We wrote the first version of this post during the 2020 shutdowns. The advice has been updated since, because the underlying question — how do you stay visible when demand or budgets collapse — keeps returning in new forms: supply shocks, platform upheavals, budget freezes.
Cut spend before you cut presence
In a crisis, the instinct is to pause everything. But auctions get cheaper when competitors leave, and share of voice gained in a downturn is the cheapest brand growth you will ever buy. Cut to your efficient core — brand search, high-intent non-brand, proven remarketing — instead of going dark. Accounts that go fully dark restart from a cold algorithm and higher CPCs later.
Update the message before the media plan
Nothing burns trust like ads that ignore reality. Audit every live headline, sitelink, and automated asset for tone-deaf copy. Say plainly what has changed: hours, availability, delivery times, what you can and cannot promise. Clarity is a conversion rate strategy, not just good manners.
Make your local footprint tell the truth
Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing customers check in a disruption. Update hours, add a status post, answer new questions. A profile that says you are open when you are not generates one-star reviews that outlive the crisis.
Build the owned channels while rented ones are cheap
Crises expose how much of your audience you actually own. Use quieter periods to grow the email list and publish the content that answers what customers are suddenly asking. Owned attention is the hedge against every future auction, algorithm, and platform policy change.
Keep measurement honest
Demand shifts break year-over-year comparisons. Re-baseline against the last stable period, watch leading indicators (search impressions, direct traffic, branded query volume), and resist judging channels on crisis-era conversion rates. The goal during the storm is preserving efficient visibility — growth math resumes when demand does.
Businesses remember who stayed visible and useful during hard stretches. So do their customers.