Did you know that 77% of consumers buy from brands that share their values? According to a Salesforce survey, 85% of consumers conduct research before they make a purchase online. Among the most used channels for online research for a brand or a product are- websites (74%) and social media platforms (38%). That’s why having a strong digital presence of your brand is crucial for your business success in the current market. An online presence of your brand is the digital or online representation of your business across the internet. It can influence how your customers perceive and interact with you. In this blog, we will discuss how can we build a strong digital presence for your brand in four easy steps:
Step 1: Define your brand identity
The first step to building a strong online presence for your brand is to define your brand identity. Your brand identity is the core essence of your business, and it reflects your values, vision, and mission. It also communicates what makes you unique and different from your competitors. Some elements of your brand identity include:
- Logo: Your logo is the visual symbol of your business, and it should be simple, memorable, and recognizable.
- Color: Your color palette is the emotional expression of your business, and it should be consistent, appealing, and appropriate for your industry.
- Tone: Your tone is the voice of your business, and it should be clear, consistent, and aligned with your personality.
- Voice: Your voice is the way you communicate with your customers, and it should be authentic, engaging, and human.
One example of a successful digital brand with a strong physical as well as online identity is Apple. Apple’s logo is a minimalist apple with a bite mark, which represents innovation and creativity. Apple’s color palette is mostly white, black, and gray, which represents simplicity and elegance. Apple’s tone is confident, aspirational, and inspirational, which reflects its vision to create products that change the world. Apple’s voice is friendly, conversational, and humorous, which creates a connection with its customers.
To create your own brand identity to strengthen your brand’s digital presence, you need to do some research and analysis. Here are some tips or best practices for creating your own brand identity:
- Conduct a SWOT analysis: A SWOT analysis is a tool that helps you identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It can help you understand your current situation and find ways to improve it.
- Create a brand persona: A brand persona is a fictional character that represents your ideal customer. It can help you understand their needs, wants, preferences, and behaviors.
- Write a brand statement: A brand statement is a concise summary of what your business does, who you serve, how you serve them, and why you do it. It can help you communicate your value proposition and differentiate yourself from others.
Also Read: Unlocking Digital Dominance: Elevate Your Brand’s Digital Presence
Step 2: Develop your brand strategy
The second step to building a strong digital presence of your brand is to develop your brand strategy. Your brand strategy is the plan and execution of your digital marketing activities to reach your target audience and achieve your goals. It involves choosing the right channels and tools for your online presence. Some channels and tools for digital marketing include:
- Website: Your website is the hub of your online presence, and it should be responsive, user-friendly, and optimized for search engines.
- Social media: Your social media platforms are the extensions of your online presence, and they should be relevant, engaging, and consistent with your brand identity.
- Email: Your email marketing campaigns are the direct communication with your customers, and they should be personalized, valuable, and timely.
- SEO: Your search engine optimization (SEO) strategies are the techniques to improve your website’s ranking on search engines results pages (SERPs), and they should be based on keywords research, content creation, link building, and technical SEO.
- Content marketing: Your content marketing strategies are the creation and distribution of valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain your audience, and they should be aligned with your brand identity, goals, and customer journey.
One example of a successful digital brand with a strong strategy is Netflix. Netflix’s website is sleek, fast, and personalized, offering a seamless streaming experience for its users. Netflix’s social media platforms are active, entertaining, and interactive, creating a loyal fan base and generating buzz for its shows. Netflix’s email marketing campaigns are tailored, informative, and enticing, keeping its subscribers updated and engaged. Netflix’s SEO strategies are effective, ranking high for popular keywords and driving organic traffic to its website. Netflix’s content marketing strategies are innovative, producing original and diverse content that appeals to different audiences and markets. All this in combination creates a strong digital presence of Netflix as a brand.
To develop your own brand strategy, you need to set goals and execute them. Here are some tips or best practices for developing your own brand strategy:
- Set SMART goals: SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. They can help you define what you want to accomplish and how you will measure your success.
- Identify your target audience: Your target audience is the group of people who are most likely to be interested in your products or services. They can help you tailor your message and offer to their needs, wants, preferences, and behaviors.
