Coronavirus News Archives

April 22, 2020

Marketing and Sales Strategies Post COVID19 Outbreak – the Show Must Go On!

It can be said beyond doubt that the COVI19 outbreak has taken a significant toll on multiple businesses. A lot of businesses were forced to pause or reduce advertising in the past few weeks. Also, there has been a drastic change in consumer search patterns and PPC performance.

COVID19 has completely transformed the way we work, live and socialize. While the world struggles with the pandemic, some of the businesses are preparing counteractive measures to hold steady and ensure a strong comeback post COVID19 outbreak. After all, the show must go on!

There is no denying the fact that a lot of businesses might face withdrawal. At the same time, a lot of opportunities will come up if your business can create a long-term marketing strategy. To ensure optimal digital marketing efforts, it is imperative to formulate adjustments in response to the drift in searches, market share, and competitors.

Bring updates in the marketing and sales strategies

A lot of us are thinking that the world “is going to” change a lot once the global outbreak is over. What we haven’t realized yet is, the “has already” changed a lot. The normal business strategies are not going to work post COVID19. Everything normal will be regarded as pre-COVID19.

The previous PPC set-ups will not be effective anymore after the COVID19 outbreak is over. Thus, without creating a way for a new “normal” it will not be possible for the existing business organization to attain a competitive edge and stay ahead in the curve.

What to expect once the coronavirus loosens its grip over the present market? Let us create comprehensive analysis on the post COVID19 outbreak.

The drastic increase in digital interaction

Digital marketing has been in use for quite some time now. In fact, most of the remote business organizations emphasize effective digital marketing strategies for business growth. With countrywide lockdown, digital marketing trends will increase.

Ensuring business growth while sitting at the comfort of your home is not something that any business owner would want to miss out on, isn’t it? Once the lockdown is lifted, the effort to visit places to get things done will seem overrated.

If you are wondering how to stay on top of your digital marketing game, you can consider aggressive Facebook ads, Google ads, LinkedIn ads and Instagram for business. You will be able to redirect your traffic to useful videos, blog posts, online products and all other virtual services that you offer.

Whether it is a financial therapy, shopping, or music lessons online, anything and everything can be promoted online if you use the right social media platforms. That being said, do not back down from pausing the online promotional campaigns that are irrelevant.

An important aspect of post-pandemic business consistency is to know when to re-strategize and pivot. Do not continue the same ad campaign that doesn’t resonate with your target audience.

How to deal with human DDoS attacks?

Once the lockdown is lifted and things get reinstated, there is going to be a wave of people flooding the streets. It will cause numerous companies to face a huge influx of customers. We already witnessed how thousands of tourists stormed into newly re-opened Chinese restaurants, tourist attractions and other places. However, all those places had to close down once again.

It is imperative to have a plan to deal with such a scenario. Your target audience is looking forward to the latest information that you are going to provide. If you are closing the organization temporarily, changing the opening hours or providing a curbside pickup, then it is important to let the people know.

Using the Google posts is one of the best ways to keep your target audience updated from the changed work hours to any other offers. No worries, even if you mark your business as temporarily closed, it will not affect the search ranking. Google will display you in all the search results.

Upgrading the remote services

The companies that suffered most due to the COVID19 pandemic are the organizations that provided human-to-human services. These include restaurants, cafes, bars, gyms, real estate agencies and similar business organizations.

It is high time to reinvent and upgrade their services to stay afloat. Yes it is true that food can be ordered online, a real estate agent can use Skype for interaction, but not for long. With time, people started realising that the quality of such services are degrading because of poor UI/UX design, website development, user-interfaces, surge traffic, slow network connectivity and more.

To keep the customer goodwill and faith intact, it is imperative for the business organization to bring major changes in the online services. Interactive web & mobile marketing, responsive website development social media marketing and management are a significant part of the deal.

Businesses have to train their employees for offering impeccable remote online services, especially while opening new broadcasting channels or any other virtual means of communication with clients. Offer educational based training to enhance employee efficiency. Do not stop social media management.

Even if you have to close down your business for a certain period, stay active on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Keep the social media pages updated. It creates a bad impression if the social media pages of business organizations have backdated posts.

Handling the “selective consumerism” scenario

Information about anything and everything is available online and this creates the chances of misinformation as well. Even if the COVID19 pandemic is over, not everyone will feel the same way about restarting their usual life. Most of the consumers will become selective and much less responsive to your traditional digital marketing strategies.

