A strong online presence is the key to a successful business, but where to start? There are so many different avenues to consider, and it can be overwhelming if you’re trying to do it all on your own. However, by taking a strategic and methodological approach to building your brand online with the help of experts, you can grow your business and achieve your goals.
Know Your Brand
The first step to building your brand online is to know your brand. If you’re starting from scratch, there are a lot of different things you need to consider. If you already have a solid foundation, there may be a few other aspects you need to think about to round out your brand.
Here are some of the things you need to nail down while building your brand online:
- Business name
- Brand slogan, brand mission, brand vision
- Brand logo, colors, fonts, etc.
- Brand voice and personality
These are essential parts of your brand that can be difficult to nail down at first. However, there are things you can do to help form a brand identity. For example, you can start by creating a brand positioning statement. Your positioning statement should be similar to the following: “We offer [PRODUCT/SERVICE] for [TARGET CUSTOMERS] to [PURPOSE]. Unlike [COMPETITORS], we [DIFFERENTIATOR].”
Another helpful step in determining your brand voice and personality is thinking about your brand as a person and finding adjectives to describe it. We recommend finding three to five different words to use as the basis of your brand voice. For example, you could go with fun and quirky, hipster and serious, or professional and confident.
At the end of the day, it’s your brand, so make sure that it fits you and your business goals.
Know Your Competition
Once you know yourself, the next step involves getting to know your competition. After all, setting yourself apart from the competition can be one of the hardest parts of launching a successful business. On the other hand, you should be confident in your brand’s value and the value it presents to your customers.
The best way to get to know your competition is through research. You could simply Google your product or service category to start. Once you have a good idea about the main competitors, you need to do a deep dive into them. Check out their websites and social media pages to see what they’re all about. Also, check out customer reviews to see what people are saying about them.
From there, it’s a good idea to compile your research into a spreadsheet. Choose two to four competitors and create a spreadsheet that includes details on messaging, visuals, quality of products or services, reviews, mentions, and marketing efforts.
Know Your Customers
Researching your competition should give you some insight into your next step: getting to know your customers. That being said, this is one area that you don’t want to skimp out on! The first thing you need to determine about your target buyer group relates to basic demographics: age, gender, location, income level, and education level.
Many brands simply leave it at that, but that would be doing your brand a huge disservice! Instead, we recommend coming up with an in-depth buyer persona rather than simply using broad demographic categories. But how do you create a buyer persona? Creating a buyer persona requires incorporating more detailed information that ends up looking like an actual person. For example, you may want to consider things like motivations, goals, pain points, influencers, and brand affinities. When it comes to a buyer persona, the more detailed, the better.
Once you know your customers better, it may be a good idea to tweak some of the brand components you set in the beginning. It’s important to develop a brand that fits you and your customers at the same time.
Build a Website
Now that you’ve laid the groundwork, it’s time to really get to work! One of the first things you should do after establishing your brand, learning more about your competition, and determining your target buyers is moving your operations online. After all, it is the 21st century, and it’s very difficult to run a successful business without using the internet.
Before anything else, you need to build a website that effectively lays out all the information you established about your brand in the first step. The good news is you don’t have to be a coding whiz to create an effective website these days. There are plenty of programs out there that can help you through the process. However, if you want to go above and beyond to create a website that stands out amongst your competition, perhaps one of the best things you can do is hire a web designer.
No matter which route you choose, make sure that your website fits your brand and caters to your customers. It should be clear, informative, and user-friendly.
Get on Social Media
Once you have your website launched and ready to go, you’re ready to tackle social media. While your website is the basis of your brand, your online presence isn’t complete without solid profiles on social media. The specific platforms you choose to focus on will depend on your target customers determined in step three.
For example, if you’re looking to target older demographics, Facebook is an ideal platform for you. On the other hand, if you’re looking to target younger demographics, Snapchat and TikTok are ideal platforms. Finally, if you’re looking to target middle-aged demographics like Generation X or older Millennials, you may want to look at Instagram and Twitter.
You want to be where your customers are, so it’s a good idea to know them well and create corresponding social media profiles. From there, you can work on things like gaining followers, increasing engagement, and establishing influencer partnerships.
Utilize SEO
Social media isn’t everything, though—Google is still a vital component of a brand’s online presence. This is why search engine optimization, or SEO, is so important. Many customers will be searching for your brand to solve their problems, but how can they find it within the crowded online sphere? This is where SEO comes into play.
Using things like keywords, backlinks, blogs, and more can ensure that your brand comes up in the top ten search results for your desired keywords. As a result, more buyers will be funneled to your website and hopefully end up making a purchase!
Consult the Experts
A lot of time, effort, and consideration goes into building your brand online. However, this is easier said than done — especially if you’re not exactly tech-savvy. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or lost just thinking about all these different factors, don’t worry. Experts like Greg Gillman can help you establish and grow your brand online.
Greg Gillman has helped his clients achieve nearly $4 billion in annual revenue — working with big-name brands like Adidas, Petco, Ring, Goop, Lunya, Theragun, and more. That being said, we also understand what it’s like to be a smaller or newer business and can help you achieve the name recognition and sales necessary to compete with the big guys.
Final Thoughts
A lot goes into building your brand online, so before you randomly create a basic website without first considering your brand, competition, and customers, consult with Greg Gillman for the guidance and expertise you need to establish a commanding online presence.
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