What is the Best Way to Build Your Brand Online?

Building your brand online goes way beyond logos and slogans. What do you think of when you see the word brand or branding? Images of certain logos or slogans might appear in your mind. These are companies that have successfully nailed the branding process. It touches on the roots of what the company is and who they stand for. It is what someone says about your company, and it can help gain a special connection with your audience. Having a great product or service can only take your business so far. In the end, branding is what will get customers to your business and have them stay. This article will cover the best way for your business to start or evaluate how you do online branding.

Building a Brand Online

Trust is what gets a person to buy something. If they believe in what the product or service can do for them, they will be more likely to buy into what your company offers. People want to know who your brand is so they know if they can trust you or not. Building your brand online is key for any business.

What is a Brand?

A brand is what makes your business stand out among others. It is what consumers associate your company with. Consumers could connect feelings or other aspects and tie them to your brand. Good or bad, it makes a brand stand out. Obviously, every brand is going to want good feelings tied to them.

Know Your Audience

If you are a small business, then you can be competing with large businesses with lots of money for marketing. That is one of the amazing things about the internet. By building your brand online, you can start competing against those big-name brands. First, you need to get to know your audience and create a brand strategy. You don’t want to go into creating your brand online blind.

How to Build a Brand Strategy Online?

The internet is instant, but building a brand online is not. Creating a worthwhile brand takes time and strategy. A brand strategy is simply a way to make your brand stand out. It will help your brand grow and develop into what it is capable of becoming.

To create a strategy, you need to figure out some things about your brand first:

• What does your brand value?
• Who is your audience?
• How is your brand going to communicate with your audience?
• Who are your competitors?

After you figure out those four questions, you are ready to come up with a strategy. Those questions require some serious thought behind them, so don’t brush them off.

Brand Persona

You can create a persona for your brand and your audience. A persona is coming up with a fictional character of whom your brand or ideal audience would be. This can be a fun way to learn who you are as a brand and who you should be targeting.

Storytelling

After you have who your brand is targeting, you have established your brand’s voice. Use that voice to share stories about your brand. You don’t always need to be hard selling your company but focusing on creating relationships is at the heart of branding.

Build a Brand Kit

A brand kit is your brand’s identity in one place. You need to find font sizes, colors, how your brand would say certain things, and other important things that factor into making your brand. Building one is simple because you compile all the information about your brand into one place. A brand kit allows for brand consistency. This is especially important if you have more than one person on your branding team. Communication is so important in branding. You want to make sure your brand isn’t one person on email but another person on Twitter. Having a brand voice that encapsulates your brand and is consistent is what your company should aim for.

Best Branding Tools Online

Many branding tools online go beyond just social media. Branding tools help you establish your business and get people to recognize you. They can pair nicely with social media. Think of social media as the main course and these tools as the desserts that complete the meal.

Email Marketing

Yes, it is still a very viable way to help your business. You are sending an email directly into your audience’s inbox. It can be overlooked but is still a highly effective tool. You can also keep track of how many people have clicked on the link in the email to go through to your site, to see how well it is working. This is something easy to track and simple to use that will get your brand out there.

Incorporating SEO

Adding certain elements to your website can enhance your SERP (search engine results page) ranking. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a way to let Google know you are credible and have what people are looking for. By adding keywords, link building, and creating a Google Business page, you are on your way to climbing in rankings.

Content Writing

Along with adding SEO, content writing is a way to help earn favor from search engines like Google. Content writing is the meat behind your website, but it is quality writing that helps your website. You can outsource content writing or do it yourself. If you are writing quality work and using some SEO practices, you will see organic traffic flooding into your website.

Google Analytics

Using Google Analytics can help provide insights into how your branding is going. You will be able to follow where users spend the most time, how they arrive on your website, and if what you are currently doing is effective. Analytics are important to gauge how well your branding is working online.

Form of Communication

Having a consistent way of communicating with your team is important. Many businesses use email, but some prefer other applications, including Slack. This will hold your company together and help you to avoid confusion. It builds loyalty with your employees and helps your brand even more!

Build Your Brand Image Online through Social Media

Branding through social media is a must. It can be the biggest way to grow your brand. A big mistake brands make on social media is using the same content for all channels. Remember the audiences are typically different on each platform. Within each social media app, there are different tones of voice as well. You wouldn’t post what you tweeted to LinkedIn. It would potentially send the wrong message to that crowd. You can also use the same topic for different posts but change them slightly for each site. To figure out which platform is best for your brand, look at which each platform provides and is used for. Along with each platform having its own style, they also have a specific audience they attract.

Instagram

What used to just be artsy photos, has evolved into so much more. Your brand can use photos, reels, and stories to communicate with your audience. The average age in the United States of Instagram users is 25-34 years old.

Facebook

This is a great platform for hitting older generations. With the average age of a user in the United States being 40.5 years old, you can connect with a variety of people. Facebook includes many of the features Instagram has since they are owned by the same company. Facebook allows you to post articles, establish group pages, and post pictures.

