Why Digital Brand Strategy Is Important in The Digital Era?

One of the most paramount things in today’s digital world is BRANDING! 

The Managing Future of Digital marketing research report showed that almost half (47%) of companies don’t yet have a defined digital marketing strategy but are doing digital marketing! In the very same research, a simple test of whether a strategic approach is being used was to ask whether there is a defined plan for digital marketing.

Disturbingly, nearly half (47%) of businesses don’t have a digital marketing strategy, but they are doing digital marketing! Over the fifteen years of researching adoption of planning for digital marketing, we have found the percentage of businesses without a planned approach has remained indistinguishable, suggesting there are notable barriers to integrating planning in organizations.

This means that around one-fifth (17%) do define their digital strategy where branding is concerned. This is a great first step in the process towards a fully integrated strategy. Where you want to get to is where all digital marketing activities are prioritized as part of overall investments in your marketing.

It goes without saying that every business needs a brand strategy, especially in the digital age. It is critical for businesses to have a strong brand presence due to the dynamic evolvement of online digital presence. It is also useful in assisting businesses to be able to differentiate themselves from the competition as well as engage with consumers.

The importance of effective branding is of utmost importance in the digital marketing space, where businesses must negotiate a congested online environment and find ways to interact with clients across various platforms. Effective branding can help with building a company’s reputation, sense of trust and sales. Customers will not be conscious of, recall or even consider your products or services amidst your many competitors, unless your branding efforts are strong.

We Are Social and Hootsuite’s recent collection of Global Digital 2019 reports reveals the following enthralling digital key trends and insights:

• There are 11 billion unique mobile users in the world today, up 100 million (2 percent) in the past year.
• There are 39 billion internet users in 2019, an increase of 366 million (9 percent) versus January 2018.
• There are 48 billion social media users in 2019, with the worldwide total growing by 288 million (9 percent) since this time last year.
• 26 billion people used social media on mobile devices in January 2019, with a growth of 297 million new users representing a year-on-year increase of more than 10 percent.

The sheer numbers of digital users around the globe speak to the monumental possibilities that businesses have in the digital territory.

Let’s discuss some of the key elements that contribute to the value of branding in digital marketing:

1. Customer Recognition  

Customers are more likely to be loyal to your brand when they are familiar with its colour, theme, logo, etc., and aware of what it represents, which will explain why. They select a product over all others in the world of advertisements based on these key reasons. This tends to happen when a strong brand stands out in a crowd of related ones no matter how plain and minimalistic or unsuitable and eye-catching it is.

Because digital technology provides for such an extensive amount of information and options, customers now have the power. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has permitted us to learn a lot more about our clients in return. By using client data to forecast your customers’ next steps, you can amplify the customer experience. 

Our customers now foresee that we are aware of their wants and requirements. They therefore insist that we provide them with relevant content across the channels they use on a structured basis. The best way to introduce them to your products if they are unaware or unfamiliar with your brand is by offering them content they find compelling. 

Your logo is the focal point of your brand, even though exceptional branding requires many different visuals to work together.

A solid logo is unforgettable yet distinctive enough to leave a long-lasting image of your business and that’s why logo creation is key as it will appear on every email, business card, brochure, label, and piece of advertising produced by your company . 

2. Building Trust

Building trust is a challenge that advertising makes strenuous, but branding solves. Branding incorporates a business or product into consumers’ everyday lives. Customers prefer doing business with individuals they can rely on. Your efforts at branding must offer your company credibility and a rapport for the values of your customers. Don’t just shove information down the consumer’s throat. Deliver emotional, relevant, and relatable customer encounters instead.  

Brand confidence is strengthened by creating a strong, recognizable, and relatable offering that differentiates you from competing businesses and persists across all distribution channels. Trust is of paramount importance to customers than finding goods or services for less money. 

Establishing credibility and trust requires an organised and constant appearance. People are more likely to make a buy from a company that presents a professional and trustworthy image. Your company’s value and sales may escalate because of the emotional response to your brand. Customers-trusted digital platforms like social media and online reviews warrant  more in-person interactions between your business and your prospects. Trust is more meaningful to prospective long-term consumers than getting goods or services for less money. Despite the pandemic and immeasurable price increases, this is precisely why many luxury companies are still in operation. 

3. Build Your Uniqueness

Digital marketing can target very specific audiences or broad markets. Understanding your target population and creating an image that effectually conveys the advantages of your company to that group are key components of building a successful brand. Captivate prospects across all their digital touchpoints in order to attract and welcome them into your brand experience. 

People find it difficult to disregard a company with strong identity. This attracts ideal builders, content producers, social media marketers, and influencers. A company’s innovative powerhouse is increased when these individuals are attracted. Collaborating with the right people can help you to grow your brand’s online presence and market it. Because people believe the advice of their favourite influencers and content creators, this assists you reach an even larger audience. 

4. Have A Powerful Online Value Proposition

According to smarinsights.com, a clearly defined digital value proposition tailored to your different target customer personas will help you differentiate your online service encouraging existing and new customers to engage initially and stay loyal.

