Having a strong and persuasive virtual presence in today’s business world is more important than ever. Brands must do more than just exist but need to be able to continue to build product and service awareness, create relationships with target audiences and then engage with consumers and business peers to be a profitable and forward-thinking business. Networking and connecting with others virtually is different than doing it in person, but the prospect of success is definitely there! Below are five tips to help you build brand presence and awareness digitally.
1. Create a Powerful Business Narrative
Having a powerful and succinct story to tell consumers about your business is more important than ever as we navigate an increasingly virtual world for conducting business. Who are you and what is your mission? What messages are you trying to send clients and customers before, during and after the sales cycle? Make sure you are sending consistent messages on familiar platforms your target audience is using. Business narratives are designed to portray the essence of your brand, communicate value and create long-term relationships.
2. Maintain or Increase Value
Creating great value for clients and customers is a hallmark of any well-known brand. How are you solving problems and/or making life easier for your target audience? Are you easy to work with and responsive to customer support requests? Businesses and organizations are operating without a lot of face-to-face interactions so it’s critical to ensure that your product or service is measuring up to your brand promise. One of my favorite mottos is “Under promise and over deliver.” The value of your product or service speaks volumes for what your brand stands for and determines if customers will come back.
3. Cultivate a Loyal Tribe Online
Word of mouth marketing continues to gain relevance as we push forward in a virtual business world. In fact, 86 percent of customers trust word-of-mouth reviews and recommendations. Social media has played a huge part in propelling word-of-mouth marketing. Not only is it important to have business pages on social platforms to engage with what people are saying, but it is important to cultivate tribes of people that love your brand and will tell the world about their experience. You can reward them, encourage and thank them, and leverage user-generated content to supplement your own marketing program.
4. Make Sticky Content
In 1984 people were exposed to about 2,000 marketing messages a day and by 2014 it was up to 5,000 … and today it is almost too numerous to count! To thrive in today’s digital marketing environment a brand needs content that inspires, motivates and challenges an audience so they share the content to become viral and create a life of its own. Sticky content pushes across many different audiences, platforms and environments, from email campaigns to social media to digital advertising.
5. Connect & Engage
With the onset of virtual events in lieu of face-to-face events it is so important to find ways to personally engage with clients and customers. Content is king but having a conversation can do more to create a long-term business relationship. Of course, brands need to make sure that they are responding to emails, customer service requests, and online conversations, and leveraging user-generated content, as well as strategically placing digital content. It is also just as important to schedule regular phone and video calls and write thank-you notes to ensure that customers are happy and well taken care of. Go the extra mile to make sure that customers and clients see the people behind the brand to create an authentic human touch.
Investing in a strong virtual presence for your brand now will bring many benefits long-term! Hopefully, these tips can help you continue to build a strong customer and peer network.