It is time to rethink existing business strategies. The reason is consumers are gradually becoming smarter and suspicious. To cope with such a scenario, businesses need to come with better and effective marketing strategies. The pandemic is a great opportunity to experiment with business strategies and observe the client’s reaction.

PPC marketing strategies need serious upgrades for avoiding client frustration.
Tailored email marketing strategies focusing on usefulness, speed, relevancy, and speed.
Business organizations need to invest more time, effort and money in content marketing because it is highly likely that the client will demand more value.
Rethink SEO strategies because Google algorithms will tighten the noose on the necks of average-quality websites.

Consider geographic diversification while reformatting business strategies. Even though COVID19 is a global issue, there are some countries that are less affected than others. For instance, South Korea has fewer affected people than the USA where more than 84,000 individuals were affected in a day.

Consider diversifying the regions to get more traffic and be less reliant on one single country. You can translate your content for other regions while leveraging international SEO to quickly grow the traffic. Yes, it will take some time to get the desired results in coronavirus affected countries as well, but the lesser affected countries will offer quick results.

So, which one of the marketing strategies are you going to implement first? Let us know at Skyram Technologies. You can visit us here.

For more information on business and marketing strategies, you can check out our blogs here.

April 21, 2020

Live Corona Virus Tracking – Our pledge to eradicate #Covid19 out of India

With the COVID19 pandemic creating a stir all over the globe, there have been numerous speculations on the effectiveness of lockdown in India till 3^rd May. There is no shred of doubt that India’s Coronavirus curve has picked up the pace.

The growth trajectory of COVID19 in India seems to be steeper than its other Asian peers like Japan, Singapore, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Indonesia. Even though the growth curve is still flatter than the USA, still, the contamination count is almost double than it was seven days ago.

If this growth trajectory remains constant, India could face an overwhelming situation at the hospitals within the next few months.

Under such circumstances, it is imperative for the common people to have the exact details and updates on the COVID19 pandemic. This is where the benefits of Live Corona Virus Tracking come in.

Yes, it is true COVID19 updates are available on multiple platforms. At our Live CoronaVirus Tracker, you are going to find much more than just updates. In the present scenario, where social distancing and self-quarantine has become our lifestyle, technology is ensuring effective communication through the efficient transfer of information.

We are dedicated to serving individuals and organizations to spread all the relevant information related to COVID19 through this Live Corona Virus Tracker. The following are the benefits of this Corona Virus tracker.

How to check the Live Corona Virus Tracker

On the left, there is a brief on what exact information you can avail through the tracker. Click on the tabs redirects to the information of that particular category.
Surf through the comprehensive and user-friendly dashboard to check all the state-wise details and updates on the COVID19 contamination.

Exact locations of coronavirus testing laboratories, the sample collection centers, and isolation centers are marked. The details appear on top of it.

Corona hotspots, containment centers and the red-zones are marked that should be avoided as much as possible even if the lockdown ends.

Details on shops, grocery centers, corona control rooms, and health centers to help every individual with proper support during this global pandemic.

Locations of Delhi government ration shops for the less-privileged along with hunger relief shelters and night shelters

Benefits of live coronavirus tracker

The live tracker pulls data from government sources and displays the suspected and confirmed cases of COVID19 along with the deaths and recoveries. It also tracks the spread of the deadly coronavirus as it paves way throughout multiple states in India.

The live coronavirus tracker offers real-time updates through the Graphic Information System. Thus, it will help people in knowing exactly what is going on and where to seek help in case of emergencies.

Those who have been infected by coronavirus are exhibiting symptoms of Pneumonia. This includes fever, trouble breathing, and cough. The live coronavirus tracker offers details on the spread of the virus along with the visual demarcation of the infected areas.

You can scroll through the maps for more localized tracking. Users can also find localized data from the map that leverages data from different states and local governments. The tracker will help every individual in knowing exactly where to seek help in these testing times.

The real-time information is provided through automated and manual updating. The zoom-able map offers an option to look state-specific COVID19 cases along with the trend curve of the cumulative cases in charts.

How can the live coronavirus tracker help people?

The live coronavirus tracker is designed to help researchers, public health authorities and the general public to be aware of the locations. The aim is to offer a simple and interactive way to visualize the impact of COVID19 in different areas.

We want people to see this as something that connects us together. It is not one state or the other, it is the whole nation and that is exactly what India looks today.

The live tracker makes use of all the real-time updates. It brings in one consolidated platform with recovery options along with statistics on other coronavirus issues using reliable sources.

It captures all the COVID19 cases the fatalities and recoveries. The color demarcation differentiates the effect of coronavirus in different parts of India.

