Keeping up with the changing behaviors of online users and knowing what strategies are right for your business can seem overwhelming.
But many of the fundamental components of developing an effective online branding strategy remain unchanged. These are the principles and strategies that provide consistent results to businesses in a wide range of industries.
The following components are essential to your online branding strategy if you’re looking to achieve long-term success in today’s marketplace.
Getting Found With SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) consists of the strategies, tools, and methods that improve your rankings in the search engine results pages (SERP).
Search engines are where today’s consumers start the process that leads them to make a purchase. Implementing a comprehensive SEO strategy places your website, social media pages, blog, and other online assets in front of those individuals who are looking for your products and services.
Your SEO strategy must include site optimization, proper keyword research and implementation, and consistent updates in response to changing algorithms.
Know Your Audience
You must know who you’re selling to In order to sell in the first place. Knowing your audience allows you to meet the needs that are the most relevant at any given time.
This can only be achieved when you understand the demographics related to your audience and their expressed needs.
Use this information to develop a customer profile on which you can create a more customized and effective brand message.
Meeting Your Customers Where They Are
Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn cater to a diverse group of people with unique personal and professional goals.
Knowing where your current and future customers are, and engaging with them in a way that’s appropriate to those platforms, is essential to your online branding. It helps you build a community of followers who interact with and trust your brand.
Reaching your audience where they spend their time online allows you to stay top-of-mind and connect with more of the people who need and want your products or services.
Design Strategy
The results of your online branding strategy will be limited if you don’t provide your audience with a way to easily recognize you.
Your design strategy influences some of the most important parts of your brand including your logo, website, marketing materials, social media, and ongoing communication with your customers.
Creating a consistent brand message depends largely on your design strategy. It creates an experience related to your products and services. The images, colors, and words you use support the brand message you create.
Measure to Manage
Knowing the effectiveness of your online branding strategy is a major component to your success. When you can monitor results in a way that measures the results you achieve, you can consistently improve your strategy over time.
Using analytics to measure the performance of your website, marketing campaigns, blog posts, and rankings in the SERPs provides greater insight into developing a more effective strategy.
This results-oriented approach keeps you from making uninformed decisions that could cost you time, money, and other valuable resources.
Measure your site traffic, page views, bounce rates, and conversions. How many blog views and subscribers are you gaining or losing each month, week, or day?
Paying attention to these and other factors is fundamental to an effective online branding strategy.
If you aren’t sure how to implement these components in your business, let us know where you’re getting stuck in the comments below. Every business is unique, and we’ll help you determine the best strategies that will help you develop your online brand and become a leader in your industry.
