Online marketing is one of the most powerful tools any business has at its disposal. With a very low barrier to entry, digital marketing can be used to improve brand awareness, promote products/services and, perhaps most importantly, to build authenticity and credibility.
Digital marketing success doesn’t require big budgets - although wise application of a budget of any size will return results for your business. No matter the size of your budget, there are a number of underlying foundations to digital marketing success. Here are four tips to help you build authenticity and credibility through your online channels:
1. Know your brand stories
Authenticity comes from being clear on what your key messages, or brand stories, are. You and your colleagues must be clear on what your business represents and what you want to communicate to your target audience.
Consider what differentiates you from your competitors. Why would someone choose your product/service over another? Some people call it an elevator pitch - what key points summarise what your business does and how it helps those who use it? You might even refer to your mission statement if you have one.
These considerations should culminate in a list of four or five key brand stories you want to communicate in your business. These brand stories will then guide your strategy moving forward.
For example, at Impression, one of our brand stories is that we are digital marketing experts at the forefront of new technologies and techniques. We therefore ensure that our website content communicates our range of skills by having a page about every one of the services we offer. We also regularly share our own content and that of other experts in our field across our social media to show we have our fingers on the pulse of our industry, and we can also be seen contributing to external websites and speaking at an events on digital marketing topics.
2. Know your audience
As well as being clear on what your business wants to say, you also need to fully understand your audience. Identify what challenges they face, how they communicate, where they’re active online and what needs your product/service meets for them.
There are a number of ways you can learn more about your audience through online channels. For example, you might use social media to gain an understanding of what interests your audience. Take a look at your existing customers - are they active on one social channel in particular? Start monitoring what they say; are they talking about one topic more than another? If so, you can craft content which responds to these needs.
You can also use services such as Google Analytics to review the way your audience behaves on your website. Google Analytics is a free tool which sits behind your website and gathers data on how many people visit, what pages they look at, how long they spend and so on. You can use this to see which of your pages is more popular than others, and gain an understanding of what your audience has valued and therefore what you should be doing more of.
You can also learn a lot about how your customers communicate through their online activities. Do they tend to speak very formally, or more colloquially? Is the content they share text based, or do they prefer more visual media such as videos or imagery/graphics?
By spending time getting to know your audience, you can speak to them in a more authentic manner through all of your digital communications by focusing on responding to their needs and helping them overcome their challenges.
3. Build authenticity through influencer relationships
Another way in which digital marketing can be a powerful impact on your brand’s authenticity is through the creation and nurturing of influencer relationships.
Consider who is influential in your sector or industry. It might be media/press that are influential, in your local area or trade press. Or you might identify people on social media who have a strong following and are relevant to your industry. Maybe there’s a particular association or governing body that is influential in your area.
Once these people are identified, you can build relationships with them through digital marketing. By following them on social media, you can share the things they share that you feel would be of interest to your audience, helping you to show your brand as being tuned into happenings in your industry and therefore improving your authenticity. By reaching out to them with press releases or article pitches, you may be able to have your business featured on their website, and this helps you raise brand awareness and credibility amongst a wider audience.
4. Avoid ‘the bandwagon approach’
It can be challenging at times to identify the digital marketing channels that will best suit your audience and your business.
There are so many new channels and platforms available all the time and one of the most common mistakes we see business make it to try to use all of them, almost ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ before thinking about the implications.
To remain authentic and credible, try to limit the number of digital channels you’re using in line with the resources and capabilities you have at your disposal. Trying to utilise a newer channel like Periscope might be trendy now, but if your business is trying to promote a corporate image, it might not be appropriate. Equally, writing a really long guide with the hope of speaking to an audience which you know responds much better to short video updates will make your business appear out of touch with its audience and thus reduce your authenticity.
Digital marketing can be an incredibly powerful tool in helping you build your brand’s authenticity and credibility. Used well, it can drive real results for your business.
Further reading:
Building online awareness: how to use brand stories
How to build audience personas for digital marketing
Using Hootsuite for social listening
Content marketing fundamentals
By Laura Hampton, digital marketing manager at Impression.
comments powered by Disqus