As Amazon founder Jeff Bezos put it, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you are not in the room.” So what are people saying about you?
You would have to be living under a rock to not see how digital marketing has transformed LITERALLY everything about the way we do business. It’s not enough just to have a website. A higher level of creativity is now required for brands to engage with their customers. In addition to a website, it’s also necessary to employ social media and email marketing tactics to develop a coherent content strategy.
The Importance of Digital Marketing
Every business, large or small, should have a social media presence. I know, sounds like a no brainer, right? But, if you’re a small business, it’s especially important, because having a strong social media presence puts you on an even playing field with bigger competitors. As a small business, you don’t have the luxury of a large advertising budget. But luckily you don’t need one to turn heads. If the quality of your content is interesting, useful, and relevant, you have the opportunity to significantly magnify your brand and grow your customer base.
If you learn nothing else from this article, remember this one golden rule: People don’t give a crap about what you’re selling. They only care about how you’re going to help them solve their problems. To this point, brands need to take advantage of digital marketing to not only show off their products, but also engage with customers on a personal level that speaks to their specific needs.
How Good Web Design Helps Build your Brand
So what’s the first step in promoting your business? After shouting about it from the mountaintops, you need to design a website that tells people what your brand is all about. Confused about what to do? Start here:
Choose the right color
The colors you select for your website should be chosen based on a process that is both thoughtful and intentional. What colors you use is important because colors can evoke emotion and tap into people’s subconscious. For example, when you think of the color green, the first thought that probably pops into your mind is the environment or health. Green colors also help you feel calm and relaxed. On the other hand, black is a much more serious color, often associated with luxury and elegance. The color orange, however, may be used when a brand wants to arouse feelings of youthfulness and excitement. Also consider that different cultures will interpret colors in different ways, so be careful when selecting colors that will be used for marketing to an international audience. In any case, be creative, and embrace the colors of the rainbow boldly!
Show your Personality
People like brands that are accessible and have a human element to their identity. This makes a brand more relatable to an audience. Try to associate your brand’s attributes with things that are memorable. For example, everyone recognizes the famous, partially bitten apple associated with Apple brand products. Help people make connections between your brand and things that are familiar. When they see a certain object, you want them to be able to think, “Ah ha, that reminds me of X brand!”
Be consistent in your Design
You must remain consistent at all times. Every page of your website should be uniform in terms of colors, formatting, graphics, personality and emotions.
Properly Display your Logo
It’s perfectly ok to be creative with your logo design, but make sure to position it in the right place on your website. The upper left corner of your website is prime real estate, because it’s where most people will look for it. Make sure you size your logo appropriately and link the image to your homepage.
Choosing your Content Management System
Your content management system plays an important role in your content marketing plan. Therefore it’s best to choose one that works best for your team.
On-premise CMS: Requires you to purchase a license from the vendor and install the software on your own servers or host’s servers. WordPress is the most well-known example of an on-premise CMS.
Cloud Hosted CMS: Requires that you buy a license and install the software at a data center or web host server space. Hostway and WPEngine are examples of hosted server spaces.
SaaS CMS: A software solution similar to Salesforce or Google Drive in that there is nothing to install, update, or maintain. The provider handles all technical issues that may arise.
When making your decision on a content management system, you should consider the impact on your budget, and what the ongoing requirements are for technology integration, training staff, etc.
Whew! We know that was a lot to take in, but we’re here to answer any questions you may have about designing the perfect marketing strategy for your business.