Building your brand’s online presence

I’m amazed and impressed by how quickly the world made life in lockdown work. Going remote, moving online, catching up with digital marketing, working and living out of the same space – it wasn’t easy but we did it!

I remember how I started Wordsy at the peak of the pandemic. As soon as I did, a couple of people I knew spoke to me about creating content in an attempt to make sure their successful businesses didn’t fade into brick-and-mortar oblivion. This is how most of them planned on going digital:

a.     By building a website (any kind of website)

b.     Running a low-budget Facebook ad campaign

c.     Making random members of their team create social content 

I had to be the bearer of bad news. This was NOT going to work.

Building an impactful internet presence is so much more than having a web address and posting content-for-content’s-sake on social media. We’re talking about undergoing a digital transformation. While a website is a basic necessity for your brand, like shelter is for us humans, your digital brand also needs air and water to survive – and thrive.

Digitalisation – the word itself indicates wholeness. To grow digitally, spending a few days on Adwords or half-hearted SEO efforts aren’t enough. You must rethink your business model itself. How can you evolve to a digital model of business? If you are a product-based business, can you start e-commerce? If that is too big a leap maybe you can create order forms. For service providers, can you take orders online, or offer online consultations? Sometimes going digital is a complete overhaul – but most of the time it’s just a matter of making a few changes that will help you make the most of your online space.

So first you think about how to digitize your business model, and you also apply the same principle to your processes. When you and your team shift to a digital mindset, that’s when the real magic happens. From then on, your team will make it happen.

If you try to wrangle website maintenance, social media management and digital advertising out of a team that does not have a digital growth mindset, you’re going to struggle.

Your brand has to start feeling digital. It has to be digitally native, and the foundation for achieving that is equipping your team with the right tools, mindset and process.

When you have that under control, it’s time to start thinking about how you can build a comprehensive digital strategy. Here are some of the elements you will need to weave together, so that each complements the other and they all work in your favour:

1.     A website

A website is your home on the web. It lends authority, credibility and legitimacy. It’s where you can house your landing pages, build your brand with a blog, build e-commerce and showcase your personality. Make sure your website content is written by someone who knows a little bit about user experience and SEO.

2.     SEO Optimisation

It’s sad how much this term has been abused. SEO is incredibly powerful but it’s also where most brands lose faith in digital marketing, because sustainable results take months and even years.

I must add here how SEO is more than just keyword stuffing. The most impactful SEO begins with understanding the customer – what they want, what they are looking for, where they are looking. Strategic keyword research can be the starting point for more than just your website content. It can define the direction you want your social media and content marketing strategy to take.

Using a keyword strategy for your blog will empower you to create content that your ideal audience is looking for.

Here is an incredible SEO guide from Moz.com that you MUST read if you think SEO is just a weak link in digital marketing: https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo/why-search-engine-marketing-is-necessary

3.     Digital advertising

There are a lot of options for advertising online, which means you have to think carefully about which are right for you and will help make the most of your budget. From search and display advertising to social ads in multiple formats, pick and choose platforms based on your target audience and budget.

With advertising, expect a period of testing and optimisation. Make sure you have an expert you trust leading your campaigns as they will know how to set the right objectives, target effectively, and distribute your budget efficiently. Measure your results authentically and use this data to chart the path for your upcoming campaigns.

TIP: Create dedicated landing pages for your ads to click through to convince, convert and sell! Leading to your website will disturb and distract from your customer journey.

4.     Social Media

Saved the best for the last? Not necessarily. There is a lot of content out there saying social media is a must-have for brands, but I don’t agree with that. Unless a social platform is the right fit for your brand personality, you shouldn’t be on it for the sake of being there. Every platform caters to diverse kinds of users, distinct interests and encourages different content.

If you feel that being on a social platform is right for you, understand that social content creation is different from traditional video creation and copywriting. It requires a different set of design and writing skills. Your best designer could be at a loss when it comes to creating social posts.

You don’t have to hire a whole new team – you just have to invest in upskilling your existing employees.

When you do decide to build your social media presence, make sure you have a well-defined strategy and process to start out with. Your social objectives must be aligned with your business objectives. Review platform insights monthly and see what has been working and what hasn’t. Build a community, engage with your audience. Social media isn’t as simple as it seems!

5.     Email Marketing

Imagine that you had the opportunity to speak to people directly about your product, service or brand. Imagine that they gave you dedicated time every week or every month. With email marketing, you actually have all this. It is a direct point of entry into communicating with people who are interested, have purchased or want to hear what you have to say.

Strategy, design, copy and distribution are all important in sending emails that engage and convert. Your strategy will map how your emails will help you move closer to your digital and business goals. Don’t ignore the incredible power of personalisation that email offers your customers at every stage of their journey.

While these are the channels you can use to build your digital brand, here are some of the other things you need to keep in mind:

1.     Strategy

Your digital strategy should start and end with objectives that are aligned to your business goals. Use the unique strengths of each of the above channels to contribute to one ultimate aim.

Have a well-defined strategy that will lend structure and consistency to your team and processes BUT don’t be afraid to change it if your insights are showing you that it’s not working.

2.     Testing

No great digital presence was built on assumptions. Testing is the best way to gauge audience response, channel your budgets effectively, and build an invaluable repository of data.

3.     Phase it out

You don’t need a big budget and make a sudden change to go digital – you can evolve slowly, starting out with what you feel are the best investments that will get you closer to your immediate objectives.

If you’re scared off by the seeming enormity of this task, know this – (a) you CANNOT put it off any longer, (b) if you’re not doing it well, you’re losing opportunity and money, and (c) if you do resist digital growth and change, you run the risk of fading into the background.

Clarify your goals, plan well and empower your team with the right skills – and get ready to tap into a bigger audience than ever before!