Your company has an online presence whether you like it or not. Whether or not you play an active role in building or maintaining an online presence for your brand, it exists. Someone, somewhere, has probably left a review of your products, services or staff. They might have just uploaded a picture with your logo in the background. Regardless, today everything is digitised, social and accessible - and if you’re not, your business is at a loss. Public discourse and perception is the difference between a positive or negative brand image. And your brand image is everything.
Companies with established sales and marketing processes all have one thing in common. A significant amount of their research and resources go towards developing brand guidelines for a seamless media strategy. These rules set visual and communicative standards that are consistent across platforms to streamline your message, tone, values and personality. They connect with your audience based on proven results and research into relevant demographics, psychographics and trends. Ultimately, this asset acts as an essential blueprint for your company’s identity, laying the groundwork for a positive reputation and increased brand awareness.
When it comes to creating a dynamic digital space, you want to build an empire, not a landing page. Herein lies the difference between hosting a website and hosting a community. Simply attracting people to your page will not guarantee leads, conversions or sales. Nor will it create customer loyalty. For that, you need to demonstrate an interest in engaging with your audience and adapting your services or processes to their feedback. In other words, you need to establish a relationship with your viewers and create opportunities for them to identify with your company values. This, in turn, results in the organic growth of brand ambassadors that are willing to vouch for you.
Business accounts do this by adapting their online profiles to relevant social networking sites and by making themselves transparently accessible to the public. Adhering to tailor-made brand guidelines and a cultural understanding of social media etiquette, their marketing teams work across the board to be at the forefront of trends, industry updates and to be a source of information for their audiences.
Investing in your online presence is not an additional marketing expense but rather an essential tool for managing your brand’s reputation. Like public relations, it empowers members of your team to promote positive conversation around your services, minimise unwanted publicity and reinforce who you are in the digital landscape.
Our team is readily available to support you in digitising your brand and curating creative brand guidelines. Get in touch today to find out how our services can solidify your brand identity and boost your online performance.
