That digital channels and social media are on the rise is hardly news. Brands have been moving onto the online world for years – either excitedly engaging across platforms or begrudgingly easing on. 

We’ve been expecting digital presence to increasingly become the first interaction people and businesses have with us. What none of us expected is that it would become the only face we can show due to an almost worldwide lockdown. 

It’s never been more important for brands to make sure their online presence is serving their business as well as possible. Like a CV refresh, a website update or new Twitter profile can slip to the bottom of the to-do list. But not anymore. 

For those of you still not convinced that now is the perfect time to refresh your digital channels, we’ve busted some of the most common myths below. Read on to find out how to put your digital face on.

‘I’m not ‘techy’ so I can’t do social media’ 

A common misconception from those reluctant to invest in their digital channels is that it’s all about expensive, trendy designs. User experience is certainly an important element, but, like everything we do at Missive, it’s all about business impact. 

Take the time to evaluate your channels and ask some key questions:

• Is the information correct and up-to-date?
• Do my channels reflect my business and my brand? 
• Can potential customers understand what we do and easily contact us? 
• Is the content you’re sharing relevant to your stakeholders and customers? Does it show your expertise and industry knowledge?

‘Face-to-face is more important than digital’

Usually, in-person networking might be your best foot forward. But it’s difficult to charm someone from two metres away. 

Social media in particular is an investment you can’t afford not to make right now. Twitter had 23% more daily users in Q1 2020 than a year ago. Messaging on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp has increased 50% in countries hit hard by the virus. Your digital channels need to account for every conference, drinks, pitch or meeting you might have been networking at in the current period. 

‘What works on LinkedIn will work the same on Twitter’

Adapting your content to work on the specific platform you’re posting on is vital. Each platform has a different audience make-up, user behaviours, media specifications. Whereas longer form posts and blogs might suit LinkedIn, Twitter is better suited to short form, visual content. 

When creating content, it’s important to have the distribution channel in mind so you can make sure it’s designed to work well on that channel. Length of videos, orientation and dimensions of images and other platform-specific formats, like hashtags or polls, should inform your content decisions. This ensures your content will best engage the audience on that channel, as well as removes any potential headaches when it comes to posting. 

‘Social media is only for B2C brands reaching millennials and Gen Z’

While different platforms do have different demographic breakdowns, social media is for everyone. It’s always worth taking the time to understand where your audience is most active and concentrating efforts there, but base it on data and not assumption. We’re always happy to help clients understand more about the right channels for them to achieve their business goals. 

• Fintech and tech businesses and media are particularly active on Twitter
• LinkedIn is specifically designed to connect professionals
• Facebook offers excellent group and event functionalities to build loyal customer bases
• Instagram has a range of content formats that make it particularly easy for people to engage with

Despite the myth-busting, we know it can be difficult to break through the noise and be sure your digital content is making an impact. As a team of communications experts, our ambition is to create better, not more, content. And to help you measure the success of your digital content against competitors, we’ve developed a benchmarking tool to help identify your strengths, areas for improvement and actionable insights to help your social media get the attention it deserves.

Taking into account factors such as engagement rate and objective content quality, we can share a structured overview of how well your channels are working for you, how well your competitors channels are working and exactly what will take your communications to the next level.