Whether it’s an established company or a small business, it pays to have a recognizable and preferably well-loved brand. A recent study found that 59% of consumers preferred to buy brands they were familiar with or liked. Brand familiarity is the holy grail of marketing and the ultimate goal of advertising in all its forms.
Digital marketing expert, Michel Bernard, has spent years improving and enhancing his skills in the world of digital marketing. He uses his significant experience and skills in advertising to bring creative solutions to marketing problems. With extensive experience in the marketing and advertising industry, he provides top quality marketing solutions for individuals and business owners based around the Gatineau, Outaouais, region of Quebec. From research to harnessing the power of advertising and social media, building a brand online can be a lot of work, but it’s also a valuable asset for any business large or small.
Competitor Research
According to Michel Bernard in Gatineau, Outaouais, the rule of thumb when building an online presence for a brand is to set the goals, key values, and principles that the brand represents. How would you like the customer to think of your brand and your business? Your core business factors into your goals as well as how you want people to interact with your brand.
That’s where research comes in. The market is competitive and one way to make the brand stand out is to research the competition. It’s important to focus on researching the competitors in the same niche. Successful brands and the way they handle advertising shed light on the best strategies to address the target audience. Competitor research involves studying their marketing campaigns, visiting their websites, as well as getting a better understanding of how they keep their customers happy and loyal to their brand.
Brand Investment
Online brand building is an involved endeavor. Not just in the time and effort put into it, but also the amount of money and resources that are necessary for it to succeed and show the desired results. The way Michel Bernard in Gatineau, Outaouais, sees it, a professional brand needs to be treated as an investment. The more resources you pour into it, the better the brand. From the logo to the well-designed website and various SEO tools, a successful brand doesn’t come cheap. But it’s an investment that pays dividends.
The logo design should be both professional and a true embodiment of the values and spirit of the brand. It has to be unique, simple, and easy to remember. The same goes for the website, which needs to be well designed and professionally executed to inspire confidence in the visitor.
Unique Voice
“One of the things I always advise my clients,” explains Michel Bernard, “is to always have a unique voice. In the chatter of a congested market, only those with an original message stand out. The message needs to be in line with the values of the company and conforming with the brand.”
The tone of voice that conveys the message also needs to be consistent throughout the various venues and media outlets. Be it an online ad, a social media post, or a blog on the website, they should all adhere to the same style guide. This includes not just the brand voice, but also unique language stylings as well as grammatical rules, numerical representation, and capitalizations.
SEO and Online Presence
A top-quality logo and a professional website are the first two steps to put the business online. But that by no means is the end of the road. The content of the website is even more important than the design, colours, and fonts. That content can be articles on the website, blogs, or white papers. It needs to be original, to fit with your brand voice, and most importantly, it has to be search engine optimized using the best practices of SEO.
Advertising expert Michel Bernard recommends spending time and resources to optimize the content of the website. This includes link building, crafting posts that capitalize on the main proficiencies of the business, and offering content that benefits the readers. SEO not only helps the brand stand out, but also improves the website ranking on search engines, which can be a huge boost to the brand’s online presence.
Marketing on Social Media
With a website in place and killer content driving visitors to the website, it’s time to harness the power of social media. The idea is to share the content on the website on social media to spread the word. It’s the kind of marketing that doesn’t cost much if anything, but has a high success rate in increasing brand awareness and making it a household name. The social media posts need to be concise, relevant, and to the point. Any salesy language puts people off and might have adverse effects on the brand.
Many businesses also resort to marketing on social media. Due to their popularity, advertising on social media platforms can be a worthwhile investment. However, they need a substantial marketing budget and well-thought advertising campaigns to show good results.
Michel Bernard on Brands and Digital Marketing
As Michel Bernard puts it, digital marketing and online brand building go hand in hand. While marketing on social media is one way to promote the brand, other digital marketing methods might provide a better bang for the buck. At the top of the list is email marketing. As ubiquitous as emails are, it only stands to reason that brands would use them to reach a wide audience. Some small businesses also endorse local events in the community to bolster the brand’s image both locally and online when videos of these events are shared on the website and social media.
This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes