Building a brand online might sound all too easy if you’ve never branded something or tried to do business online before.

The truth is, while online branding can be a lot of fun and is available to anyone with an internet connection, it’s challenging to get right. You can find yourself trawling forums into the small hours of the morning with no success or Tweeting to an audience of 15 family members.

It’s no cakewalk, or everyone would be doing it. You need a plan if you’re going to do this right. That’s where today’s article comes in.

Join us, as we unpack five great tips for building your brand online, and get ready for that push in the right direction you’ve been waiting for.

Research Your Audience

To build your brand, you have to have a clear idea of who you’re selling to. Imagine taking a cow to a town to sell its milk and learning, only when you got there, that everyone was lactose intolerant. You’d be devastated and your business might take a knock.

Brand awareness means looking into the people you’re trying to sell to and seeing if they actually want to buy what you’ve got. If your branding uses bright colors and angular shapes to punch itself up, it might appeal to younger audiences. But if your product or service is objectively for much older people, you’ll have wasted your time by misbranding.

Use metric tools to discover who likes what, what ages they are, and how much of what they like they’re finding on your site.

To learn more about branding and marketing from a studio that knows who they’re talking about, be sure to check out our friends, Studio Misfits.

Research Yourself

This might sound unnecessary, but, to build your brand online, you’ve got to research yourself. Brands are so much more than the products they represent.

People may like the taste of Coke better than Pepsi, or the feel of an Addidas over a Puma. But they connect with brands. Brands are what make their ears prick up during a commercial break, and what drives them to a decision when they’re out shopping and just can’t decide.

For a brand to be effective, it has to be able to stand as its own thing, apart from the product or service it represents. You’re going to have to define your brand’s focus and personality early on, or you’ll just be another person doing what you do. This applies to everyone, no matter how good their product is.

It’s your job to get the name right. If your name isn’t right, it’s your job to make the tough decision to either change it or adapt your branding so brilliantly it seems right again.

You’ll also want to get the colors just right. There are thousands of color pickers online that will help you find the perfect combination based on colors you already have. So long as you know what your company is about, your tastes in colors, design, and content will steer you in the right direction.

While you’re Googling around, checking out a few more “how to build a brand online” articles couldn’t hurt anybody, we don’t mind telling you.

As a final word on self-research, slogans are magical, and so are logos. Don’t just write your company’s initials in white on a colored square and phone it in. Do your research, see what your competitors are doing and do something better. You’ll be happy you did.

Balance Your Social Media

Social media is one of the most important tools in the modern marketing toolkit. With millions of potentials eyes ready to see your content at the drop of a hashtag, these services seem almost designed for marketing.

A few tips, to get you started on your way:

1. Take it seriously. Just because your mom and aunts use Facebook or Twitter doesn’t mean they aren’t powerful marketing tools.
2. Post regularly. Original content, at least once a day, with reposts/retweets from within your industry at least twice a day.
3. Keep it relevant. It’s okay to let your other interests show from time to time, but always steer the conversation back to you and your brand.

Beyond that, be sure to spend some time looking at what other people are posting. Your competition is using social networks to get the word out (or, if they aren’t, they will be soon). See what they’re saying and to who and how. What hashtags are they using? Are they members of any groups you could be a member of?

Don’t Be Afraid to Grow

Marketing your brand online means taking advantage of opportunities when they come to you.

You wouldn’t think so, but many companies shy away from new trends, popular platforms, and content that’s out of their traditional scope. They do this either because they don’t trust new designs to carry their message, or because they’ve “gotten by” so far.

Never be afraid to try new things with your brand online. This is the wild west – everything’s an adventure. But, unlike the wild west, there’s plenty you can learn to help you stay alive.

Read forums. Watch YouTube videos. Learn to be excited about new developments, but also to be informed about them, and you’ll find exciting new ways to grow your brand in no time!

Network (No, Just Do It)

The last point in our online brand strategies list is a short one because it’s old-fashioned and nobody likes to do it.

But you’ve got to network.

Yes, we know this is the Internet and you’re at home in front of your computer in your pajama pants. Yes, we know you thought online branding meant you never had to schmooze with anybody ever again.

Sadly, it doesn’t. Online branding works best when you take your message to the people it’s meant for. That means joining conversations, introducing yourself, and maintaining your brand anywhere public.

It may seem like a pain to many of you, but it’s your golden ticket to transforming your brand. Put in the effort and embrace the online community and you’ll be surprised how quick they are to embrace you right back.

Building A Brand Online: Take The Right Steps

Ultimately, deciding to build a brand online is just like deciding to do anything else. You get out what you put into it. Spend enough time building your brand online, and you’ll start to see growth and recognition in return.

But everybody needs a push in the right direction. Without a good idea of what’s required, how are you meant to put in those all-important hours?

Interested in learning more about getting the edge on your daily living, from the mundane to the recreational? Check out some of our other awesome blogs, and get your small dose of interesting today!