Why your digital presence is key to your brand

Your brand is the perception that the world has about your company and your products and services.

It is the sum total of every experience they’ve had with your products and services: Every commercial they’ve seen; every time their friend mentioned how much they love what you do; the posts you create on social media; the voice of your messaging and the tone of your imagery and videos; The catchy tune you use in your ads. And of course, importantly, every experience they have talking to your employees, using your products and services and using your website and apps. All of these many things combine into a complex cocktail of feelings and ideas that a customer has about your brand.

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When I think of Nike’s, I think of the elite athletes that wear their gear, the swoosh on college football jerseys, the Nike Run Club app that helps me train, Air Jordan’s, and the amazing commercials including this one. I grew up with Nike and I have an emotional connection with it. Most consumers have a similar connection to the brands they buy, over and over again.

But Why is the Web So Important?

• 9 out of 10 people buy from brands they follow on social media
• 76% percent of consumers look at your digital presence before they visit your location
• 65% percent of consumers feel an emotional connection with the brands they buy time and again
• 55% of consumers learn about brands and companies on social media
• 92% of shoppers consider reviews when shopping, at least sometimes
• 99% of shoppers often research products and services before buying

These are just a few of the ways that your digital presence creates an impression with shoppers who come across you online. As you can see, a signficant number of consumers connect with brands online, in important ways.

The takeaway is obvious: The internet is a massively important marketing channel here in the 21st century. If you’re trying to sell a high quality product or service, it’s important that your brand is well represented effectively online. But what does that mean?

Telling Your Brand Story

You can think about your brand, as a story. It’s a story that works best, when it’s largely true, and it resonates with the people that work for the company, and especially with the consumers who may be interested in it’s offering.

The reason it makes sense to call it a “story”, is because we tend to have a story in our heads, when we think of the companies and organizations around us.

Think of the Phoenix Suns. They have had a storied history, marked by periods of success, memorable playoff runs, and the emergence of notable talents. In 2020 they made it to the championship series for the first time in 28 years and were recently bought by a young billionaire, who has brought on an important addition with superstar Kevin Durant. Despite having never won a ring, they remain regularly competitive in the west, with some especially promising developments as of late.

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That’s the story I have in my mind, when I think of the suns. But I also think about the great times with family and friends at the Footprint Arena, the comradery with fellow fans at the game and the city pride they encouraged with their “The Valley” jerseys.

Of course, there are some darker sides to the story as well, as their previous owner wasn’t the most enlightened employer, and like other older billionaire sports team owners in the era of social media, got their dirty laundry aired out, encouraging the NBA to force him out. How does this part of the story impact the overall brand, which has a large fan base and plenty of good will? Not too much - bring in the next billionaire to run the show.

So, brand stories can be complex. But if you’re lucky, you have a product, a service or an organization that has resonated with people over time. Ideally, most of you customers’ experiences have been positive. Your employees believe in the company too and their enthusiasm and positive energy allows them to connect with the public in a way that benefits you. If so, that’s part of your brand story and you can use that to perpetuate good will and an ongoing relationship with your customers.

How To Create Your Own Brand Story

If you haven’t done much marketing, or haven’t followed much of a brand strategy in the past, you may be wondering how you can begin to tell your own brand story, in a way that will engage the kinds of users and customers that you know are dying to learn about your products and services.

Define Your Brand - Before you tell your story, you need to understand it yourself. You and your team, including your employees and your customers, can be part of putting your brand into words. Your brand needs to be authentic if it’s going to resonate and persist, so getting feedback and insight from the people around you will be important. Once you define your own brand vision, mission and values that your team believes in and is excited by.

Brand Building - What are the most important ways to tell your story? Consider the users who are most likely to connect with your products, services and organization. Are they watching TikTok? Are they going to be hiking Tom Thumb this weekend? Will they be at First Friday Artwalk this month? What do they watch? What are their core values and how do these intersect with your organization’s? Are they always on YouTube learning stuff? Are they connected to the community around them? Do they primarily concerned with getting a value? Are they adventurous, sporty, stylish, tech savvy or all of the above?

Channels

As you start to define your customers, you’ll be able to determine the channels that make the most sense for reaching out to them. Do you need Over the Top video ads? YouTube videos? Event sponsorships? Social media posts? Billboards or print advertising?

Creative

What kind of creative elements will connect best with your audience? Video ads? Display ads on websites? Instagram posts? TikTok videos? A long form documentary on YouTube? What should these look like? What is the color palette, the typography, image usage, messaging and what tone does these all add up to create?

Developing this creative strategy will allow you to begin building the assets that you can use in advertising and more organic channels as well, to begin to reach out to your audience and connect with them in an authentic way that resonates with them.

This process takes time and commitment, but it is fun and exciting as your begin your new business or work to transform and make it more effective. Ultimately, clearly understanding what you stand for will provide a north star as you decide how to manage your marketing, sales, customer service, manufacturing and more.

Have questions? Feel free to get in touch!

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Sources

1. 92% of shoppers use online reviews
2. 76% of consumers look at online presence before visiting a location
3. 99% of shoppers research products and services online before purchasing
4. Shoppers have an emotional connection with the brands they purchase over and over
5. 9 out of 10 people buy from brands they follow online

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