Is it too late to get started?
It’s never too late to start building a brand and a digital presence. Whether it’s your first day or your 50th year in business, there’s no time like the present to start connecting with your customers online. It might seem like a daunting task, but there are lots of places to get help!
What do ‘brand’ and ‘digital presence’ mean?
Brand doesn’t just refer to a specific product or company. Brand refers to everything that makes up the idea of that company, from logo to colors to messages. If you want to be recognizable, you have to be clear and cohesive in your designs AND in the messages you send out into the world.
Digital presence refers to everything that your organization does online. Do you have a website? Digital advertising? Social media? A business on Google? All of that falls under the umbrella of digital presence.
Why are brand and presence important?
If people need information, what’s the first thing they do? They Google it. If your customer is looking for something that you offer, they’ll first look online. That means you can’t be the Average Joe of the digital world. To cut through the clutter and reach your audience, you need to stand out.
Whether you’re starting from the ground up or revamping old resources, here are 5 steps to building a brand and digital presence that will WOW your audience.
1. Find your audience.
The first step to building your brand and presence is understanding who you are trying to reach. Who do you want to buy your products or attend your events?
The more specific you are, the easier it will be to understand what your audience wants. Once you know you you’re talking to, consider these questions:
- What are the best ways to reach your audience? This could be through print advertising, your website, social media, or more.
- What is important to them? Are your customers interested in sustainability? Low costs? A job well done? Think about their values and how you can demonstrate them.
- How do you meet their needs? Customers aren’t looking for you because they think you’re awesome (even though you might be). They’re looking for you because they have some kind of issue to solve and want to know how you can solve it.
To find more questions you can ask about your customers, read our article about Building a Storybrand.
2. Lay the groundwork of your brand.
Customers have a short attention span. Think goldfish short. In fact, 10 seconds is all it takes for customers to form a first impression of a brand’s logo (ActionCard, 2016).
That means you have to give a “WOW” first impression, and you have to do it quickly. To maintain your identity, you need a defined and cohesive:
- logo
- color palette
- typography guidelines
- strategy for using your brand
It’s not just about cool fonts or fancy colors. The goal of a brand is to be recognizable and memorable.
3. Build an eye-catching website that converts.
Of all the ways to reach your audience digitally, your website is by far the most important. Why?
Because 75% of users admit to judging a company’s credibility solely on its website.
That means if you have a badly designed, unclear, or confusing website, 75% of your potential customers have already closed the door on their relationship with you. And that’s...not so good.
So as you write and design, keep in mind: this is your best chance to make a good impression.
When customers visit your site, the content should understand and address their needs, their struggles, and how you can help them overcome those struggles. The design, writing, and user experience should focus on helping your audience, not just on promoting you.
4. Set up your social media.
Once you have somewhere ready for customers to land, get started on your social media!
Posting every day about what you offer and why you are great is not the best way to manage your social media. Yes, you can tell a story and share about your exciting work. But your audience probably isn’t interested in your monologues.
Instead, think about:
- What content will add value for my audience?
- What might my audience enjoy reading? What might they find funny or interesting?
- How can our brand be personable and connect with real people?
Alternate fun, value-adding, and promotional posts so your audience doesn’t get bored. But make sure to keep a consistent tone and brand through everything you post so that you stay recognizable and memorable!
5. Analyze, adjust, and amplify!
Congratulations, your message is out in the world! But you might be wondering...now what?
Once you know what to say, who to say it to, and how to say it, the next step is to watch and learn. As you share your content, consider:
- What content does well? What content isn’t meeting our expectations?
- What is our audience liking, commenting on, or resharing?
- What might our audience want more of?
As you learn what works, adjust your strategy and do more of that! Before you know it, you’ll be best friends with your audience.
Ready to put yourself out there?
Promoting your organization online can feel scary. Book a free 15-minute Discovery Call with TwoTone Creative and get the help you need to build your brand and digital presence so that you can focus on what you do best.
