CHARLOTTE – The global pandemic has forced and accelerated many changes in our lives. Both in the business world and in our personal lives.

Some of these changes are temporary and will subside once the pandemic is over. However, many of these shifts are here to stay and increased online activity is one of them.

For most businesses now, if you aren’t online, you face the very real possibility of not surviving long-term. Shopping, meetings, and even customer service have moved online and consumers overall prefer it that way and aren’t likely to change their behavior back to the old normal of in-person commerce. Some will, but not enough to make foregoing this shift possible.

Businesses that fail to adapt to an online-first world, will also likely fail to thrive.

Entertainment and social interaction have ramped up online as well. Gaming and other entertainment like tv and movies can be done remotely on the internet, and the convenience of having access to entertainment at home and even sharing entertainment with friends online will likely keep consumers online long after things could go “back to normal”.

So if you or your business isn’t online or on social media now, not only are you missing out on connecting with others and opportunities now, you’ll continue to miss out in the future as well.

With so much extra free time at home (presumably of course) now is a great time to learn how to navigate the online world and get familiar with social media. What are you waiting for?