Devising Brand Building Strategies for Digital Media

From the perspective of a public relations agency, much of the communications efforts in Singapore and Southeast Asia hinge on building stronger brands. 77 per cent of marketing leaders agree that branding is a critical factor for future growth. Marketing tactics need to revolve around creating a brand that could open up more opportunities for growing revenue through brand equity and loyalty. When a large group of consumers find value in a brand and remain loyal, it helps entrench a brand’s competitive position and potentially prevents new competitors from entering the market.

So, what are some brand building tips for businesses to consider when developing digital marketing plans to earn the trust of consumers?

Why should organisations invest in building their brands?

Brand building is defined as the process of creating awareness and promoting the services of a company through different direct and indirect communication means. Brand building strategies can bring consumers closer to a brand, set the brand apart from other brands and elevate the value it offers to the market and its consumers. Digital marketers have a huge role to play in ensuring that every step is closely aligned towards building consumers’ interest, desire and ultimately, purchase or conversion. One consideration that should be addressed is the creation and strengthening of a brand’s awareness. For example, is your brand name being mentioned on traditional or social media channels, are you promoting anticipated keywords in the domain or promoting the brand, and is it linked to what people are searching for?

Getting the basics right

Growing a brand starts with ensuring that there’s a solid foundation. Put yourself in your consumers’ shoes and carefully evaluate your brand’s promise to the world, consumers and staff. What is it about the brand that sets it apart from fellow competitors? 

Earning the trust of consumers and stakeholders 

A survey by Edelman reported that over 80 per cent of consumers today purchase from a brand that they trust. This means that when a brand builds trust, consumers are more likely to patronise its services. Word of mouth travels faster in the digital era, and unhappy consumers are not afraid to voice their opinions. Online users tend to believe other online users’ opinions without probing further – a key example of earned media exposure.

Authenticity is the key ingredient in earning consumers’ trust – together with being available when customers need clarification. It brings real value to a brand’s target audience and encourages a strong following on social media, on top of showing consumers why the brand is the best at what it does. Do not forget to add credibility by enticing trustworthy third parties such as news media or influencers to talk about your brand, and amplifying those mentions on your social channels.  

Develop a digital marketing plan in six steps

In digital marketing, a solid plan is fundamental for success. If you start without a plan, chances are that you would not know where to retrace your steps if something has gone wrong or how to replicate the campaign if the campaign becomes a success. Here are six fundamental steps toward achieving your digital marketing goals: 

1. In any digital media plan, it is essential to know your brand inside and out in order to sell it to your key audiences. You should know what your business strengths are – or rather unique selling points (USPs). USPs differentiate you from your fellow competitors. 
2. Who is your target audience? Create target personas and be as detailed as possible with their descriptions. Consider where and how can you reach them – directly, push, pull, on existing media platforms, or through engaging influencers.
3. Set goals to help keep your performance in check. The goals that you set must be measurable. Consider using SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) marketing objectives as a guideline. 
4. Choose the right medium to reach the target audience and your goals. Spend time analysing which medium would be the most suitable. Combine owned, earned and paid content to get in front of the right people.
5. Set a budget. You need to know how much you need to spend on a medium or across different mediums before implementing your tactics.  Spending $300 monthly on Google Ads campaigns may not drive the results you want as compared to spending $500. Understanding your budget and various advertisement channels is critical. Convincing an influential journalist or blogger to talk about your brand might require more effort, but it would not require direct costs for publishing or amplifying the story.
6. Often overlooked is the optimisation and efficacy of your digital marketing plan. This could include owned media such as a brand’s landing page, ad copies, keywords, data analytics and campaign metrics. Marketers might think that their campaigns are already performing at their full potential, or already delivering the results that they seek. More often than not, a campaign can achieve more than what it is delivering. Hence, it is crucial to monitor your campaigns closely. The efficacy of a plan depends on several factors, including the budget spent, choice of medium, tactics implemented, and target audience. Spending time on this last step can bring great success to your next digital marketing plan, as it can instantaneously set you on the right path.

In summary, a digital marketer or communications practitioner needs to focus on brand building when it comes to devising a digital media campaign. It may seem fundamental and not as critical as developing strategies to hit your key performance indicators, but it is integral to how well your campaign will be received by the public. 

There is no shortcut to sustaining long-term success. It all starts with the basics of brand building. As Warren Buffet said, “Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.”