Actionable digital strategies to ensure a consistent brand message across all your channels
What is a brand? Simply put, it’s the unique features you choose to define your business that differentiate you from your competitors. It’s your business name and logo and maybe a tagline – but so much more too – especially in the digital world. Everything you do online contributes to your brand, from the types of words you use in your social media updates to the color of your logo and profile picture to the voice-over in your videos.
Think of digital branding as the forward face of your business, supporting everything you do in the marketplace. A strong online brand gives your business an identity – beyond the product or service you sell – that will help consumers relate to it and remember it. Branding – strong branding – can also bring your employees pride and a sense of belonging.
Tepperman’s in Ontario is a great retail example of a strong digital branding. From how they’ve evolved during COVID to offer zoom consultations to their vision of sustainability to their scholarship program – everything about their brand is family-focused and community oriented. In a highly promotional industry, their brand-building differentiates them in the marketplace.
Emma is a great example of a mattress brand killing it on a global level. Their branding is sharp, clear and easily recognizable across all channels. They don’t waste time with “fluffy” messaging – they’re here to do business and they do it by putting it all out there, up front and in your face. Building trust with consumers begins with hard work and there’s no shortage of that with Emma.
If you’re struggling with your business brand online, we’ve got some actionable tips for creating a strong digital brand. But first, let’s review some branding buzz words – and how they relate to the digital world.
Branding buzz words
• Brand identity. Your brand’s identity goes beyond what products or services you sell. It’s as simple as a personality – your values and communication style – and as complicated as the feeling people get when they interact with your business. If your brand identity online is recognizable, consistent and trustworthy, customers will be able to relate to you, whether they walk into your store or visit you online. What’s your brand’s personality? If you can’t answer that, begin with asking your loyal customers why they’re loyal to you. • Brand awareness. If your target audience knows your name, you’ve got brand awareness – good job. If your business is “buzz worthy” or “trending”, you’ve arrived. If the consumers you’re trying to reach don’t know you’re online, you have some work to do – and strong branding can help. Think of the difference · between Casper (buzz-worthy) and the hundred or so wanna-be (nameless) bed-in-the box brands that have hitched their wagon to that star.
• Brand management. Your brand is a living, breathing asset that requires careful and consistent nurturing. Managing your brand can tangible, like brand guidelines, logos and color palette in the images and videos you share online. But it’s also intangible, like how a customer feels after interacting with your business online. Even when I’m not traveling, I like to visit Away on Facebook – their brand management never fails to inspire me.
· Brand extension. When a company expands to carry different or new products, this is known as brand extension. Chip and Joanna Gains, DIY stars on HGTV, developed Magnolia Home – a brand extension that leveraged their current brand and created more revenue streams. Joanna regularly shares products from Magnolia Home on her personal Facebook page, giving more credibility to both brands.
· Brand trust. If you’ve invested in strong branding and your social media manager, customer service team and marketing department all deliver the same message, a message your customers understand trust, you’ve achieved the holy grail of digital marketing – brand trust.
5 actionable tips for better digital branding
1. Ensure the basics of your brand are correct. Do a digital audit, checking that your logo, banners and images fall into step with your overall brand strategy. If you’re not managing your social media channels yourself, read the updates being posted – as well as the timing of those updates – to ensure clarity and consistency of messaging. Digital audits are like watching your weight – it needs to be monitored regularly to be sure things aren’t falling off the rails.
2. Map out your long-term plans. Like SEO, building a strong digital brand is a long term goal that will continue to grow as your business grows. Ensure you have a content generation pipeline so that you can maintain a consistent, on-brand posting schedule on your social media channels. Stopping and starting, or random posting won’t move you toward your goals.
3. Focus your plans on what you can manage. You don’t need to be on every social media channel but you do need to ensure that you’re nurturing and growing the ones you are on. If you can only manage one social media channel, focus on building your brand, one update at a time. Diluting input efforts will only lead to a watered-down output.
4. Concentrate on quality over quantity. A big following on social media doesn’t always result in more sales. Check your ego at the door and concentrate on fine-tuning your brand and delivering high quality content across all your digital channels. In this case, if you build it right, they really will come.
5. Celebrate success along the way. Whether it’s a customer that posts an unsolicited review or a loyal fan that regularly shares your content with her friends and family, take time to notice the small but important steps along the way. Continue to deliver excellence and your community will notice – and reward you – as you grow.
Who the heck is Julia Rosien?
At the end of the day, it's night and it's my job to help you get a better night's sleep – and lead a healthier, longer life. Pretty awesome job, right? As Vice President of Marketing for Restonic Mattress Corporation, I also serve as the brand liaison for Restonic's family of brands, which includes Scott Living and Biltmore.
My motto: life is better together. We all want to succeed and when we work together, we can make great things happen for ourselves, those around us and the organizations we serve. Connect with me on LinkedIn.