Tracking Evolving Conversations Around COVID-19 With Talkwalker

COVID-19 has, understandably, dominated global conversations in 2020 and continues to do so. As the crisis evolves, so do the trends and conversations surrounding this topic. Whilst the crisis has been ongoing in other regions since the start of the year, in Europe, and specifically the UK, conversations on this topic really ramped up in March, when the UK government imposed a lockdown. In this blog post we use social analytics to track the online conversations people have been having publicly, and see how they have evolved over time. We’ll also take a look at the future, and some of the trends to consider when developing your marketing strategy going forward.

Societal concerns focus on healthcare 

Since it became clear that coronavirus was likely to hit the UK, concerns about the ability of the NHS to be able to cope with the potential volumes of patients were top of mind. In particular discussions around the availability of ‘PPE’ (Personal Protective Equipment) were high. In the period from the beginning of March to mid-May, there were 3.4m mentions of ‘PPE’ in the UK, with the bulk of them coming from England in particular. The sentiment of these conversations were largely negative, based on the fact that suitable volumes of PPE have been lacking. 

Out of this conversation, though, have emerged opportunities for some brands. One of the most mentioned brands in relation to this topic was Burberry. Early on, they transformed their trenchcoat factory in Yorkshire to focus on PPE manufacturing. At the end of April they announced they had donated more than 100,000 pieces of PPE to the NHS.

The other positive thing to come out of this crisis is an enhanced appreciation for the NHS. As you can see from the emoji cloud below, the most used emojis used in relation to the NHS were positive - love hearts, clapping and thanks.

Some of the main themes talked about in relation to the NHS were around ‘staff’ and ‘workers’ and the hashtags #clapforcarers and #clapforNHS have received over 609K mentions since the beginning of March. Interestingly, the top occupation of people using these hashtags are Executive Managers.

Entertainment and virtual communication getting people through the lockdown

As people were told to stay at home and avoid meeting with friends and family outside of their household, conversations around how people were keeping themselves entertained increased. From keeping fit with online exercises videos - #PEwithJoe - to jumping on the sourdough trend, with individuals charting their journeys from starter to loaf.

One of the pervasive trends has been around communication. Since face-to-face communication has been strongly discouraged, other ways of keeping in touch with colleagues and loved ones emerged. Enter Zoom. Whilst other video messaging services old (e.g. Skype) and new (e.g. Houseparty) have been used, Zoom has been the one mentioned most since the beginning of March with around 980K references. The top themes that have emerged around Zoom have been related to work, as more people are working from home and conducting business by video, “family”, “friends” and “support”. For those who live alone, Zoom and other video messaging services have been a way to keep connected and feel less isolated. News stories also tell of older generations having to learn how to video call for the first time. 

Netflix has also been a trending topic throughout the duration of the crisis. With a high number of people unable to work due to the restrictions, and with fewer opportunities to socialise many have turned to Netflix series’ for entertainment. Since the beginning of March there have been almost 950K mentions of Netflix, with linked themes including recommendations of what Netflix shows to watch. 

It’s hard not to talk about Netflix without mentioning the hit documentary ‘Tiger King’. This was one of the most referenced hashtags in relation to Netflix, and has accumulated around 95K mentions since the beginning of March. Other shows that have piqued people’s interest during this time include Ricky Gervais’ follow up to the first series of ‘Afterlife’, Basketball documentary ‘The Last Dance’ and the adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished manuscript ‘Sanditon’

Hope for the future

Now that it appears the UK has managed to flatten the curve when it comes to new COVID-19 cases, and lockdown is slowly lifting, people are looking to the future. Since the end of April, people have been discussing what they plan to do when lockdown is over. Like many of the conversations happening in the UK around COVID-19, they are not dissimilar to the rest of the world. There is a strong desire for people to be together with friends and family and a greater appreciation for the front line workers who have emerged as heroes during the crisis. Others reference the enjoyment of simple pleasures they have had to abandon over the previous weeks. 

There are some concerns emerging around a ‘second wave’ taking place if the virus hasn’t been properly contained. Some feel the lockdown has been lifted too soon. There were 13.1K mentions of a ‘second wave’ from mid-April, which was up 33% on the previous 30 days. 

On the whole though, conversations are generally erring on the hopeful side. There have also been talks of travel plans and the types of holidays people plan to take. Globally, conversations centre around cities, and the potential safety concerns people have of visiting places with so many people. Understandably, beach and mountain holidays are talked about with more positive sentiment.

In the UK specifically, conversations around ‘after lockdown’ have increased since the beginning of April are talked about with increasingly positive sentiment, suggesting there is a hopeful feeling of the future among the UK public. References to summer travel plans have increased in the last month, up 1.9K% on the previous month. Feelings towards the idea of summer plans are largely positive as people look forward to summer out of lockdown, although there are some feelings of fear lingering. The trends driving this sentiment are largely around family, friends, freedom and good weather, rather than looking at international travel and destination holidays. 

Conversations around COVID-19 will continue to evolve along with the crisis. Once any sort of exit strategy is fully implemented, inevitably conversations will focus on rebuilding the economy and adapting to the ‘new normal’. Following conversations that are happening online is a great way to keep track of these changing trends, and to better understand the evolving needs of the population. With this information, marketers can continue to adapt their marketing strategies in-line with the needs of their customers.  It will be interesting to see how many of the positive things that have come out of this crisis - such as adaptability, community spirit and innovation - will continue.