Think about your last experience at a restaurant—you know, before the global pandemic. If you had an excellent experience, many of the finer details of the meal are probably still sharp in your brain—the ambiance, the playlist, the conversation, the delicious food, of course.

If you had a terrible experience, those details might be just as sharp, but not in the way any restaurant would want to be remembered. Now, if the experience was somewhere in the mediocre middle, the memories might be hazier.

In fact, you may not even remember them.

We’ve always known and accepted this about experiences in the physical world. Incredibly good and incredibly bad are both memorable, while meh goes by the wayside.

Why, then, are we just now understanding that this is also true of the digital landscape?

In today’s world, a brand’s digital presence is its only presence, so it needs to adopt modern practices to retain customers and remain competitive. Failing to do so could destroy a business.

But why did it take a global pandemic for companies to realize the benefits of digital creativity?

I can’t tell you how much it irritated me that it took a pandemic to get here… but we’ve gotten here.

Now, brands are suddenly scrambling to jump on the creativity train that has been moving at 100 miles an hour without them. For those looking to take their content creation to the next level, I encourage you to do these three things:

Take a look in the mirror.

Why are you creating content? It seems like such a simple question, but you must understand the why behind the what. Is it to drive leads? Is it to build brand credibility? Ask yourself specific questions to dig deep into the reason behind the project. From there, you can work backward to produce something meaningful and memorable.

Whether you’re a CMO or a designer, you have to break down barriers to ensure your goals are always clearly communicated across the team. Ultimately, this will help your brand produce experiences that do more than just add another link to the “Resources” section of your website.

The future is here—you might as well embrace it.

Find a technology that allows you to not only dream big, but do big. Legacy tools make it difficult to scale engaging content creation. We are all designers at heart, and a little creative thinking can go a long way. Why limit yourself with technology that can’t unlock your creative potential?

Think about it this way: if a caveman wanted to express his creativity, he simply picked up a paintbrush and painted a cave wall. He had limited barriers and was free to express himself. But times have changed, and those barriers exist now. Today’s designers pick up a paintbrush and then have to navigate clunky processes to upload files, add layering elements, and ensure the work can be seen. By the time the designer does so, their creativity is squashed.

Today, designers are disconnected from tools that empower them to express themselves. That’s why we haven’t prioritized creativity until we were forced to.

Keep feeding the engine.

We’re likely in this for the long haul and won’t go back to normal for some time.

But, even if we were to return to the January 2020 world tomorrow, brands have to prioritize a long-term creative strategy that encompasses the proper tools to empower their design teams to think—and act—creatively, without any barriers.

In conclusion, I’ll say it again—those who stay in the mediocre middle risk falling behind the competition and losing valuable customers. Those who embrace creativity will lead us into a new year full of meaningful conversations, new perspectives and powerful connections.

Which path will you choose?