Do You Embrace Digital? A COVID-19 Reflection

So many businesses (but this applies to individuals too), profess to embrace digital. How often do we hear ‘digital / technology / innovation is at the core of our business’. And as individuals in the 21st century, most of us think we’re reasonably tech-savvy, right? I’m guilty as charged!

I’m a huge geek when it comes to digital and new technology, however this current coronavirus crisis even has me questioning myself; Do I really embrace digital? As much as I should.

Be honest; in the last few weeks, who has used one of these tools for the first time?

This post primarily focuses on digital communication tools because of the relevance right now. We’ve seen hoards of people joining & hosting business conference calls from all kinds of makeshift home offices, broadcasting innovative webinars, keeping in touch with relatives and creating short videos to keep families and friends entertained. I also think we’ve seen people emphatically proving that these are very effective, easy to use tools for communicating digitally, and that they actually enable us to be extremely creative with content we create and share.

Has anyone tried Facetime with Animoji?

Nope? Just me then. My 2 year old nephew and I love it. I probably love it more.

Some (definitely not all) of the content I’ve seen being shared recently on SnapChat and TikTok is some of the most creative and inspiring content I’ve seen and there are rapidly growing audiences that businesses can’t ignore. Is your business looking at these platforms? Would your content thrive on these platforms? I think it’s worth considering, even if the audience isn’t appropriate.

No doubt some of us already use some of the apps listed, but if we are completely honest, have we used them to their full potential, have we used them at all appropriate opportunities?

One thing that does really strike me, is that none of the tools mentioned above are particularly new. They’ve all been around for a while now, they certainly haven’t been created as a result of the pandemic. You might have had some of them installed on your devices for years but they’re scarcely used, if at all… until now.

I have been impressed with how well the tools have held up, taking into consideration that they’ve all had spectacular surges in usage (stats below).

Can you imagine how different this pandemic would be without some of these tools? Me neither, let’s not go there. I’d certainly prefer to focus on how we can embrace digital even more going forward. How can we adopt new technologies sooner? How can we harness these tools for our customers and continue to create inspiring digital content.

During this crisis many businesses have been scrambling for ways to streamline processes and be even more efficient than usual. For many businesses It has offered time for reflection. As we come out of this crisis some of those efficiencies are sure to remain in place and new ideas explored as businesses adopt the ‘new normal’. 

Can we reduce the amount we travel? Can teams be more efficient working from home? Do we need to pay rent for our office anymore? Can we instantly screen share instead of arranging a meeting next week? Can we do more virtual training?

Are you embracing future digital? Are you able to demonstrate your products and services effectively remotely with digital content? Have you thought about how Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality could help your business?

What are your plans for adapting to the ‘new normal’? Do you really embrace digital?

I’ve asked a lot of questions, leave a comment / get in touch, I’d love to hear your thoughts, plans and experiences.

Did I really just write this without using the word unprecedented? << Whoops.