14th September 2020
60% of the millennial consumer market expects a brand to be consistently available across all channels.
The turn of the 21st century saw many innovations that affected the traditional pre-digital era we knew so well. There was a burst in information around us, challenging many to either get on the digital bandwagon or get swept away and lose themselves into a distant abyss. Digital platforms provide information and brand options to shoppers at the tip of their fingers. These digital shoppers are keen on connecting with the brand despite it being located far away from them. History is the greatest witness of brands ruling the markets unopposed for hundreds of years. We have many popular examples such as Walgreens, Macy’s, and even luxury designers such as Chanel, who have had to digitalize themselves or lose the massive customer base. We have seen the likes of Amazon, eBay, and Apple that started digitally and gave many established brands a run for their money.
Brands used to have set branding and marketing techniques that they abided. Those who refused to reform their ways have already become a distant memory; case in point, we have Nokia, once one of the biggest companies the world knew.
The virtual market brought about many hurdles for these established brands. During this new age, they have also reformed how they undertake their branding and marketing.
Now, there is a constant struggle of brands to adapt to the changing times. You don’t see many brands making it big as they used to at one point. The prestige a brand logo held at one end is a dream for many; you see various brands enter the market, create a rage, and then fade away.
Mostly these fail because either they are unable to create the proper market hype or are unable to keep up with the marketing trends. There are new platforms in the market now, such as social media platforms, websites, and mobile applications. Managing these platforms and getting the best results through them now falls on the branding and marketing experts.
In this blog, we will be discussing how you can keep enjoying popularity and brand loyalty by incorporating digital branding and marketing techniques.
The digital age is all about moving with the times. It needs to be fast, connecting customers virtually with the brand, and always to the point. There are so many things happening at the same time; marketing and branding are now influenced by many different aspects of life, especially popular culture.
If you don’t jump on the bandwagon at the right time, you can lose valuable marketing time. Customers visit many different online platforms to get quick information. The search time, comparison between brands, and prices everything they want is in the palm of their hands. Within minutes they able to find everything they want to make their purchase and receive their orders within a small timeframe.
A specific brand used to be etched out in customer minds at one time. When wanting to purchase anything, let’s say groceries, a particular brand logo would pop in their minds, such as Walgreens. At times, customers used to see a brand logo somewhere; let’s assume it’s Nike, and most people would walk into the shop because they trusted it so much.
But today, they have several options, the second they look online. You go online, and you have many known and unknown brands showing up for a singular search result. There are so many brands, and each of them has a brand logo. All these options can, at times, get mixed up in the mind of the customers.
Branding and marketing experts need to cut through the clutter, depending on the company they are working for. So that brands can keep living on.
Let’s move on to how branding and marketing experts use digital platforms to their advantage to make specific brands stand out.
Attracting and keeping your target audience engaged is essential.
You need content that is not only relevant to your brand but also grabs the attention of the customers.
You cannot just have random images of your products and endless information posted. It will not make sense to anyone. Potential customers will lose interest and leave your platform within seconds.
Identifying and reinforcing the one crucial trait of the brand is the crucial point to keep in mind. Reinforcement is done through a visual medium, mainly on digital platforms. Not many people like to read a lot; they would rather look at the images of the product and then decide if they want it or not. You cannot overwhelm customers by cramming in too much-written information. Why may you ask?
We see a 180% increase in engagement when there is an image post.
There is a lot of stimulation present online. This cand distract the customer easily, plus life is very busy for everyone, and too many things are going on at the same time. The main reason many of these busy individuals shop online is that they don’t have too much time to give to only one brand. The brand logo would attract them due to the visual appeal; they have too many options to bounce to if they don’t find your platform interesting.
You have only a few seconds to capture the interest of the customers and keep them surfing through your profile. The use of words should be limited, but the little information and the visual representation should be strong enough to put across the thousand words a picture is said to be worth.
When you throw too many things together, it confuses customers what you stand for on the whole. In just seconds, someone even if someone did want to make a purchase from you, would leave soon. It would be due to them not being able to skim through and find the product they were after quickly.
Decide the look and feel of your platforms. Maintain those and bring innovation through those with time.
