Branding in the Digital Age is all about one thing, and that is creating memorable experiences for your customers. In this digital age we are all guilty of being lazy. We allow our customers’ preferences to get in the way of how we run our businesses. This means that we make them wait, that we avoid them, that we avoid having them around. This has been a problem for quite some time and it does not look like the problem is going to go away any time soon. We need to learn how to create a consistent and repeatable brand personality.
The digital age is all about consistency and repetition. The same product, same company, same idea, the same approach, the same marketing message, etc… Will be successful if it is presented in a consistent manner, with great copy, and that message is presented in a way that is easy to recall. So, let’s talk about this for second shall we? You see, in the digital age we live in there is only one thing that you can do and only one thing that should be done and that is to create a consistent and repeatable brand personality. That means that all of your communications should be coming from the same place, that place being your web site.
In the past many companies struggled with having too much information on their web sites. While this helped to inform the customer, which was necessary, it also caused the company to spend money creating too much identity for the company. That meant that each web site had to be designed, developed, marketed, and operated by a separate department or personnel. All of this added up to a great deal of duplication of effort and cost, not to mention the great potential for customer confusion. Today however that is no longer the case thanks to the evolution of the Internet.
Today it is possible to use software and applications such as “website builder” and “website tester” to quickly and easily create and develop web sites. These programs allow individuals to quickly and easily customize and manage their web sites in just minutes without having to spend hours creating a multitude of individual web sites. This helps speed up the process of getting a feel for web site design, development, marketing, and operation as well.
The digital age also brought along with it a new era of advertising as well. While television and radio stations used to be the sole purview of a company’s budget advertising is now cheaper, easier, and more effective than ever. Companies can use their web sites to run promotions and coupons that consumers can then take right into their own hands and hopefully be loyal to for years to come.
One thing that many people forget when they are developing an online brand identity is the need to have content that is unique and interesting. Consumers today are not just interested in buying products, but they are interested in “seeing” what the product or service look like. Your website needs to look good, but it also needs to be rich in content that can entice the visitor to keep coming back. If consumers see that your site has little to no content then they will most likely leave and find another site. Creating an interesting, useful, and unique brand identity is a must in today’s digital age.
Another important component of branding today is the ability to interact with your audience through social media sites. Branding that is done online can be just as effective as traditional brand campaigns that are done on television or radio. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have opened up a whole new world in the online brand arena where consumers can interact with businesses and brands and help them promote themselves in new ways.
Branding in the digital age is all about one thing only: convenience. The digital revolution has made our lives easier and this fact cannot be overstated. People today simply do not have time to shop, research, and compare prices like they used to. They want information now! This is why a brand is important and it is smart to brand yourself as a person who provides information and interact with your audience to help them make their purchasing decisions.
