by Cheryl Marks Young
As author Cynthia Ozick once said, “Two things remain irretrievable: time and a first impression.” She’s hardly alone in that assessment. A quick search on “first impression quotes” brings up a long list of utterances running in the same vein and for good reason. First impressions matter.
Today, first impressions transcend a face-to-face meeting or phone call pitch. In fact, you may not even get the opportunity to worry about how your handshake will be measured or if your vocal tone exuded confidence. You may be making a digital first impression before you even know a future client, employer, or investor is even looking. If your social media profiles, your website, and your other digital properties aren’t up to snuff, it could be costing you.
It’s Not a Pandemic Thing
This isn’t a temporary phenomenon due to our heavy reliance on digital properties across these last two years. Long before the pandemic, digital first impressions were a big deal. Way back in 2018, which seems like a lifetime ago, research from Salesforce and Publicis.Sapient found that 87% of shoppers began their product search on digital channels regardless of whether they ultimately made their purchase online or in-person. Sure that’s a retail stat, but it applies to the we engage with our…