Failing to do digital branding can hurt your business. So, this week we’re taking a look at the basics of building and maintaining a successful digital brand. For entrepreneurs, creating and maintaining a personal brand will be equally important.
When starting a business, you’ll need the support of others. Branding yourself takes time. It’s easy to overlook the importance of your branding. Making sure your brand is consistent with the brand of your business will create an identity that’s memorable, powerful, and professional.
The digital branding basics for business.
Business logo. Of course! It’s the most recognizable brand identity feature. Your logo needs to be of the best quality possible—whether you print it on paper, create a digital version online or use it in an advertisement. A poor-quality (low resolution) logo detracts from your brand. A good logo must be flexible when it comes to digital content like online content and advertisements. Make sure you have different formats of your logo available—including black, white, and full-colour versions—so you can use them as necessary when creating digital content.
Domain names. Short domain names inspire more confidence than long ones. Choose a domain name that matches your brand name and is peculiar to you–at least, as peculiar as domain names can be. Use the best extension that matches your business e.g. NGOs should use .org extensions as much as possible. Get a domain name and hosting services.
Email addresses. Set up an email account as soon as possible that is personalized and professional. An email like info@afrodigital.org inspires confidence compared to secretaryafro@gmail.com. Usually, the personalized emails come along with your domain name depending on your host service.
Social media handles. Social media handles and domain names must match the brand name as much as possible. Research on social media handles and domain names availability must have been done before settling for any brand name.
The digital personal branding basics.
The best way to begin building a personal brand is to search for your name on the Internet. Does your web presence inspire people to want to do business with you? If not, create a plan of action to remove, update, or edit unnecessary information.
Here are some tips to help you get started with your brand:
• Pick a “Name” that is unique and memorable. Make sure it’s available on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Google+.
• Use the same photo or image across multiple profiles. This helps people recognize you from one platform to another.
• Create a tagline that describes what you do or how you help people. If you can tie in emotion, even better.
• Start sharing things that help build your brand and share content that helps push your brand in the right direction. These should be things that are interesting and relevant to your audience.
• Start commenting on other people’s content that is related to your brand or industry. This will help you create a sense of community and establish yourself as an expert in your field.
This week’s todo
Why not do an online search for yourself and your brand today? Are you happy with what you see? Share your thoughts and questions about how people can improve their branding efforts.