There is a chart that indicates the number of confirmed cases in specific states. The users need to click on different points on the map for obtaining information associated with coronavirus issues, containment zones, isolation centers, ration shops, hunger relief centers, and night shelters.

Use this tool to share information to as many people as possible

The death toll because of coronavirus pandemic in India increased to 590 and the total number of affected people is approximately 18,600. Among the total number of affected people 3,250 have been treated and discharged as they recovered. The sad news is 31 people have died and more than 900 people were affected since last evening (Monday evening). The number of confirmed cases globally is 2.4 million with 170,261 deaths.

Amid such circumstances, the central ministry is considering the options of “gradual” lifting of the lockdown post May 3^rd. It is highly likely that the number of confirmed cases of COVID19 will increase but the government is preparing for a second wave coronavirus pandemic in early June.

With area-specific relaxations on lockdown according to the increase or decline in cases, sharing this live tracker will help numerous people get help on an urgent basis.

On certain states including Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra, where the lockdown restrictions are being flouted, the central government has sent six new-constituted Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs).

The teams are there for spot-assessment of the situation in the above-mentioned states. Once the assessment is done the IMCT will send a report to the center and issue necessary directives to the state authorities.

Incidentally, these are some of the states where the outbreak of COVID19 is less than in other states. From March 22^nd, since the Janata Curfew, the states are following the center’s directives in battling the coronavirus pandemic. By sharing this live coronavirus tracker you and many others will be able to observe the real-time progress on different states, especially in the crucial areas.

Spreading awareness and helpful information is the need of the hour and this live coronavirus tracker is the best tool for it. What is your opinion about it? Let us know at Skyram Technologies. Visit us here.

For more information, read here! Stay at your home and, stay safe.

April 13, 2020

What experts are saying about the strategies to adapt during COVID-19 Lockdown?

As the country is facing an extended period of lockdown, there are opinions about the strategies adopted by countries for Covid19.

Plans seem afoot to shift from an all-India closure to a strategy of “aggressive containment” of infections within clusters marked out on the country’s map, with people only in these kept under strict isolation.

For, brands, marketers, everyone, this is a big situation with two major questions: what changes in consumer behavior and how to respond.

What are the responses of the aggressive lockdown?

Experts are divided regarding the whole situation.

Anant Bhan, a medical doctor and public health policy expert said, “What might be required is a more strategic approach. An extension of the lockdown might cause a major social and economic impact. You might have to look at a graduated lifting of lockdown, where you do it in parts and see if people are still able to take precautions and follow social distancing norms,”

According to him, the lockdown is essential to provide enough opportunity for the health authorities to ramp up. He stated that if 21 days aren’t enough there is no such guarantee that another 14 days of isolation will be beneficial. Utilizing the time is effective as the virus isn’t going to go away in 21 days.

Former Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu, in an article published by Mint, said that once the period is over, it is important to take steps to unwind in a measured way and have more targeted lockdowns.

In his words, “ “Following South Korea, we need to locate regions and pockets which have to be kept under close watch and locked down, with others being opened up with rules of behavior in place—masks, social distancing, quarantining those unwell—so that the rest of India can get back to producing goods and services, and help the locked-down areas. We have to start some of our domestic flights and trains, with new rules,”

What is the current situation? And how experts are responding?

As the nation is getting another extension for the lockdown, a key goal to be met before we could be relieved of the lockdown, and so it should remain.

An article in the Telegraph says that lockdown isn’t the only solution for the coronavirus. Containment doesn’t work that much, even in Wuhan and Italy the spread was so quick that authorities needed to focus on the damage control. And the same case must be for India as, despite the containment, cases seem to rise every day.

The article stated, “But in the many more places now in the throes of full-on epidemics, notably in the United States and Western Europe, the pressing concern is how to suppress the virus’s spread to avert a Wuhan-like health disaster, but without destroying economies or undermining people’s resilience and their willing consent to very taxing social-distancing measures.”

From a marketing point of view, Ryan Deiss, Founder, and CEO of DigitalMarketer.com in an article said the primary job is to focus on the situation and acknowledge it. He stated, “The best thing to do is acknowledge the pandemic and COVID-19. No one wants their business to come across as tone-deaf, so simply double-check your messaging, double-check your visuals, and double-check your offers and promotions”

“Engage with the conversation people are already having and make an appropriate offer. For us, we were fortunate enough to have the ability to open DigitalMarketer Lab for free. By doing this, we generated over 50,000 new accounts. We’re considering that a huge positive.”

