirements–there’s been a text alerting us to every big change along the way.

Your business can do something like this, too. The best thing about digital marketing is that it’s agile. You can easily update the content on a website landing page. It takes one push of the button to send out a tweet with a news flash. You can reach subscribers in seconds via your SMS marketing tool.

Do a little research to understand where and how your customers like to receive information, then create messaging to suit their wants.

Whether you’re a business or a public health organization, communicating new or changing information with your audience can be challenging. There’s research to do, angles to consider, and strategy to craft. If you need help wrapping your head around an upcoming campaign, we’re here to chat.