5. Create A Strong Impression

Your branded “content” should align with the values of your prospects and consumers and persuade them to get in touch with you again when they’re ready to make a purchase. These target audiences also anticipate that you will recall them. Along the consumer decision journey, consumers seek consistency in what your brand is about and stands for at all marketing contact points. Moreover, the messaging must be suitable for each contact point. They also want you to value the same things that are essential to them. 

Knowing the abovementioned key elements that contribute to the value of branding in digital marketing may be beneficial, but what kind of opportunities does it lead one to? 

According to cmasolutions.com, the branding in the digital age is more essential than ever because it offers you an opportunity to:

1. Intensify Customer Experience

Tactics without a strong strategy fall short of reaching business goals, no matter the landscape—digital or not. Your business strategy begins with executing your brand promise. As such, your marketing strategy needs to revolve around consistently following through on this promise, to intensify customer experience, across all your digital channels. Engaging customers across all digital touch points in their everyday lives is the best way to invite prospects into your brand experience. 

The fact that someone needs to see a message seven times before they remember it has not changed. According to Salesforce, 75 percent of consumers expect consistent experiences across multiple channels (web, mobile, in-person, social), with 73 percent likely to switch brands if they don’t get it. Customer loyalty and attrition are determined by every customer experience. Moreover, the research found that 76 percent of customers now report that it’s easier than ever to take their business elsewhere, switching from brand to brand to find an experience that matches their expectations.

Customers hold the power today because of the massive amount of information and choices that digital technology allows. In return, we know much more about our customers thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). This method of leveraging customer data anticipates your customer’s next move and improves the customer journey. Customers now expect us to know about their wants and needs. Therefore, they demand that we serve them relevant content across the channels they engage with daily. If they don’t know your brand, providing content they’re interested in is the best way to open the door to your offerings.

Branding has never been solely about a pretty logo and quirky tagline. It’s about tried and true delivering on your promises, through all the different mediums your target audience engages with on a daily basis. Be sure that your messaging matches not only their interests, across the customer decision journey, but also is appropriate for the specific medium to deepen their experience.

2. Improve Competitive Advantage

While consistency in your look and feel across digital channels is incredibly important, your brand promise is the best entity you have to offer to your specific customers. This is the emotionally driven take-away to inspire your customers, keep them returning for more and even allow them to pay higher prices for your products or services. Your brand promise is your competitive advantage in the marketplace. It can include simple things such as quality, selection, status, inspiration, or even fast delivery.

Whatever is most important to your target audience needs to come through in all touch points and channels, as well as with how you deliver on your promise. You might have heard that a brand is not only the products or services offered by a company, but mainly the promise and values the company puts forth. This is critically important, but only partially true. Your brand actually lies in the perception of prospects and customers. It’s the collective impression—the lingering resonance of feelings that stays with a customer or drives a lead to engage with your business. Good branding is a lasting impression that sets expectations for your product or service.

Tactical elements of digital marketing campaigns including social media, SEO/SEM, email marketing, behavioural targeting and programmatic can get incredibly disconnected and fragmented across vehicles, if your branding isn’t strong. As a result, customers will engage with another company over yours if your brand promise—be it through image choices, targeted content or whatever the medium—doesn’t come through.

A strong brand will always provide you a competitive edge in the market. It’s a given that enhanced credibility, ease of conversion and earned media will happen naturally with a smaller cost-per-conversion when your brand holds its weight in the market.

3. Increase Credibility And Trust

Customers want to do business with people they trust. Your branding efforts need to give your business credibility and affinity with your customer’s values. Don’t just deliver content. Instead, deliver relative, emotional customer experiences. Developing a powerful, recognizable and relatable offering—which sets you apart from other companies and holds strong through all of the different channels—will solidify brand trust. Customers value trust more than obtaining products or services at a lower cost.

According to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report, stated by AdAge, one of the key takeaways include that consumers ranked brand trust as one of the top factors they consider when making a purchase, with 81 percent of survey respondents saying that they “must be able to trust the brand to do what is right.” A majority of consumers also reported that they would prefer to purchase from a familiar, trusted brand overall.

Digital channels, such as social media and online reviews, which consumers trust, allow increased personal interactions between your brand and your prospects.

4. Showcase Shared Values

Your branded ‘content’ should match your prospects and customers’ values and inspire them to re-engage with you, when they’re interested in making a purchase decision. In addition, these target audiences expect you to remember them.

However, what are you doing for them to remember you? They want consistency in what your brand stands for, across all marketing touch points, along the consumer decision journey. The messaging also needs to be appropriate for each touch point. In addition, they want what’s important to them, to be important to you too.

In the digital age or in ‘real life’ not much has changed when it comes to branding. Customers want consistency of your brand promise. Although, how it’s delivered has changed dramatically. On top of that, the role of branding in digital marketing is constantly evolving. 

Building a brand is never a ‘done’ job. It’s an ongoing process of defining, refining, and expanding the defining characteristics of your business or offerings. Still, it’s worth the effort. A well-built digital branding ensures that you’re always in the consideration stage, as your prospects and customers see and engage with your online content.