A Communicator’s Guide to the COVID-19 Anniversary
We’re fast approaching a somber anniversary: 3/11 – the day that the COVID-19 pandemic hit home in the U.S.
COVID-19 existed prior to that day. But a confluence of events on March 11, 2020, made it clear that life as we knew it was vanishing fast.
The day began with Dr. Anthony Fauci testifying to Congress that the virus would get worse in the United States. By early afternoon, the WHO officially declared a global pandemic. Tom Hanks then announced he and his wife had contracted COVID-19. By 9 pm ET, the NBA announced it would suspend the remainder of its season indefinitely.
Game over.
With this milestone approaching, it’s worth assessing how you are communicating as the crisis continues, and if there are ways to improve.
Some possibilities:
Provide an overview: Anniversaries – good and bad – offer a logical opportunity to offer some big picture perspective. Consider creating an in-depth update to your audience about how your organization – as well as your clients and supporters – have adapted to COVID-19. Highlight the stories that mattered, the successes you have achieved, and the key challenges that remain.
Make a pitch: Anniversaries are also an opportunity for media coverage. Assess whether you have a leader on your team who could be pitched to the media as an expert who can provide analysis on some aspect of pandemic life. If you have research or data related to COVID-19, now is a good time to give it an anniversary hook and share it with select journalists.
Review your communications: The danger of ‘new normals’ is that, well, everything starts feeling routine. But the pandemic-era is anything but. Take a look at how you’ve been communicating recently and assess if your content, tone, and cadence is in sync with the times. Not every message has to be about COVID-19, but everything should be created with an awareness of the outsized impact it has on our lives.
Re-double your efforts: Has complacency crept in when it comes to communicating about and around the challenges of COVID-19? It’s a question worth contemplating. Think about if you are providing enough information and support related to the crisis, and new ways to keep people informed.
Brush up on COVID-19 best practices: The pandemic has created lots of challenges, and some new opportunities as well. Consider the potential benefits of hosting virtual press conferences or relying on op-eds as an effective way to get your message out in a noisy media environment. It also makes sense to do a refresher on best ways to pitch the media amid Covid-19.
Give yourself – and your colleagues – credit: It’s been a tough year to be in the communications business – due to COVID-19 and plenty of other stuff contributing to the chaos of daily life. Take time to acknowledge how you have adapted and what you’ve achieved. You and those you work with deserve it.