In a trendy and social society, it’s important to have a personal brand to match up with today’s technology. It’s a lot easier these days to promote yourself with different social networks and avenues by creating your own form of digital branding.
Years ago, corporate branding (the practice of promoting the brand name as a corporate entity outside of just the products and services) was more focused on targeting company stakeholders. However, it’s now becoming more consumer-based.
Here’s what you need to know about the impact of digital branding on corporations.
Customers at the Core
The first thing to ask when considering digital branding is, “What’s my core audience?” These are the people that support your initiative and it’s what you need to find at the beginning, so that you aren’t aimlessly working. You need to make them a promise to commit to serving their needs and be able to backup your brand’s mission (the who, the what, the why, and how).
Since everything is online, your site is the first impression on how potential customers become a part of your brand. If you’re not portraying a positive image or something that seems real, a visitor is quick to go elsewhere. Let’s say that your mission is more social-based. From this perspective, you attract a younger audience because the millennial market can identify with what you have to offer.
You want to be sure that you follow through with a purpose, not just trying to make a transaction.
The Benefits of Digital Branding for Corporations
Expand Your Customer Base
It’s one thing to market a specific product or service, but this holds limitation. When you focus on the brand itself, that creates a wider reach. The focus is more so on a way of life or a culture. One brand that facilitates this is Proctor and Gamble. The thing to note about their mission is it “Touches and Improves Lives.” It’s not about a single purpose but a constant reminder to make the people feel good with an “Everyday Effect.”
Global Brand Building Officer Marc Pritchard states, “We’re featuring how each of our individual brands has a positive effect on people every day, whether that be a great night of overnight sleep for Pampers or helping kids brush their teeth so they have a great day at school.”
Pritchard adds, “The goal with this, like other multi-brand programs, is to get people who use one P&G brand to try others, or “cross-brand trial.” The everyday effect helped P&G make their intentions clearer, especially with brands like Pantene and Tide, to instill confidence in keeping a clean image with hair and clothing.
Do More with Distinctive Imaging
It’s very important that you have a logo or a name that people associate with certain things. For Coca-Cola, it’s a polar bear, train, Christmas, or a refreshing drink on a hot day.
Corporate branding helps customers relate to a business and creates associations with a wide range of product offers over time. The brand name speaks for itself because it’s already built a reputation of good quality, reliability, and purpose. Currently, Coca-Cola has reaped the benefits of corporate branding by launching its “One Brand” unification strategy to get customers to see that all offers are under one umbrella.
Increase Customer Loyalty with Digital Branding
It’s better to have 100 loyal people buy 100 times than 10,000 one-off customers. Apple recognizes that having a sound product that respects the “little things” is a major key to a long-term business. They don’t compromise and want to exceed expectations in each product launch, which is the main reason why Apple has continued to grow and excel in their lane.
This ambition has led them to the top of the Interbrand’s list of global brands. Using their branding as a case study, scrutinize and perfect every branding detail for your company: from the layout of your brand, to the product, and the function of the website.
The Importance of Corporate Branding in the Digital Age
Either evolve or evaporate; the choice is yours. Embrace the digital market, because it’s not going anywhere. While it’s easy for digital campaigns to go viral, it’s not too hard to find yourself on that other end in obscurity.
Find your purpose and embrace it, get everyone on board (customers and employees included), create your own model for branding, and use technology to your advantage. Make sure you have a website because a brand does not exist without one.
Corporate branding is important for all companies. Everything from the packaging, communications, ambiance of stores, and a company site factors into this form of branding. Technology is important in branding, but just make sure you use it strategically to avoid getting burned. To help you stay ahead of the game, look to digital marketing agency Mabbly for advice.
