A strong online presence is the key to success for businesses of all shapes and sizes these days. Whatever your business, there’s a good chance that your existing customers and many of your best future leads are out there online right now, looking for businesses like yours.
Connecting with customers online is a great way to build up a strong rapport and make sure your business stays fresh in their mind. However, you’ll need to keep in mind that your customers are exposed to a lot of online marketing messages on a daily basis.
Keeping your online branding consistent is key to standing out from the crowd. When your online branding is consistent, your customers will repeatedly be exposed to your message, ethos, and brand look. That means that the information is more likely to stick in their minds.
Here are four tips you can use to make sure your online branding is consistent.
1. Decide On Your Brand
The first step to consistent online branding is deciding on what you want your online brand to look at. Pull together information from your existing website and other marketing materials. Gather your brand colors, logo and tagline ready for use.
Think about both your business and your target audience and decide on your overall online tone. Is it more appropriate to be playful or serious? Professional or casual? Family oriented or corporate focused? The clearer your online brand, the easier it will be to convey it to others.
2. Make Use of Customization Features
From Twitter to Facebook to Instagram, many social media sites have customization options you can use. These may include:
•Uploading your logo
•Uploading your own header
•Changing background or font colors
•Space for your bio
Do your best to brand your business the same way across each social media channel you use. That way, when customers find you on their favorite channels, you’ll be instantly recognizable.
3. Know Your Style
Online branding is about more than just logos and colors, although those are important. Online branding is also about your style.
From the content you share and produce to the words you choose to use when communicating with customers, your online style will make you recognizable and immediately let your customers know who they’re dealing with.
How many staff members will be making use of online outlets while representing your business/ Make sure each of them is well versed in your brand and style and knows how to work within those. You might consider drawing up a style book for your staff, so you know they will always pick the right images, colors, and words to represent your brand.
4. Keep It Up
Once you have your online brand and personality in place, it’s important that you stick to those whenever you interact online. Whether you’re dealing with a comment on your Facebook page, answering an email, or leaving a reply of your own, always keep your professional brand in mind and make sure you’re representing it to the best of your ability.
Online branding helps you stand out and conveys your business’ value and personality to your customers, helping to build trust and loyalty.
You can help this process along by having a strong sense of your online personality, and always keeping it consistent.