How to Adapt Digital Marketing Efforts During Natural Disasters

The ongoing wildfires in Greater Los Angeles have devastated the region, causing widespread damage and displacing countless people. During such times of crisis, it’s crucial for businesses to adapt their marketing strategies and demonstrate sensitivity. In this article, we’ll explore how natural disasters impact digital marketing and how marketers can respond thoughtfully, ensuring their efforts are both compassionate and effective. We’ve also included resources to support wildfire relief efforts and encourage collective action.

Shifting Consumer Priorities During Natural Disasters

When disaster strikes, consumer focus shifts toward immediate needs such as safety, news updates, and community support. This change impacts the way audiences engage with digital content. Ads and campaigns that might have otherwise been effective before the disaster may now feel irrelevant or even insensitive. For marketers, it’s essential to recognize this shift and adjust strategies.

Real-Time Impacts on Performance Marketing Campaigns 

Some hurdles digital marketers may face during times of crisis include advertising campaign disruptions and declining engagement. 

• Advertising Campaign Disruptions – Performance marketing campaigns can face serious context and placement risks during crisis periods. For example, automated placements might show vacation ads next to evacuation notices, or dynamic keyword insertion could create inappropriate ad combinations with crisis-related searches. Without proactive management, brands risk appearing insensitive: a retail campaign showcasing “must-have summer essentials” could appear alongside wildfire coverage, or a “blowout sale” promotion might run next to storm damage reports. These misalignments not only waste ad spend but can cause lasting reputation damage.
• Declining Engagement – Disasters often lead to a drop in engagement with standard advertising and promotional content. Audiences are less likely to click on ads or interact with posts that seem irrelevant in the context of their immediate concerns, especially as the social landscape is flooded with content relating to the crisis at hand. During emergencies, consumer attention naturally shifts to safety updates, community information, and crisis response, making typical marketing messages less effective and potentially damaging to brand trust.

The most effective and agile digital marketers understand it is crucial to lead with empathy when adjusting strategies to meet the moment. 

Adapting Paid Advertising Campaigns During Natural Disasters

Though every situation is different, there are a few simple tactics that can help to keep your campaigns on the right track.

1. Pause Location-Based Targeting

Temporarily pause location-based campaigns in affected areas, or reduce campaign delivery in those areas by utilizing exclusions. In ad platforms, you can exclude impacted areas using location-based targeting to eliminate zip codes, cities, designated market areas (DMAs), or states.

Your campaigns may inadvertently reach individuals dealing with the aftermath of the crisis or seeking critical news updates and public safety recommendations, so by eliminating delivery in those areas you can ensure your brand maintains sensitivity while preserving campaign performance in unaffected regions. Consider implementing a radius-based exclusion that extends beyond the immediately impacted area to account for displaced individuals and neighboring communities that may be indirectly affected.

2. Adjust Keyword Targeting

Carefully analyze your existing keyword lists across paid search advertisers, like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, identifying those that could potentially be triggered by news, disaster, or location-related searches. For instance, a travel company targeting keywords like “Hollywood tours” or “luxury hotels in Southern California” might inadvertently trigger ads on searches related to the Los Angeles wildfires. In some cases, temporarily pausing all campaigns related to the impacted region may be the most prudent course of action.

3. Monitor Brand Mentions

Proactively monitor social media and other online platforms for any brand mentions using tools like Brandwatch, Sprout Social, Hootsuite, or Google Alerts. Swiftly address any concerns or negative sentiment related to the current situation with empathy and transparency, as demonstrated by Airbnb during the 2023 Hawaii wildfires. In response to criticism for allowing vacation rentals to remain active while residents were being evacuated, Airbnb took steps to help mitigate negative impact and demonstrate a commitment to community support:

• Implemented their disaster response program
• Activated free emergency housing
• Proactively messaged hosts about sensitivity
• Responded to social mentions in real time

As the situation evolves, it’s crucial to continuously monitor and adjust marketing strategies accordingly. This may involve gradually re-introducing certain campaigns while maintaining a vigilant approach and prioritizing community well-being.

The Los Angeles County wildfires serve as a stark reminder of the importance of responsible and sensitive business practices during times of crisis. By adapting marketing strategies, prioritizing community safety, and demonstrating support for those affected, businesses can effectively navigate these challenging times.

Supporting Those Impacted by the Los Angeles Wildfires

If you’d like to support those impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires, consider donating to or volunteering with these well-vetted organizations or funds:

• California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund
• Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation
• American Red Cross

Help the Pasadena Humane Society provide emergency resources to animals affected by the wildfires by donating here.