LinkedIn

This is where the largest group of networking professionals live. You can target professions, share articles, and engage in the community to become known. LinkedIn is full of users 46+ years old. That doesn’t mean that is all who is on this platform though. With the ability to target different occupations you can reach your audience. It is a great way to network and build relationships with other brands.

YouTube

After Google, this is the second largest search engine. People love seeing videos behind the scenes or about certain topics. You can make your own videos or put ads out to reach your audience. YouTube has a pretty consistent age demographic. The most popular ages are 15-35 years old, but 35+ years old aren’t far behind. YouTube is so versatile that it can be used by a wide variety of users.

No Limits

Don’t limit yourself to these platforms. Social media is constantly growing and adapting. Just look at how TikTok came about! New platforms will continue to show up and have their advantages. It is important if a social media platform fits your brand to be active on that platform. Everyone is on social media these days; you just have to know which platforms to focus on. Don’t try to spread yourself thin by joining all of the social media channels. If your audience is specific enough you should be able to know exactly where they are. That goes back to knowing your audience. It is a key element when trying to brand your company. Social media can help increase your conversations and engagement with your audience. This builds up trust, which is the foundation of every great, long-lasting relationship.

Wanting to Start Building your Brand Now?

If you are looking for some strategic experts to help you figure out where your company should start on branding, look no further. SEO Design Chicago wants to help your brand to be successful. We provide a variety of digital services from social media content creation to Google Analytics. Wherever you are in your company’s branding process, we want to meet you there.

FAQ: What is the Best Way to Build Your Brand Online?

1. How long does it take to build a strong brand online?

Building a strong brand online is not an instant process – it typically takes 6 months to 2 years to establish meaningful brand recognition and trust. The timeline depends on factors like your industry, target audience, consistency of messaging, and marketing budget. While the internet allows for faster brand building than traditional methods, developing authentic relationships and trust with your audience requires consistent effort over time. Focus on creating quality content, maintaining consistent messaging, and engaging regularly with your audience rather than expecting overnight results.

2. What’s the difference between a logo and a brand?

A logo is just one visual element of your brand – it’s a symbol or design that represents your company. Your brand, however, encompasses everything your business stands for: your values, personality, voice, customer experience, and the emotions people associate with your company. Your brand includes your logo, but also your messaging, colors, fonts, tone of voice, customer service approach, and the overall experience you provide. Think of Nike’s “Just Do It” mentality or Apple’s innovation focus – these go far beyond their logos to represent what the companies truly stand for.

3. Do I need to be on every social media platform to build my brand effectively?

No, you shouldn’t spread yourself thin across every platform. It’s better to focus on 2-3 platforms where your target audience is most active and create quality content consistently. Each platform has different demographics and communication styles – Instagram appeals to 25-34 year olds, Facebook to users averaging 40.5 years old, and LinkedIn to professionals 46+. Research where your specific audience spends time and concentrate your efforts there. Quality engagement on fewer platforms is more effective than mediocre presence everywhere.

4. What should be included in a brand kit?

A comprehensive brand kit should include your logo variations (horizontal, vertical, icon versions), color palette with specific hex codes, typography guidelines (primary and secondary fonts), brand voice and tone guidelines, key messaging, photography style guidelines, and examples of proper logo usage. This ensures consistency across all marketing materials and team members. Your brand kit serves as a reference guide that helps maintain a cohesive brand identity whether you’re creating social media posts, website content, or marketing materials.

5. How can small businesses compete with larger brands online?

The internet levels the playing field significantly. Small businesses can compete by focusing on authentic storytelling, personalized customer service, and building genuine relationships with their audience. While large companies may have bigger budgets, small businesses can be more agile, respond quickly to trends, and create more personal connections. Focus on your unique value proposition, engage directly with customers on social media, use SEO to improve visibility, and leverage your ability to provide more personalized experiences that larger corporations often can’t match.

6. How do I measure if my brand building efforts are working?

Use Google Analytics to track website traffic, engagement rates, and time spent on your site. Monitor social media metrics like follower growth, engagement rates, comments, and shares. Track brand awareness through surveys, direct traffic to your website, and branded search terms. Pay attention to customer feedback, online reviews, and mentions of your brand across the internet. Set specific KPIs like monthly website visitors, social media engagement rates, email open rates, and conversion rates to measure progress over time.

7. Should I hire professionals or can I build my brand myself?

You can start building your brand yourself, especially if you have a limited budget. Many tools like Canva for design, Buffer for social media scheduling, and Google Analytics for tracking are user-friendly and affordable. However, as your business grows, consider hiring professionals for areas where expertise makes a significant difference – like SEO strategy, content writing, or comprehensive digital marketing campaigns. Start with DIY approaches to understand your brand better, then invest in professional help for areas where you need specialized skills or want to scale faster.