- Choose the right channels and tools: Your channels and tools are the mediums and methods you use to reach your target audience and deliver your message and offer. They can help you optimize your online presence and performance.
- Create a content calendar: A content calendar is a schedule of when and what content you will create and publish on your channels and tools. It can help you plan ahead, stay organized, and maintain consistency.
Step 3: Deliver your brand experience
The third step to building a strong online presence of your brand is to deliver your brand experience. Your brand experience is the impression and emotion that your customers have when they interact with your business online. It can influence their satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. Some ways to enhance your brand experience include:
- Personalization: Personalization is the customization of your content and offer to suit the individual needs and preferences of your customers. It can help you increase relevance, engagement, and conversion.
- Feedback: Feedback is the collection and analysis of your customers’ opinions and suggestions about your business online. It can help you improve your products or services, customer service, and brand reputation.
- Rewards: Rewards are the incentives or benefits that you offer to your customers for their actions or behaviors online. They can help you increase retention, loyalty, and referrals.
One example of a successful digital brand with a strong online experience is Starbucks. Starbucks’ website is personalized, offering recommendations based on the customers’ preferences and purchase history. Starbucks’ social media platforms are feedback-oriented, encouraging customers to share their stories, photos, and reviews. Starbucks’ rewards program is generous, rewarding customers with free drinks, discounts, and perks.
To deliver your own brand experience, you need to provide value and delight to your customers. Here are some tips or best practices for delivering your own brand experience:
- Use chatbots: Chatbots are automated conversational agents that can interact with your customers online. They can help you provide instant and personalized responses, answers, and solutions.
- Create user-generated content: User-generated content (UGC) is any content that is created and shared by your customers online. It can help you increase trust, engagement, and social proof.
- Offer loyalty programs: Loyalty programs are schemes that reward your customers for their repeated purchases or interactions online. They can help you increase retention, loyalty, and referrals.
Step 4: Measure your brand performance
The fourth and final step is to measure your brand performance to enhance your brand’s online presence. Your brand performance is the outcome and impact of your digital marketing efforts on your business goals and objectives. It involves monitoring and analyzing your digital marketing results and adjusting your strategy accordingly. Some metrics and methods for measuring digital marketing results include:
- KPIs: Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the quantifiable measures that indicate how well you are achieving your goals and objectives. They can help you track your progress and performance.
- ROI: Return on investment (ROI) is the ratio of the profit or loss generated by your digital marketing activities to the cost invested in them. It can help you evaluate your efficiency and profitability.
- Analytics: Analytics are the tools and techniques that collect, process, and interpret data from your digital marketing activities. They can help you understand your customers, competitors, and market.
One example of a successful digital brand with a strong performance is Amazon. Amazon’s KPIs are impressive, showing high numbers of sales, revenue, market share, and customer satisfaction. Amazon’s ROI is positive, indicating that its digital marketing activities are generating more profit than cost. Amazon’s analytics are advanced, using artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize its website, products, services, and recommendations.
To measure your own brand performance, you need to collect data and act on it. Here are some tips or best practices for measuring your own brand performance:
- Use dashboards: Dashboards are visual displays that show your KPIs and other important metrics in one place. They can help you monitor your performance at a glance and identify any issues or opportunities.
- Conduct surveys: Surveys are questionnaires that ask your customers for their feedback on various aspects of your business online. They can help you measure customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy.
- Test different variations: Testing different variations is the process of comparing two or more versions of your website, content, offer, or any other element of your digital marketing activities to see which one performs better. It can help you optimize your conversion rate and improve your results.
Conclusion
Building a strong digital presence or online presence of a brand is not an easy task, but it is definitely worth it. Having a strong brand presence online can help you attract more customers, increase sales, enhance loyalty, and build your brand reputation. A strong digital presence can also help your brand stand out from the crowd, create a competitive edge, and achieve your business goals. Therefore, I encourage you to follow the four steps I have shared with you in this blog: establish your brand identity, plan your brand strategy, provide your brand experience, and evaluate your brand performance. If you do so, you will be on your way to creating a powerful digital brand that will make a difference in the online world.
