The Web is an open scene for a Global audience. You buy online, communicate, socialize, study, and have fun. You search for information, you compare, you think and you make a decision. You have access to that book you need faster than offline, you can make better purchasing decisions, and you can even become famous in a matter of days: all you need is a good story, a “digg” and… that’s it!
Online branding is indeed a challenging process, because, guess what: you are not the only one doing it. At the same time, as you “consolidate and communicate” your brand in a creative manner, another online entrepreneur employs the same online tools to reach the same goals: gain customers’ awareness, capture their interest, breed desire and induce them to take a desired action.
There are many Internet users that don’t make a purchasing decision unless they “google” a brand, product, business. They first read the product/ service info on the first page they find (whether on your website or somewhere else, it makes no difference), then they google your product and your business, looking for reviews, news and all possible information related to your company, to see whether you are reliable or not. Then they compare your product/service with others of the kind and finally they purchase… or not.
The Web makes it easy for potential clients to change opinions as a result of online search. This is how the Internet influences brand users or induces brand awareness.
The advantage of branding online is that you have many tools to support your branding process, and most of them are free. You will need to pay for a good logo and a good web design; you’ll need to pay as well for professional copywriting. You’ll probably need to throw some money into PPC advertising and press release distribution. But believe it or not, this costs less then offline advertising and the results are beyond expectations.
Online you can add sound and video to your brand presentation, you can add tons of information. You have flexible sales means: coupons, special offers, instant payments, free online customer support, low cost phone access and so much more.
- When branding online you should focus on your targeted audience, not on traffic, not on irrelevant search engines rankings.
- Try to rank high for what matters to your customers.
- Never ignore a Web user that sends an inquiry to you, just because your company doesn’t deal with the “small fish”. The small fish might be a shark in disguise, just “testing the waters”.
- State your position: give your clients, business partners and the media a clear picture of what your brand is all about.
- Communicate clearly and establish credibility. In the absence of credibility you are under a shroud of suspicion and only luck might bring you a customer every now and again.
And that’s what you need to know prior to focusing on “how to brand online”.
