How to build a strong Digital Brand Identity ?

It’s a content war out there, only the strongest digital brands win. What’s in a name? Everything, A strong digital brand is what keeps a prospective customer interested long enough to view your offerings.

Brand identity is how a business presents itself to, and wants to be perceived by, its consumers. Brand identity is distinct from brand image. The former corresponds to the intent behind the branding: the way a company chooses its name; designs its logo; uses colors, shapes and other visual elements in its products and promotions; crafts the language in its advertisements and trains employees to interact with customers — all with the goal of cultivating a certain image in consumers’ minds. Brand image is the actual result of these efforts, successful or unsuccessful.

In case you were blissfully unaware of the impact social media has had on the marketing front, here are some mind-blowing statistics for you to chew on. According to Brandwatch, the internet has approximately 3.17 billion users; 2.3 billion of them are active social media users-which is 176 million more than last year. 91 percent of retail brands are generally aware of this fact and use an average of 5 social media channels to grab the attention of all these folks. Because of this, the average person sees hundreds (if not thousands) of ads per day.

The last decade has seen an incredible shift in the way companies market their products; with social media, robust search engines, and access to mobile technology, we’re literally drowning in content-most of which slips right under the radar. And yet, content marketing is one of the main drivers of businesses today.

It’s a puzzling scenario for sure, but the simple explanation is that businesses succeeding in marketing are those with a clear, undeniable perspective…or in other words, a strong brand.

Some leaders will go to their grave proclaiming they know their business identity, but the truth is, their marketing efforts just aren’t paying off the way they should. And there’s no shame in that. Sometimes, when you’re too close to your business, it’s difficult to know the way it is perceived from the outside.

iMarketology helps companies worldwide to build strong digital brand identity. Here are few tips from us for building a strong digital brand identity:

1. Consistency on all your digital marketing campaign. You should have consistency on your logo, design style, main message on your brand communication through out all your digital marketing campaign. Inconsistent digital marketing campaign will produce confusion on your targeted customers and in the long run it will decrease your brand awareness level. Consistency is the most important thing in building a strong digital brand identity.

2. Conduct a Thorough Brand Audit. You should determine where you stand in the marketplace and understand who your customer is. To do so, a company leader must uncover what is most important for driving growth and analyze how the products or services are actually viewed by consumers. Additionally, an in-depth competitors analysis – including a review of competitor websites, search engine optimization, brand identities and advertising – informs who they will compete with for market share, how to differentiate, and what strategies to employ.

3. Establish Your Unique Value Proposition and Messaging Statements. In order for a branding effort to be successful, a company must first identify its core philosophies, such as its mission statement and values. It’s also important to determine your brand’s value proposition to the consumer. This is the foundation of building a digital brand identity that truly represents your organization. There are several ways to arrive at these strategy cornerstones. We work closely with our client’s management, stakeholders and customers to analyze and condense gathered intelligence into descriptive messages that embody the company and brand’s meaning. We capture the essence of the company and brand through this process. We look for a unique and original voice to represent the digital brand identity.

4. Develop Your Brand’s Creative Elements. The next step is to create the look, feel, and voice of the brand that will be carried through all marketing channels – from the website, to social media, digital advertisements, and packaging. A brand’s visual vocabulary will be reflected in your colors, fonts, logo and overall style. The brand voice should be distinctive, resonate with your customers, be consistent and stay true to your company’s values. One way to ensure that you are building the right voice for your target audience is to evaluate their profession, social preferences, age, gender, and who else is selling to them.

5. Implement Strategies to Establish the Digital Brand Identity. A digital brand identity is built over time. You must implement several strategies to help grow your digital brand awareness and strengthen the brand. It builds a robust social media presence using all of the appropriate channels to communicate directly with the desired target audience whether on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram. iMarketology can help to create digital brand identity building strategy that provides placements in the right digital platforms. It develops a content marketing strategy that tells the story the company wants communicated to its target audience. Make sure your company’s web site and online reputation match the brand’s goals. Also, ensure your websites are mobile and search friendly, load quickly, and contain multiple contact points to connect with clients.

6. Analyze and Refine the Digital Brand Identity. While it is crucial for a digital brand to establish an intrinsic value to the consumer, it does not mean it shouldn’t change over time. To remain competitive, companies must routinely analyze and refine their digital brand to ensure it’s delivering on the promises of what the company stands for. One of the benefits of digital advertising is the ability to track, target, and test new strategies and tactics. Your digital brand identity should not just be a mission statement on the wall and logo. Your digital brand is a reflection of your thinking, your character, and your values. As with any art form, the one thing you can bring to the table that no one else can is your own, unique perspective. If you water down your message to please everyone, you will get lost. To make sure that doesn’t happen, visit and re-visit these tips to constantly ensure that your business is an accurate reflection of you.

7. Answer These Questions About Your Brand. These questions can help you to think about your brand holistically. The exercise allows you to give you digital brand a personality. What problems are you solving? What is the sexiest trait about your service or product? If your company was a person, who would it be? A celebrity? Yourself? What would you never tell a potential customer about your company on a first date? When potential customers say no thanks, generally what is the reason?

8. Get Help From iMarketology. Sometimes the best way to think about your brand laterally is to have someone from the outside looking in, who can see it from a different perspective.

9. Create A Brand Manifesto. Stick to your manifesto like it’s your bible. Your company’s declaration of beliefs and what it stands for will create an emotional connection with your customers. This requires outside help because creating a value structure is difficult. The help of a copywriter to vocalize what your company stands for can go a long way. If you can afford the expense, hire a copywriter with experience writing company manifestos. A clear digital brand strategy will help you and your team align every message, campaign and interaction with the customer, with your branding. Red Bull is a great example of a company that looks at their brand laterally and aligns their message with their branding. They create ads about pushing life to the limits and extreme sports, not about their drink. This message speaks to their customers on an emotional level and is very memorable.

10. You’re selling your brand, not a product. Product-centric marketing may have been the wisdom before, but now, in our rapid-fire digital age, you’ve got about 20 seconds to make your impression. And that’s just not long enough for the excellence of your product to shine through. What will keep your leads with you long enough to convert to sales is the impression, or perception, you cultivate, which basically means your digital brand. It won’t matter how good your product is if your brand doesn’t excite people: They will simply go elsewhere, and quickly.

After all, it’s time for you to work together with us, iMarketology, to build your strong digital brand identity. Happy Digital Marketing !

– iMarketology –