Whether you’re starting a new business or revamping your company image, establishing your online brand is key to your success. So how do you go about successfully creating a strong online brand?

Think before you act

Don’t jump straight in at the deep end. Before you spend time, money and effort in promoting your business online, take a step back and think about what you want to achieve. Make sure you have a clear idea of who you are as a company, what your priorities, ethics and morals are as well as what your goal is before you make any decisions.

Sit down with your business partners or staff and brainstorm what your business is about. Once you’ve got a clear idea in your own minds, then you are ready to move forward and build your brand.

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Put yourself in your customers’ shoes

Before you can create a brand that appeals to your customers, you need to think about who your customers are and what they want. Think about the demographic you’re trying to appeal to and what they are most likely to respond to.

For example, if your customer base is couples looking for wedding bands in Sydney, then your branding and marketing output should reflect their needs. Things like location, availability and pricing will be extremely important to those types of customers so your marketing content should refer to these points as much as possible.  All your imagery and videography should also be wedding-focused. Try and include something wedding-related in your logo or tagline too so that customers immediately know what services you offer.

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Be consistent

Once you’ve come up with a brand, make sure it’s across all of your content and marketing output. Keep your tone of voice the same across all your content and keep your logo consistent too. From your company letterhead and email signatures to your company Linkedin profile picture or Facebook posts, everything should be on-brand.

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Have a plan

Whether you’re doing it yourself, hiring an in-house team or outsourcing the work to a professional digital marketing agency, make sure you have a clear plan in place for your online marketing strategy. Think about what you want to achieve and what steps you’re going to take to get there. Of course, some unforeseen challenges may arise as you go, but having a clear plan, to begin with it paramount to your success.

Having a content calendar created for the upcoming months is a great way to make sure you stay on track. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just a simple grid or spreadsheet detailing what content you will publish and when. It can combine social media, blog posts, guest blogs and range of other things.

Don’t just wing it. Taking the time to carefully plan your strategy at the beginning will save you time, effort and money further down the track.

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Be social

Social Media is here to stay and it’s a fantastic way to target certain demographics and spread the word about your brand. It’s cheaper than traditional outbound marketing like TV and Radio advertising and it also allows you to target specific consumers based on a variety of factors like age, sex, location, relationship status, date of birth, preferences, browsing habits and hobbies.

When utilizing social media as a marketing tool, make sure to consider all the principles discussed above. Be consistent in your tone of voice, make sure you think about what who your customers are and what they want and make sure you have a plan.

Remember to post regularly and encourage users to comment, share and interact with your content. Feel free to post photos, articles and videos from various sources and not just your own content.

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Consistent Branding

Take your time to get the big picture confirmed in your head before you embark on the branding and marketing journey. If you don’t have a clear idea in your own mind, then your message to your customers won’t be clear.

Think about your customers at every point in the journey. Their needs and desires should be key in the construction of your brand.

Once you have a brand, keep it consistent. Plan your marketing strategy ahead of time and make sure that all your content reflects your brand both visually and tonally.

And finally, don’t be afraid to get social! Share your content with your audience and don’t be afraid to ask them to engage.

Establishing a new brand can be both an exciting and scary time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by new and ever-changing digital marketing techniques but as you can see, the primary principles of building a strong brand are simple and evergreen.

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