A lot of entrepreneurs who have started dabbling into online marketing, and indeed most marketing specialists, are concerned only with generating leads. It is quite understandable since leads are sales, the people who went through your conversion process and made a purchase or subscribed to your website. The problem with obsessing so much about leads though is we tend to forget that we need to work on our online branding.

The Importance of Online Branding

It is not all about spending on ads and making sure you get all the likes and comments; rather, it is about connecting with your audience and making sure they keep coming back even if you are not offering a new product or discount. Building a brand requires showing credibility and expertise. It is about pushing strategies that will ensure more people will be investing in your brand, increasing awareness in a way that one day your audience will need little prompting to seek you out.

It starts with creating a unique domain name. Make sure that while it is uniquely yours, it is not difficult to remember. It can be hard to strike that balance, but it is possible. Ideally, you should be able to use your company name as your domain name. But assuming it is already hard to remember in the first place, there is an effective workaround. A domain lookup will allow you to see the domain names of other websites in the same industry. You can get ideas from them or you can find out which ones are already expiring, do a domain backorder for it, and be given a chance to bid for it.

Another alternative is to think of a unique phrase that you can consistently use for your brand, like a tagline. But make sure it is creative enough to stick. Think of ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ from McDonald’s or ‘Just Do It’ from Nike.

Tips on Building your Online Brand

Let us put driving leads to the wayside first and focus on you. What image do you want people to see whenever they chance upon your brand name? What kind of reputation do you want to build online? It all boils down to these key strategies.

Make sure you know your Target Audience Well

Just like in any effort you should be doing for your online brand, the first thing you need to do is research your audience. If you already have social media pages or a website, access your analytics and see if you are able to find out their demographics. This includes their age group, gender, location, and so on. Any information you think will be relevant in crafting your content should be collected. You can also use tools from Nielsen, ComScore, or Google so you can truly get an idea of who your target audience really is.

Once you have those information, you must make sure that your content uses the appropriate language so it resonates better to your audience. It has to be consistent too, so pay close attention to what you are posting on social media, your website, and even your guest posts on other blogs.

Avoid being Robotic when Engaging your Audience

Additionally, once you have the language down, you must work on the voice you are going to use. People respond well when you talk to them directly rather than speaking to them in an impersonal matter. Remember that if there is one thing we all have in common, it is that we do not like robotic chat; so have a conversation with them. More importantly, let loose once in awhile. Sometimes all your audience needs is a fun gimmick. Be open to all kinds of ideas; anyway, online marketing is all about trial and error. If one gimmick does not work, you can always try a new one.

Maximise the benefits of Targeted Ads and be consistent with your Messaging

So now that you know the kind of language and voice your audience responds to, it is time to create content for them. Make sure that your meta data is using the same language and voice you are using on your blog, website, and social media. Do not hesitate to spend for ads — repetition is very important so you will have to use re-messaging and behavioural targeting.

Engage with other leaders of your Industry or Field

Next thing you need to do is network. Well, not the kind of networking you are doing offline but the idea is the same. You need to reach out to other leaders of your industry and have discussions with them that people can follow. For instance, maybe you can quote tweet them and add to their idea or you can ask to publish an article on your blog. This is a mutually beneficial relationship, so they will be willing to engage with you especially if you have a significant following. You will be able to tap into their audience, direct some of them to your page, and ultimately generate new leads from a new pool of customers; and the same thing applies to them, too.

Additionally, this will also help build links that will point back to your website. As you know, Google considers domain authority when they rank websites on their search engine. This includes the quality of content, the website’s performance, and the number of high authority backlinks. Not only will you be able to add partnerships to your brand or get access to a new demographic, but you will also strengthen your presence online.