The best practice you can follow to keep your customers engaged is by providing the complete set of information in plain sight. You have the brand logo, which is used as the brand identity that reinforces your brand presence. When you have reinforced “call to actions” present, it can stimulate the customer to get in touch with you. The contact details and quick customer response time can prompt customers to be final the deal with you sooner.
It would make it easier for customers to get all the necessary information in a matter of seconds. When they have all the products and services properly available, they will not feel confused. The products would make sense, and they would be able to pick through the clutter that they want.
Most brands start their marketing and branding processes by focusing on brand awareness and recognition. The trust is built through a solid online presence, and then they start focusing on other aspects of taking their brands forward. Recognition and trust of customers are precisely what the branding and marketing experts want. Reaching a consistent platform makes it easy for marketing and branding experts to move on to the next step.
Once you have the customer’s attention, you want them to stay for a longer time. To make sure you are successful in having recurring customers, you need to have an active platform.
Not being in contact with customers can create a lack of communication between them and the brand. All these active campaigns will not matter if you are not responding to customer queries on time.
Branding and marketing experts are always pushing for businesses to take their brands forward. Becoming approachable and transparent is essential. This includes sharing behind the scenes, talking to customers through your stories, and using interactive tools provided by the online platforms.
The longer your customers are going to stay on your page, checking things out, the more likely they are to get in touch with you. It can prove to give you an edge over your competitors also.
Social media plays the most critical role now when it comes to these interactive platforms.
Customers want you to talk to them and use a more casual approach.
They would send out queries directly to your pages, leave comments on your content, and send out emails. You want to seem open and interested in what they have to say when you reply to them.
You, as a brand, can use a more direct approach with the customers. That is by coming forth to create dialog through the many marketing gimmicks used online. Most branding and marketing experts cite trending pop-culture quotes, dances, challenges, and lyrics. Many also take inspiration from daily life events.
Then you always have challenges and quizzes that the audience participates in for gifts. All of this makes the customers believe they are essential to the brand. Also, they keep looking forward to the brand logo to pop up on their screens to check newly available items.
Make use of all the digital mediums you have available. Whether it is social media, apps, or websites, make sure they are all in sync with each other. Analyze the platforms as per the requirement and business relevance. If you are operating these platforms at the same time, you have to run uniform campaigns optimized to get maximum reach through them. Campaigns are the main focus of each marketing cycle that branding and marketing experts focus on. They select the platforms for each season and base the entire campaign on how they would marketing their products.
There are times when brands only use a singular platform. But, when you have multiple platforms, make sure that you use them all to their full potential.
The marketing and branding experts are always looking at all the tools they have at their disposal. This goes for all the platforms they are working with. They identify the ones that are the most useful to the brand and can increase the reach, ultimately taking the sales forward.
Smaller brands focus more on how they can maximize their reach through organic tools. On the other hand, bigger brands make use of the paid tool. Smaller brands can also make use of paid tools along with organic ones. However, they need to think about ho they can best get the maximum use out of them without putting in too much of their finances. Mark out the posts that require the push and find the customer’s interest there.
You can find the best web designers in your budget to create an interactive website. Many millennial customers like to shop online through these.
Digital marketing is the smarter way for branding and marketing products. In your capacity, always focus on what is most important for the customer. That will still help you keep surging on through the digital times.
Now, the main issue is how we keep it all tied together and have the customers think that it is worth their while.
Well, when you have a strong campaign, correct strategies that cover all marketing aspects from every side, customers don’t have a choice but to take notice.
Being honest, planning smartly, understanding the trends, and keeping up with customer feedback is an essential part of branding and marketing plans. The digital age has jet engines attached to the marketing wings. It would be best if you were on your toes faster than those jet engines to keep up with the marketing trends.
Digital marketing is not going anywhere; you need to keep polishing your skills with the times. Customers are much more aware than before, and they do their proper research before making their purchases. You have to be at least ten steps ahead of them to keep their interest in your brand. Market forecasting and developing campaigns in advance can save you a lot of headaches later on. Your platforms should be updated with the relevant information so that customers don’t feel lost.
Have you worked on any branding and marketing plans? Share your experience with us in the comment below.
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