How to respond to the situation?

The main issue is that our test coverage is extremely sparse.

Random patch tests need to be done to get an estimate and a proper database needs to be maintained.

Nasal or throat swab tests can spot the coronavirus, but their results could take as long as nine hours. Rapid- spread localities need a thorough test while buffer zones could have a few swabs taken of residents picked randomly, just to see if a hotspot has expanded.

Hygiene is another department we are lagging as a country.

An adequate amount of supplies of masks, soaps needs to reach among the poor as well.

The primary objective is to protect lives, and that means averting the collapse of the health care system. Hospitals are the last line. The article in the Telegraph says that “The COVID-19 pandemic can only be prevented from resurging when at least half the world’s population has become immune to the new virus. And that can happen in only one of two ways: After enough people have been infected and have recovered, or have been inoculated with a vaccine.”

From a marketing point of view, here is what the experts are saying:

Focus on the media investments depending on the consumer behavior

The estimated drop in China’s ad spend for the whole of 2020 is less than one percent, according to reports. However, while there may be problems for marketers, there shouldn’t be much impact on online media planning & buying, PR or social media monitoring.

The online FMCG sales will be accelerated

The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel shows that FMCG spending in urban China increased 5.3% last year, but e-commerce in FMCG spending leaped 36.2%.

Impulse buys on dairy and other binge eating items may also increase quite a bit.

Demonstrate a brand value with the purpose

Most brands are going to take the situation to demonstrate a moral value among its audience.

Be from their posts, donations, helping other brands. It will be a great way to make a connection with your audience.

Brands must not do any type of marketing that could be seen as self-serving.

Struggling with online advertising? Contact us at Skyram Technologies and let us help you to find the right way to promote your brand in this tumultuous time.

Stay safe, stay indoors.

April 9, 2020

Is COVID19 surveillance causing a threat to our rights?

The world is going through an emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Technology has intervened a lot during this effort to save lives, including by spreading public health messages and increasing access to health care.

Stating “the alarming levels of spread and severity,” the WHO called for governments into taking serious actions to stop the spreading of the virus.

In the last couple of months, or “freedom” has been compromised for the sake of our benefit.

However, if we observe a little more, with technology to track people for Covid19 positive cases, it has led to serious issues with privacy altering their definitions and boundaries forever.

A New-Delhi based activist said, “ “The world has never seen this kind of a situation before. From a civil rights perspective, the challenge is of balancing the health of many versus the privacy of a few.”

We have already discussed how Google has been tracking millions of data in a report stating its efforts to eradicate the virus. But that is not the only issue.

Is the surveillance to fight the pandemic legal?

For a government to fight the virus, it is important to restrict some human rights responding to the medical emergency of the situation. But for the increased surveillance a proper criterion needs to be maintained.

The practice of tracking and surveillance must be less intrusive and deliver more desired results.

Any measures taken to protect the population that limits people’s rights and freedoms must be lawful, necessary, and proportionate.

For surveillance to work properly, the Siracusa Principles states that:

the least intrusive and restrictive available to reach the objective;
directed toward a legitimate objective of general interest;
based on scientiﬁc evidence and neither arbitrary nor discriminatory in application
strictly necessary in a democratic society to achieve the objective;
provided for and carried out in accordance with the law; and
of limited duration, respectful of human dignity, and subject to review.

The protection of human rights

The international human rights law governments have a responsibility towards its netizens to provide the right to freedom of expression, including the right to receive, seek and impart information.

Now public health restrictions towards greater good may not jeopardize the right itself.

Despite this, a number of countries have failed numerous times to uphold the right by taking actions against health workers or journalists.

For instance, China government withheld various information on the virus, including the severity, underreported cases of infection dismissing the likelihood of transmission between humans.

Authorities even detained people for reporting on the epidemic on social media.

It has been reported that, In early January, Li Wenliang, a doctor at a hospital in Wuhan where infected patients were being treated, was summoned by police for “spreading rumors” after he warned of the new virus in an online chatroom. He died in early February from the virus.

Again in Thailand, journalists and health workers faced lawsuits after they criticized government responses to the outbreak, raised concerns about a possible cover-up.

However, the majority of the countries kept open communication with the world reporting all the updates regularly.

For instance, the Singapore government, regularly polished articles with detailed statistics on the number and rate of infections and recoveries.

In Italy, the government-held regular conferences to share data and implemented an aggressive public campaign about better practices to protect oneself and others from spreading the virus.

The Role of AI and Big Data in public surveillance

The role of AI technology has been really beneficial for surveillance purposes.

