Today, developing an online brand is no longer a choice, it’s a requirement. Consumers expect their favorite brands to be present and accessible everywhere, which would allow them to keep up with their activities and product updates.
This is exactly the reason why 89% of marketers say building brand awareness is their top goal – they understand that this is the only way for them to remain relevant. There is a true war going on online between brands for customer loyalty and more recognition. So, if you don’t have a solid branding strategy, your brand might not survive.
With that said, only a consistent branding strategy with the help of a global brand consultant will help you increase revenue by 23% and facilitate continuous growth. Besides, since the majority of the internet audience consists of millennials, who expect brands to be consistent in their online presence, you cannot miss the opportunity to cater to their expectations and risk losing their interest.
So, to help you achieve that consistency, here are 3 tips on online branding for your business.
1. Start with a Logo
There is a good practice for brands to upload the same logo to every channel, whether it’s social media, website, or email. You can see popular brands do that as well. For example, you can see Nike only post one and the same logo regardless of the channel:
There is a good reason, why brands do this. Usually, it takes 5-7 impressions until a customer remembers a brand. This means that, on average, people need to see your logo at least 5 times before they would recognize that it belongs to you.
Apart from that, a logo is also a marketing tool that should be involved in all your marketing strategies, both online and off-line.
For example, if you are an English teacher and want to promote your new course on speaking fluent English in 6 months, you would have to come up with a logo and use it on all your social channels, your website, and your business cards, which you will hand to potential students.
So, don’t underestimate the power of a logo and invest in one in the early stages of developing your online branding strategy.
2. Develop a Consistent Social Media Presence
When we talk about online branding, we mostly think about social media platforms. Even though a website is still important for sales and lead generation, consumers usually interact with brands through social media more actively.
Moreover, 90% of people buy from brands they follow on social media. So, it is important to build a solid social media presence if you want to keep your sales high.
What is a consistent social media presence?
In this case, when we talk about consistency, it usually means:
- Relevancy. Your content should reflect the interests of your audience.
- Authenticity. It is important to post only original content. Social media users are quite quick to detect fraud.
- Proper timing. You need to post your content at the time when your audience is the most active, otherwise, it will get lost in the abundance of similar social media posts.
Speaking about promptness as a part of the consistent social media presence, it is important to check your audience activity via social data once in a while. You can find this information by going to the Analytics tab on a respective social media platform.
Here’s how it looks on Facebook:
So, check audience activity once in a while to find out, when your followers are the most active and schedule your posts for that time for maximum visibility and engagement.
3. Support a Social Cause
You might have noticed that a lot of big brands choose a social cause to support and actively post about it on social media. Procter & Gamble is one of such brands, having fully dedicated its Instagram account to various social issues:
Image credit: Procter & Gamble
Supporting a social cause is an important part of online branding. Reportedly, 67% of consumers expect their favorite companies to take a stand, and some brands effectively use it to differentiate themselves from others.
However, when choosing a social cause to support, it is important to keep in mind a few important factors:
- Consider brand values. Pick a cause that resonates with what your brand represents if you want to achieve consistency in your branding strategy.
- Take into account your audience’s opinion. Your followers might already have offered you some options, so take them into consideration when making your choice.
- Ask your employees for help. Google is a good example of delegating volunteering choices to its employees. Whichever cause Google employees to support, Google supports it as well. You can also use this strategy because a social cause is something that your entire staff should agree on.
It’s not necessary to dedicate your entire online presence to a social cause. After all, you have other news to share with your audience. However, it is still a good way to maintain your online image and make it seem more diverse.
Invest in Your Online Brand
Today, a business cannot exist without proper online branding. Otherwise, how will the world find out about it?
So, to make sure your brand has a solid online presence, start with developing a logo that will get you recognized. Also, try to diversify your content strategy by supporting a social cause, which is also a good strategy to make your brand appear more relevant and relatable.
But most importantly, aim at making your online branding strategy consistent. It is the most important criterion that will help you achieve the branding results you expect.
Ryan is a passionate writer who likes sharing his thoughts and experience with the readers. Currently, he works as a content strategist, you can check his website here. He likes everything related to traveling and new countries.
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