Corporate Branding in a New Media Era
By Gregory Smyth
Technology has become an integral part of the way we shop - eBay and Amazon are now household names the world over, before we buy anything, we Google it, and there are more shopping comparison websites on the net than you can poke a stick at. It must also become an integral part of how companies advertise to their customers, if they are to survive and prosper in a new media era. You need be able to recognize new ways to connect with your customers, like viral marketing, use your creativity in your web marketing strategy, make sure your content works with your brand for search engine ranking optimization and excellent conversion rates, as well as focusing on business to business partnerships and opportunities. We look at what understanding and building your brand means, in the new media era of internet marketing.
Of course, trying to build an online brand for web marketing strategies is impossible without going through all of the old, non-technological brand building checkpoints. Your brand needs a vision - a long term goal, that is realistic while still setting lofty aspirations, and puts you in enough of a niche market for success to be possible. You need to know what values your company subscribes to so that you can use them in internet marketing campaigns, viral marketing campaigns and in your search engine ranking optimization efforts. You need to know both the benefits and drawbacks of your product - not every product is suitable for everybody, as you know from your experience as a consumer, no matter how internet marketing services can make it seem! You need to be able to extend those benefits to a positive effect on your customer's emotions, that is, internet marketing to health, wealth, relationships and sex.
However, one of the most essential brand building activities of all, is considering how you can deliver on your brand promises. If your internet marketing services push your customer service expertise as a strong point of your brand, but customers consistently wait longer than 120 minutes on hold, only to find unhelpful staff, your organization will not only lose your customers, but destroy trust in your brand - a sort of viral marketing you can certainly do without.
Affiliate marketing networks are a great way to build a brand, continue link building activities, enhance your search engine optimization services, and generally benefit your web marketing strategy. They are a much cheaper form of PPC advertising, and also build goodwill with your affiliates. If your company doesn't already have a blog, you should start one. Either hire a blog writer that can express your voice naturally, or have a senior employee write it - the regularly updated content is great for search engine ranking optimization, but also helps your customers connect with you. Write on something that customers can connect to - not just company politics!
Email is also a free and effective internet marketing and brand building tool, when you utilize techniques like appending your brand to your email signature - and firstly, using an email signature! Email newsletters are another viral marketing and regular internet marketing technique that have the indirect benefit of building your brand, in addition to promoting your services and products.