In today’s quickly evolving culture, it will benefit your business to set aside the time to think through how you will implement your brand’s strategy online. But how do you begin? What are the most important elements to keep top of mind?
The key is to start with your company’s vision statement and allow it to guide your strategy.
By having a clear and concise vision for your company, you will have the backdrop you need to make effective decisions when it comes to your online brand strategy. Begin by reflecting on your vision statement. Your vision statement should include specifics on why your company exists, what you plan to provide to your audience, and how you stand out from your competition.
Use your vision statement to develop and write down your goals for your business. What do you hope to accomplish this quarter? This year? Over the next 5 years?
As you review these goals, brainstorm how your online platform can help you connect with your target audience? Keep in mind what matters most to your audience and create a platform that caters to what they need from you. Perhaps a part of your vision is to provide outstanding customer service to your clients. Your online brand strategy should support that by providing a simple and direct method for customer service issues to be reported and tracked online. Include in your online brand strategy a plan for how to reply to inquiries in a timely manner.
Create an online platform that maintains a consistent brand identity. Your website, company newsletter, blog, and social media channels should all coordinate through the use a company logo, color palette and visuals that enhance your company image. Your online platform should tell the story of your company and how you alone can provide the best solution to their needs.
Develop a plan for how to maintain your online platform. Who within your organization will update your content on your website? How often will you blog and send out a company newsletter? How often will you post to your social media channels and who will take the lead in maintaining them long-term? We recommend creating a content calendar that clearly outlines this process for your company. This will help set your company up to maintain a successful and effective brand strategy online.
Track your efforts and evolve over time. The best online brand strategies are the ones that continually track and evaluate what is resonating the best with their audience. Marketing is most effective when you take the time to track which social media content, blog posts, or emails perform the best. Analyze what it was about those messages that made them connect in a meaningful way with your audience and use that information to further develop your marketing strategy.
It may seem as though some brands are able to effortlessly grow and expand their reach online. However, behind these quickly growing companies you will find hours of meticulous planning and a willingness to continually innovate and evolve as they seek out the best ways to engage with their audience online. It is worth the investment!
