This page is intended to be a central resource for assistance and information for small businesses affected by COVID-19. On this page, you will find resources to get help and assistance with COVID-19. If you can and want to help, there is a section for you to find information on how you can do that (thank you).
We also list some inspiring stories of how businesses are finding innovative solutions to maintain or even extend their business operations as well as some great leadership stories and other general useful information on the topic of small business marketing and COVID-19.
If you know of a useful COVID-19 resource or interesting and inspiring story that should be listed here please let me know
Date Published: 04/14/2020 @ 12:43 PM, By Trevor Stolber
CONTENTS
NEED HELP?
If you need help with your small business through these tough times, this section is for you.
We have compiled a list of resources and information to help you navigate through this situation and give you as much valuable information and advice as possible.
Small Business Marketing Advice for COVID-19
This post covers immediately actionable marketing advice that small businesses can use right now to promote their businesses. This is a quick guide with 8 tips that you can implement right now to help promote your business. It doesn’t promise magic. It isn’t going to automatically bring all of your customers back, but doing these 8 things will help give your business an edge when you need it the most.
Read more
SEO AND DIGITAL MARKETING SUPPORT FOR CORONAVIRUS
Lily Ray’s initiative to help connect both digital marketers and companies needing assistance for pro bono work is a great resource. There have been plenty of marketers signing up to help, so this is a golden opportunity to get FREE help from professional marketers.
Read more
SEMRush opens up free access to several tools and services
SEMRush has a lot of free learning resources and they have also opened up access to several tools and services for FREE. I can’t advocate enough for SEMRush and its tools – they are great resources that anyone can use to improve their online presence.
Read more
QuickBooks team up with GoFundMe to help small businesses
Intuit is putting $8 million into funds to help small businesses. You can set up a fund or support a fund through GoFundMe in association with QuickBooks.
Read more
Minnesota Bill
Today, Governor Tim Walz signed a bill to allocate $330 million in COVID-19 aid in Minnesota, bringing the state’s total response to more than $550 million to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill was passed by the Minnesota Legislature on March 26, 2020. Read more
WANT TO HELP?
If you want to help small businesses succeed through these tough times, this section is for you.
If you are in a position to help, please do. Even if all you can do is share this information with someone, please do!
SEO AND DIGITAL MARKETING SUPPORT FOR CORONAVIRUS
Lily Ray’s initiative connects digital marketers with small businesses affected by the COVID-19 crisis. We are happy to help and support this effort, and I encourage every digital marketer to do so, too.
Read more
INSPIRING STORIES
LaRabbit – Porch Photography
Dress up in your Easter best and strike a pose…on your porch! An innovative solution from LaRabbit Photography is a porch session. You are stuck at home and you can’t go out. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get dressed up and have your porch session done.
LaRabbitt Photography
VanGo Automotive – Vehicle Pick up auto service
Getting your car serviced is an essential activity. Those essential workers and services still need to happen. VanGo can pick your vehicle up for you, clean it, service it, sanitize it and return it to you.
VanGo Automotive Import Repair Service
All in Therapy Clinic – Remote Sessions and a Help Fund
Not one but two innovations from All In Therapy Clinic.
There has never been such a strain on people’s mental health, so All In made sure they were there for their clients with HIPPA-compliant virtual therapy sessions.
They have also started an assistance fund.
All In Therapy Clinic
Free Transportation from SISU Aesthetic and GoCar Ireland
Pat Phalen of SISU Aesthetic and GoCar Ireland teamed up to offer fully subsidized free transportation to front-line workers in Ireland.
Read more
GREAT LEADERSHIP
SEER Interactive’s Will Reynolds Gives Aid to Employees Who Have a Struggling Family Member
Will Reynolds of SEER Interactive did some calculations and decided to give a $1500 payment to employees who had a sick family member or reduced income due to the COVID-19 crisis. This is an excellent example of leadership, and that money goes a lot further than just what it covers financially. Well done sir!
Read more
Columbia Sportswear CEO Cuts Salary to $10k – 3500 Employees Receive Full Paychecks
All of Columbia Sportswear’s 3,500 employees have been unable to go to the physical stores due to the COVID-19 crisis. Columbia’s CEO and the executive team took pay cuts to enable the company to continue paying its staff during this time. This is a huge gesture and will certainly help and give peace of mind to the affected employees.
Read more
USEFUL INFORMATION
This section is for useful information and resources for small businesses that don’t fall under the other categories.
- Very useful Google Doc with lots of information categorized with links to each program and resource
- The Coronahub is a community support portal with opportunities for help and advice related to COVID-19
- GAF’s Tips for How to Serve Your Customers While Social Distancing
- Search Engine Land “ Search marketers are volunteering services, support to help small businesses get through COVID-19”
- Lily Ray’s advice for monitoring search trends, behavior, and traffic
- Facebook Business Resource Hub
GET YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE
If your business is not online yet, this is the time you need to take action. There is a plethora of options, and it can be bewildering.
To get the ball rolling, I recommend starting with a WordPress host and managing WordPress hosting with SiteGround. Check out SiteGround’s COVID-19 offer of 3 months of StartUp hosting for 99 cents!
This will meet the needs of most businesses. Chose a relatively short domain name that is catchy and represents your brand name.
The number one item is to get your business online. The longer and earlier you get your business online, the better it will be. Age of content and domain age are factors that affect how you will rank, so start sooner.