In Poland, the government developed an app to ensure people’s compliance with the quarantine.

The app reportedly sends prompts for selfies to be uploaded that are then verified using face recognition data.

Even in India, a similar app is being rolled out which seeks geo-tagged selfies.

However, this could also increase discrimination for marginalized communities in a country, especially like India.

Governments should not use surveillance technologies that gather forms of data beyond what is legitimately needed to contain the disease.

The use of personal location data is also a concern now

Countries like Austria, Belgium Italy, UK all of them are allegedly using anonymized information from telecom companies.

Other countries are using cell phone data but without the added protections of anonymization or aggregation.

In South Korea, authorities are going far as sending health advisory texts, accompanied by personal details of infected patients, including hyperlinks which open to detailed data about their movements.

This technique is a major breach of privacy fuelling stigma against the virus.

Measures like these raise concerns about safety and privacy issues for the citizens. Once the situation is in control, these data may be sold for other purposes that may not have a positive intention.

Ultimately, there is no denying that the vast use of technology for gathering personal information can cause a concern definitely posing a threat to our civil rights. It is the duty of the government to use only the required minimum information so that it doesn’t pull f another USA PATRIOT Act after 9/11, causing mental and physical harm to innocent people.

Protecting public health is the requirement of the hour but damage to our constitutional rights cannot be healed in decades.

What do you think about the situation? Let us know at Skyram Technologies. Visit us here.

And for more information read here!

Till then be safe, stay indoors.

April 6, 2020

How Google Search trends are affected due to Corona Pandemic?

The Covid19 pandemic will not only define the year, socioeconomically, but it will set the chord for at least five years due to its massive impact on our lives.

Amidst the outbreak, the pandemic has caused a huge effect on the SERP, as the cause and its effect surpassed the numbers for daily weather and news searches, a Google spokesperson told the ABC.

Covid19 related searches on Google

As the outbreak is rising every week, it is dominating all the major areas of political, social, economical searches as well.

In fact, according to Google data, searches about the pandemic has exceeded other news, weather, politics, Google, Facebook, Amazon, or even porn in a huge number.

Even in advertisements, the outbreak has caused many industry’s PPC campaign.

In fact, reportedly, COVID19 searches are always spiked up in the early mornings and late at night.

Google trends reveals that the coronavirus is often on our minds, but especially when we first wake up and before we go to bed.

This trend is fairly uncommon as most of the search peak is generally during the mid-day working hours and after dinner.

But this situation compels advertisers to shift their accounts accordingly.

Major change in retail search trends

Online stores are going through extreme changes in buying trends.

Demand for household items and medical supplies are spiking up quickly so much that even Amazon is virtually canceling Google ads.

According to a Buzzfeed article, Amazon has reported a surge in buying that has necessitated hiring an additional 100,000 workers to meet the demand.

Amazon has reported a surge in buying that has necessitated hiring an additional 100,000 workers to meet the demand.

According to the article, “As Americans retreat to their homes to weather the coronavirus pandemic, they are increasingly turning to Amazon to get basic necessities such as groceries, as well as medicines, cleaning supplies, and, of course, toilet paper.”

Items like Yoga mats and Apple Air pods are listed as one of the most popular items for sale on Amazon.

Changes in ad impressions and PPC campaigns

Due to the social distancing, people are generally staying up or browsing through the internet longer than usual. This added to the late-night spike in Covid19 news search, the habit of online search has definitely changed. The search volume increases by 15% after midnight.

During most weekend hours, search volume is within 10% of it’s pre-pandemic averages.

Advertisers note between 10-25% lower conversion rates from their ads during these times. But late night search ads are having much lower conversion rates than they normally would. Also, with evening hours for Covid19, advertisers have noted a 30% lower conversion rate than they typically would expect at night.

Covid19, advertisers have noted a 30% lower conversion rate than they typically would expect at night.

How Google is feeding off the user’s location history?

Among all these searches, Google is showing exactly how much it knows about people in the world by its persistent tracking of where users go and what they do.

Google’s data gives an idea of public policy utility while providing data pulled off its global use.

The report “ COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports”, says “In Google Maps, we use aggregated, anonymized data showing how busy certain types of places are—helping identify when a local business tends to be the most crowded. We have heard from public health officials that this same type of aggregated, anonymized data could be helpful as they make critical decisions to combat COVID-19,”

What’s even more surprising is that the report consists of per country, per state downloads, which is further segregated into regions, with a full analysis of how community mobility has changed, as compared to a much normal scenario before the outbreak occurred.

