By now, you’ve seen a flood of emails and blog posts from businesses about their response to COVID-19. All the news about the economy, disruption to business, and an increase in customer questions make it easy to feel overwhelmed and confused about what actions to take next.

Now, more than ever, social media represents an unprecedented way to reach people, coordinate government responses, and keep businesses close to their customers during this disruptive time.

Here are three small ways Hootsuite is going to help:

  1. Supporting our customers: in addition to our usual support and fully operational team, we’re launching a series of free online workshops on how brands can build better processes for crisis management, as well as a new upcoming virtual conference.
  2. We’re giving away Hootsuite Professional to small businesses and nonprofits: organizations impacted by the crisis can get free access to our professional tools until July 1st, 2020, helping them stay connected to their customers and communities.
  3. Protecting our employees: we’ve made remote work mandatory for all global offices while supporting the businesses impacted in our backyards.

1. Guiding customers in the middle of the storm

We’re ready to support customers in any way we can.

In addition to our regular support, training webinars, and free education via Hootsuite Academy, we’re launching a free advanced online workshop for our health care customers who would like to learn best practices on how to engage with their patients on social media during times of crisis.

We’re also launching similar online workshops for financial services brands, higher education institutions, and governments—all organizations working hard to manage complex communications issues and provide support to people in need. We will roll these out over the next two weeks.

Finally, while we canceled our in-person customer events and conferences, we still want to connect with you. So we’re planning an experiential virtual conference for the summer. This event features an incredible program featuring advanced best practices from social-first organizations, really smart customer speakers, and an exceptional online experience. Stay tuned for your invite.

2. Giving small businesses and nonprofits free access to Hootsuite Professional

It’s clear that businesses and nonprofits who rely on offline interactions—such as small local businesses, restaurants, community organizations, and service-based providers—will be hit hard in the coming months.

To help more businesses and nonprofits preserve those customer relationships that fuel their bottom lines we’re giving free access to our Hootsuite Professional plan tools until July 1st, 2020.

Free training modules and resources will also be made available so that these organizations can quickly implement strategies that keep them connected to their community and customers. Click here for more details and if you know an organization that could benefit from this, please let them know.

3. Protecting employees and supporting our local communities

Finally, all of our global offices are now working remotely.

This slows the spread of the virus and keeps our workforce healthy. But while our offices are closed, we know that the little businesses around our global offices—such as coffee shops, restaurants, and lunch spots—will feel the financial impact of our remote work.

In the communities around our offices, we’ve created a gift card matching program. We’re encouraging employees to purchase gift cards from their favorite local coffee shops, food trucks, and restaurants around our global offices. And we’re matching purchases from employees up to $10 per employee.

Is there anything we can help you with?

We know our role in this complex situation is small. If we can support you, let us know. We don’t have all the answers but can work together to find the best way forward.

Thank you, as always, for being a valued Hootsuite Customer.

– Ryan Holmes, CEO

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The post Staying Connected During a Crisis—A Quick Note From Our CEO appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.