Regardless of the industry, you operate in, having a digital identity that paints your business in a positive light is of the utmost importance. This is because the web is a highly visual medium where perception plays a major role. Having the right website, the correct content, and the perfect pictures all contribute toward painting your ideal business image to your target audience. It shows that your business doesn’t only exist with a purpose, but that it pays ample attention in conveying its values to those who matter.
On the other hand, if your website is a half-cooked template, if your content is simply thrown together with no understanding of your business’ personality, and if your pictures are all stock and no substance, then your digital identity may as well not exist at all. That way, what you have on your plate could do more harm than good by presenting your business and its team as inattentive or unprofessional.
That is why it is crucial that you set up a digital identity which is crafted to demonstrate value to your target customers. Doing so is not difficult when you know what you are doing or when you have enlisted the services of a professional branding agency such as Brand Matters.
Once you have the tools in place to establish your digital identity, pay attention to the following aspects to drive maximum leverage out of your efforts.
Treat Your Website as Your Virtual Presence
A fancy website doesn’t only score you brownie points in the aesthetic department. Captivating web design may actually imprint your business image on a potential customer’s mind.
If you have a website that showcases your best products, your most valued services, or your team’s expertise, then it is bound to leave a long lasting impression on your target audience.
Even if someone is not to buy a product or subscribe to a service from your business on their first contact, they are more likely to remember a noteworthy design and associate it with a positive experience.
As a result, they could tell others about it or mark it down for future reference. This creates higher chances for you to obtain more visitors to your website, and in turn generate higher revenues for your business.
Pay Ample Attention to Your Content
While the power of visual cues can be quite compelling, the power of words also has to be acknowledged as well. This is all the more important when you are depending on your digital identity to “talk” to your customers on your behalf.
That is why, while you spend some time in developing and crafting that perfect web design, make sure that you pay ample attention to the text that will tie it all together.
According to a Global Consumer Insights Survey by large scale consulting firm PwC, brand trust ranks among the top three factors when customers are making purchasing decisions.
This trust can come through demonstrating traits such as transparency, knowledge, experience and genuine engagement. If your digital identity showcases these abilities, then you enhance your chances of driving more business from your target audience.
Make Sure to Choose a Brand Personality
The process of crafting a digital identity is not possible if you do not devote enough time to develop your brand personality.
While brand personality has been in effect since the past few years, this has become even more prominent in the age of Twitter and Facebook, where brands now get to interact with their consumers on a peer-to-peer basis.
Regardless of your specific business vertical, giving your brand a personality and sticking to it could create a loyal customer base that would stay with you unless you give them a very, very good reason not to do so (such as dropping your service quality).
Typically, brands seem to have five types of personalities.
• Excitement: carefree and youthful – such as Snapchat.
• Sincerity: kindness and thoughtfulness – such as Dove.
• Ruggedness: rough, and athletic – such as Caterpillar.
• Competence: successful and influential – such as Apple.
• Sophistication: elegant and prestigious – such as De Beers.
Discuss with your team and stakeholders about the kind of personality you would like your brand to have. Is it more fun? Or is it more sophisticated? It all depends upon your target audience and the people you want to attract with your personality type.
Having a brand personality lets you connect with your audience, and that in turn makes you rank higher on the list of brands that they actually conduct business with.