Like for example, the March 29th statement showed a 47 percent drop in retail and recreation activity vs the pre-CV period; a 22% drop in grocery & pharmacy; and a 19% drop in visits to parks and beaches in the U.S.

What to do as an advertiser?

Rescheduling your ads performances

Go to the ad segment and change the time of the ads within Google Ads to coincide with the peak hours now.

Revising the bidding

The pandemic will have lasting effects for a long time. It will difficult for you to adjust campaigns within a budget. Try smart bidding and adjusting your CPC bids to match your goals.

Use data sources

Hire a company or agency to help with your data sourcing properly.

Use Google’s location data

Location based ads are crucial now to target your demography properly. Hire experts who know how to target your goals and do location based advertising.

If you want some help for your digital ad campaigns, contact Skyram Technologies. Our experts will help you find the right online campaign for your company!

And for more blogs read here!

Till then, stay safe, stay indoors. Maintain the WHO protocols.

April 2, 2020

Change in TV & Digital Media Behaviour During – COVID19 Impact

The country is adjusting to its new way of life, not to sound too cynical but given the condition, social isolation may be there for quite some time now.

As a result of lockdown in the world, millions of people are at home to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The time spends in a week of social isolation has increased by 1.5 hours.

Consumption of television

Higher TV viewing levels due to greater availability to view as people practice social distancing and self-isolation. A significant increase in television viewing has been observed in Latin America (+9% across last week) and Philippines (+19%) while in Norway there was a 26% increase in viewing across the first two working days following the national lockdown.

News channels especially during the pandemic, saw an aggregated view of nearly 40 select news sites, the week of March 9-15.

According to sources, there were over 100 million views with a 23.4% growth the week of March 9-15 vs. Mar 2-8 and 30.9% growth vs. Jan. 6-12.

Viewing habits among the children

It has been reported that younger audiences are spending more and more time even outpacing the older audiences in terms of viewing.

In China, viewing among children under 14 has risen 19% in the first 11 weeks of the year, with young adults 15-34 increasing by 27%.

In Spain, the average viewing minutes increased by 80% among 13-24s throughout March, compared to 23% for the over 65s.

In India, the viewing rate among children has grown to 40% with the most amount in Mumbai, Delhi, particularly places with the most number of lockdowns.

This increase in consumption of TV content during this crisis, presenting an opportunity for advertisers to reach their target audiences in proven, effective ways.

Growth in linear and non-linear platforms

One of the major changes has been observed in streaming content.

The demand for Netflix has prompted it to remove HD to maintain European bandwidth. Even Disney recently made a similar announcement to launch Disney+ way ahead in many markets due to an increase in demand.

It has been said that the increase in viewing is not to the sole benefit of the streaming services. Netflix, the popular streaming platform saw an increase of 29%, 30% for broadcaster video-on-demand channels and 39% for YouTube.

Also, a number of the market is measuring video-on-demand content and, increasingly, all forms of streaming. In some countries like Italy and Norway, these are already established, whereas in the U.K it is still in the process of roll-out.

Consumption in Websites and Retail

Along with the increase in the consumption of news, a generous amount of increased traffic in the “government “website has been noticed lately.

Whether that is the latest number of COVID-19 positive cases or the most updated guidelines to be followed, people are checking live updates on regular intervals.

While the traffic was down during the month of February, it jumped during the week of March 16-22, 2020 as the situation intensified.

Reportedly, websites and mobile apps belonging to the public sector saw a 29% increase in reach with a heavy dose of engagement rate by 39% and time spent on them increased by 27%.

Another site to have boomed recently is healthcare as people are getting more and more aware of the situation.

As people sought information about this relatively novel illness, traffic to health-related websites increased. Visits to websites and mobile apps increased by 25%, from the first week of March in India.

One of the most visited sites is CDC, NIH and WHO sites where there is an expected massive amount of growth with top digital visits going up to 425% in the weeks of January to March. For mobile, it is even more, around 671% during the periods of lockdown.

Not only sites, but as the impact of the virus spread and consumers braced themselves for a possible lockdown, there has been a steady rise in healthcare retail stores for supplies of sanitizers, masks soaps, and others.

Reportedly, traffic to “Healthcare Retail Sites” increased by 146% from Feb. 10-16 to March 16-22, 2020.

Apart from these, huge FMCG or retail stores that sell FMCG goods have increased a lot. During the mid-week of March, sites like Amazon, Walmart and Target’s in the USA saw a staggering 779 million visits- the highest in the quarter of 2020.

