With technology taking the world by storm and the internet playing an enormous role in our everyday lives, it has never been more important to get your online branding spot on.
Here are some top tips to help you stride ahead of the competition.
Website design
The website is the face of your business and can make the difference between gaining a potential customer and letting them slip away. Sites should be presentable, informative and easy to use to make them as attractive and user friendly as possible.
What’s more, with millions of smartphone and tablet users in the UK alone it’s important to make sure your website is optimised for smaller gadgets as well as the traditional PC or laptop. Twitter has done this really well – its smartphone app is easy to use and receives regular updates to continually improve the user experience.
Build trust
Branding is all about trust. Prove quality and reliability by talking about any awards or recognitions your business or employees have earned on the home page or the ‘About Us’ section of your site.
Take the GeoLotto website: the banner at the bottom of the page shows it is regulated by the Gambling Commission, putting a potential customer’s mind at ease. By making this sort of information readily available the website proves its reliability and encourages you to pick your geo and play.
Customer testimonials can also help in this respect. Having real clients share their experiences shows that your product or service has been ‘tested’ by the public and therefore wields tremendous power to persuade others to do the same.
Online presence
A brand won’t succeed unless you get your name out there and boost awareness. A great way to do this is establishing your brand as a resource by sharing free content – and distributing this content through blogger outreach. Brands big and small are using content marketing as a way of reaching out to their target audience with relevant and engaging content, such as Asda, Mercedes and Homebase to name a few.
For example, if your brand revolves around a fun treasure hunt game then you could come up with a range of blog titles, infographics and other unique content ideas to boost awareness around your product and interact with your readers.
Search Engine Optimisation
You may have a beautifully designed, well-branded website but it will all go to waste if it is not picked up by major search engines. That’s why your website needs to be built with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) in mind.
However, it’s important not to go overboard and try to boost your search ranking by filling your website with buzzwords and jargon. This is one of the fastest ways to make your brand less personable and put readers and potential customers off.
Use every opportunity to make your brand ‘human’ – social media can really help with this, so don’t be afraid to display your social following stats.
Sources for reference:
http://www.wikihow.com/Enhance-Your-Online-Branding-the-Right-Way ;
http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2013/09/25/six-tips-to-enhance-your-online-brand/