4 Killer Ideas To Be An Online Brand Maniac
Gone are the days when loads of advertisements were pushed through television, radio, newspapers and billboards… and the common and rather ‘naïve’ citizens happily complied to, and accepted these marketing gimmicks.
We even sat around listening to the radio or watching the television with our families singing to the tunes and jingles of the next shiny object – an unavoidable spectacle of consumer goods, which the big brands and corporates of the world showcased, or rather shoved into our gullible minds, in the comfort of our living rooms.
And the majority of us believed, that in each of those product slogans and promises they were delivering, from ‘UltraBrite – The sex appeal toothpaste’, to ‘Lucky Strike cigarettes are less irritating to the throat – It’s toasted’.
Well, not anymore. Because, says Dan Pink – we’ve surpassed the ‘Information - Asymmetry-Buyer-Beware’ economy, and are currently living in the ‘Information-Parity-Seller-Beware’ economy.
In this digital age of ‘Information Overload’, the buyers have the information advantage over the sellers. From the brands’ monthly turnover, production processes, carbon footprints to employee rights – every aspect of the ‘brand’ is within the reach of the consumers via the internet.
A simple smartphone in the pockets of potential customers has given this ‘edge’ over giant corporations. And any attempt to deceive the consumers in their ‘buyer-journey’ will be short-lived and detrimental to the brand’s image.
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The following are a few ideas worth exploring, on how online branding can be effective;
1. What is your ‘Brand Story’?
Michael Margolis puts it very aptly, “Your brand is only as strong as the stories people tell about you”.
The stories often stem from the experiences your customers have with your products or services. And these days such experiences are amplified a hundred fold, if not a thousand, and with speeds faster than a wildfire through a multitude of media outlets and social networking platforms, in the ever-growing ‘digital’ space.
A brand that resonates with its customers is the one that wins their trust by making itself ‘authentic’ and ‘approachable’. Their story always puts the audience as the main character and strives to serve and stand by them to overcome their problem/s.
Brands like Coca-Cola, Apple or Star Bucks, are not simply companies that sell fizzy drinks, computers and coffee to people. They've been telling amazing and genuine stories about themselves, their customers and their friends for decades.
Stories so powerful, that these brands and their products have become an integral part of millions of peoples’ lives. A complex emotional relationship is built between these products and the consumers, who trust and embrace the brands as a part of their culture and lifestyle.
2. WEBSITE – Building your brand’s ‘portrait’ for the world
Once you’ve identified and crafted your ‘brand story’, it's time to tell it to the world. And needless to say, this story is best captured in a website with your brand name.
Websites have come a long way from the humble beginnings as ‘virtual business cards’ to recent multiple ‘avatars’ - ‘as an interactive forum’, ‘a resource hub’, an ‘exceptional tool’ to generate revenue or as a canvas used for ‘branding’.
Branding in a general sense takes place right from the product design, packaging, interior store decoration to logo designs and consumer stories and testimonials. A brand is an abstract construct, which is not limited to the logo or the product, but it represents every association, experiences and characteristics surrounding the company ethos.
Web designing plays an important role in creating the essence of the ‘brand’ by using logos, texts, colours, images, sounds and videos. It helps to build a ‘character’ or a ‘personality’ of the brand and to evoke the desired feelings and emotions in the user when interacting through these aesthetics.
3. Blogging Consistently
Blogging regularly, at least 3 days a week is enough (more is ideal) to build an authentic brand identity. It shows your website is active and geared to sharing valuable information to your audiences.
Each new blog page is also indexed by Google as new ‘fresh’ content in addition to your web page, which helps in SEO and brings in organic traffic to the site. Regular blogs addressing customers’ questions and solving their business pain points will not only convert visitors to leads but will also establish your brand as an ‘authority’ in their eyes.
Blog comments are also an innovative way to interact with customers and readers. It's an opportunity to support the users, bond and exchange stories with them – all the while putting up an effective brand presence.
4. Social Media Branding & Cross Promotion
Social Media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest has now become the ‘go to’ platform for brands to drive traffic to their sites and to use it as a powerful promotional and branding tool.
The key to social media branding is posting regularly. A single tweet every two days or one weekly Instagram picture is not going to help with your branding efforts. The frequency and scheduling of your posts are determined through trial and error. It depends highly on your audiences’ behaviour, and with the help of analytics tools you can decipher what works best for your brand.
A neat trick to get quicker results and amplify your social media branding is to connect with the influencers. With strategic Influencer Marketing, you'll be able to take a piggyback off the audience, which these experts or ‘authority’ figures have built in the industry.
Cross promoting within your brand’s social media accounts will get your audience to connect on many platforms as possible and help them to identify the ones they’re comfortable to engage with your brand. It is however, important that you use the same ‘handle’ for all the platforms you choose to be on. This will give a consistent impression to customers and will make it easy for them to remember ‘you’.
Finally…
Surrounded by such ‘aware’ masses in this highly competitive consumer market, brands need to maintain their authenticity and cultivate strong relationships - now more than ever. Those brands aspiring to make it big today need to ‘walk a tightrope’ to prove their worth and win the hearts of loyal customers.
Have someting to add, we'd love to hear from you!
Contact Andy Fox (me) on 03 5249 5570 or at andy@element7digital.com.au
For our full story go to our digital identity, element7digital.com.au