It also has a 3.8% growth versus the previous year.

As people are searching for the pandemic every minute, internet searches have been impacted hugely.

Terms like “coronavirus,” “COVID” or “COVID-19” increased by 553,778% in Jan. 2020 – from 9,902 in Dec. 2019 to 54.85 million in Jan. 2020.

Reduction in TV advertisements

Where on the one hand there is a massive growth in TV viewership, there has been a reduction in advertisement and new content.

In France, there has been a 10% drop in the number of different advertisers. This has also played-out online with a 50% drop in paid-search activity among the airline sector.

During their heart-breaking loss in sectors like travel, airlines, companies are cutting capacity and seeking bailouts.

However, random cost-cutting may affect the business more than making it steady. Systematic planning is essential in order to survive the phase.

If you are in any of these businesses and need help for digital marketing, Contact Skyram Technologies and let us help you in this difficult time.

Also for more such blogs, read here!

Till then, DO follow the WHO guidelines for you and your family’s safety. Stay safe, stay indoors.

March 30, 2020

Is India going to be the next epicenter of the Covid 19 pandemic?

As the cases of corona positives are increasing, with its huge population, the country is slowly shifting to be the next epicenter of the Covied19 pandemic.

The problem with India is its population density – 3 times that of China and twice that of Italy. This is why quarantine measures such as shutting down the whole country fail without massive testing.

Given the density, the coronavirus will have a worse effect on the Indian population, given the density. Right now India seems to focus on Quarantine measures to slow down the number of cases enough to prevent hospitals from getting overwhelmed.

Also, according to data, the rate of cases increasing in the country is alarming. There were 50 cases in the 1st week, followed by 114 cases the next week.

As for the fatality rate, there are around 1192 positive cases with around 24 deaths counting for 2.4% fatality rate.

Covid - 19 Cases in India — **Covid – 19 Cases in India**

Mike Ryan, WHO emergency program director, said, “India is a hugely populous country. The future of this pandemic will be determined by what happens to densely-populated countries. India must take aggressive action at the public health level, and at the level of society to control, and suppress this disease,”

Italy’s Response to Coronavirus

Well, within a very short period the country has been hit nothing short of a tsunami with so many deaths. It is clearly their biggest crisis since the Second World War

The country’s response was also to be blamed for this major mishap.

The Italian healthcare system is extremely decentralized, so different regions tried different policies.

For example, the two main neighboring regions with similar socioeconomic profiles, Lombardy and Veneto had two different effects.

Lombardy is one of Europe’s wealthiest and productive areas. As of March 26, it held the grim record of nearly 35,000 novel coronavirus cases and 5,000 deaths in a population of 10 million.

Veneto, on the other hand, had 7,000 cases and 287 deaths in a population of 5 million.

These two results of similar socio-economic places say a lot about their approaches.

While Lombardy with its densely populated area lacked the control, Veneto took a more proactive step in eradicating the virus.

Veneto did:

Extensive testing on both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases quickly.
A strong home diagnosis approach to maintain isolation.
Active tracing in positive cases.
Health workers were checked regularly and monitored their health.

What form of approach India is taking?

India, surprisingly opted for more harsh lockdown methods following China to fight against the pandemic.

It also makes sense as the country is far more densely populated than Italy.

China, the original epicenter of coronavirus, implemented the harshest form of lockdown in Wuhan after nearly 30 deaths had occurred. And due to this, the country managed to bring down the cases to nearly single digits.

Similar to China, India also approached a full-scale lockdown only after 10 deaths at its much earlier stage.

The time of enforcement of lockdown is extremely crucial in dealing with the pandemic. The sooner the lockdown begins, the lesser the number of deaths, it is that simple.

Financial Times reported that China implemented its lockdown after 30 deaths, Italy after 800 deaths, the UK after 335 deaths, Spain after 200 deaths, and France after 175 deaths. Comparing these with our data, India is trying its best with early measures for sure.

Measures taken by India

Apart from lockdowns borders have been closed along with cancelation of domestic flights and trains have been ensured by the government.

30 states are under lockdown with the harshest curfew imposed in Delhi and Maharashtra. In Punjab and Chandigarh, a curfew has been imposed to ensure people stay indoors.

India Inc. is helping the government during this time. FMCG companies have slashed prices of sanitizers, soaps, and even food.

Market leader Hindustan Unilever (HUL), too, announced a rate reduction of 15% on its Lifebuoy soaps and sanitizers, and Domex floor cleaners.

Godrej has decided to cut down their sanitizer price from Rs75 (less than $1) to Rs25.

