The internet has empowered just about every one with a great business idea to open their online doors and start trading.
And while this is exciting and easy, it does have one major drawback: you are competing in a global market against established businesses with more experience and money than you have. Some of them even have advanced AI capabilities.
Thankfully, creating a digital presence that converts is not only doable, but relatively simple. Here are the 5 secrets you need to master to make your digital branding a success.
1. What’s the Big Idea?
Just because you’re choosing to do business in the online world, it doesn’t mean that you will succeed with a mediocre product or service.
People online want convenience, and products that make their social, working, or personal lives a little easier.
Don’t bother starting down the path of digital branding unless you’re sure you’ve got a great idea.
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2. Start With Segmentation
Big data is a crucial part of developing a branding strategy for your newly-formed business.
Get all the information around your proposed target audience. If you are trying to figure out ways to brand your online boat rental business, dig into data about the typical boat owner.
Then, take things a step further and start to work out their digital consumption habits, and pick up any trends that you can.
For example, your research could reveal that your ideal customer is a 32-year old male who spends all their time on YouTube, not Facebook – meaning you need to invest in video and not strictly social media.
3. Choose Your Property
At the heart of any brand that lives online is an owned, distinctive website domain name.
Find and buy a domain as soon as you have settled on a name for your brand. This is the foundation of all your branding efforts, so make sure you’re happy with what you get.
Regardless of whether you’re using a DIY platform like WordPress or having your site custom built, the whole thing will fall flat if you wait until everything’s built only to find that there are no related domains available.
The next step is fleshing out your preferred digital ecosystem based on your research. Create social media pages on relevant networks and invest in a solid AdWords strategy.
Remember, the goal of these properties varies per platform. Generally, brands use:
- Facebook for complaints
- Twitter for news
- Instagram for product display
- YouTube for demos.
4. Time to Stand Out
Once you’ve figured out your ideal channel strategy, purchased your domain, and built all the related pages you need, you need to stand out.
Most businesses do this through brilliant marketing, or outstanding service, but if possible, blend the two.
Make sure you have a distinctive visual identifier, such as a logo, and apply it consistently across your digital properties. Couple this with a distinct communication style to stay memorable.
5. Play Smart
The digital branding environment is always changing, so use this advice to get off the ground and then keep your ears to the ground for new innovations that could help take your business to new heights.