Along with this, ITC has reduced the price of a 55 ml pack of Savlon from Rs77 to Rs25.

Even banks have been collaborating to help the country in need.

India’s largest lender, the State Bank of India (SBI) said that it will allocate 0.25% of its annual profit for 2019-20 to fight the coronavirus outbreak in India.

However, there have been a few problems regarding the scarcity of equipment that the government is trying to restock heavily.

What do you think about the efforts put by the country to fight against coronavirus pandemic? Tell us at Skyram Technologies.

And for more such blogs, read here!

Till then, don’t forget to follow the WHO guidelines to protect yourself and your family. Stay indoors, stay safe!

March 27, 2020

Coronavirus: Impact on the Hospitality Industry

As the effect of coronavirus is rising up cascading its devastating effects on various industries, one of the major sectors to take the hit is tourism and hospitality.

Resorts and hotels that were booked by excited vacationers and corporate conference-goers are receiving calls to postpone plans or cancel entirely. This is hitting them in a big way.

What is the situation in India?

It is estimated that hotel chains are starting at losses over ₹130-155 crore, whereas the alternate accommodation segment is likely to make losses of over ₹420-470 crore.

In India, it is reported the hospitality market is about to hit hard with domestic hotel companies that follow the fiscal year regime, this amounts to a weak Q4 FY20 and a weaker Q1 FY21.

The report further stated, “Unfortunately, business for the second half of March seems to have dropped off a cliff, pretty much across the board,”

Due to the epidemic, all the borders have been closed till April 15th in the country which will affect the country’s business at a massive rate.

It is reported that the business is expected to drop 18-20 percent which is a huge number.

In India itself, the standalone and chain hotel segment has over 1.4 lakh rooms.

So overall loss of around 140,000 branded or organized hotel rooms across the country will be anywhere between ₹130-155 crore.

India contributes around 10% of the GDP from the tourism industry thanks to its vast topography.

What is the situation in the rest of the world?

Well, it is not a pretty picture across the other parts of the globe as well.

The health crisis is costing the U.S. hotel industry a reported $1.4 billion a week in what’s shaping up to be an unprecedented sector hit, as occupancy rates plummet.

Due to this, on March 17, the hospitality industry has asked Trump Administration for $150 billion in aid due to the virus, just as Marriott set plans to furlough thousands of hotel workers.

In New York, simple bar and restaurant workers are scared, expecting to see cuts in operations and expendable operating costs soon.

The east coast area, mostly Seattle, New Jersey, and New York experienced an earlier COVID-19 than most of the U.S, and thus the effects have already started showing.

Numerous smaller restaurants and eateries have already shut down permanently due to this heavy loss.

In New York City, top-tier restaurants like Daniel and Le Bernardin announced they would close indefinitely, as did all 19 of the Union Square Hospital Group’s restaurant.

In France, the country’s daily hotel occupancy plummeted to as low as 3.3% on 17 March.

As the country got more and more confirmed cases, occupancy got below 30%.

During the last week of February, reports stated a large decline in Italy, Milan, Greece and other parts of Europe.

Switzerland canceled all meetings and events of 1,000 plus people. That resulted in the Geneva Motor show being canceled and a 12.5% decline in occupancy.

What to do in this situation?

Honestly, the world is in a very critical situation right now. Anything can happen and nothing can be told unless we recover from the situation.

However, for short term resort owners and operators should consider the need for a line of credit to help finance potential inadequate cash flow as a result of the downturn in business.

They also need to prioritize their expenditures at first, cutting down on non-essential costs while trying to jump back through a much collaborative effect with their wholesalers.

Next, strategic cost-effective planning is required to get back their customers. Like offering drive backs to their airports, discount for parking.

Honestly, as the flights and travel routes are changing, many people will be complied with to stay at the resort, thus extending their staying time. Use that time to make a genuinely good impression.

Another very important point to consider is that many travel insurance companies are doing to decline this pandemic as a coverable event, so before making any deals, the hotel staffs should have a detailed communication regarding that.

Honestly speaking, the only way things you ought to think about as a business owner is the need to sustain.

There are many programs already being set up to help out small hotels or restaurants. Take their assistance if needed.

Of course, the situation will remain unstable for a few time but it worked properly you can win the battle. The basic need right now is thinking about short term goals.

Do you have any business ideas for the hospitality sector? Or do you own a business in this sector? We can help you to create a great marketing plan, digitally, which will cost much less than your traditional marketing. Contact Us at Skyram Technologies!