It’s Time to Rethink Web and Digital Brand Strategy

With dynamic changes in the world since March, whole segments of the economy have slowed, redirected, or died. Both B2b and consumer behavior have dramatically shifted because of shutdowns and quarantines. Many large tech employers are planning to have only half the number of full-time employees return on a regular basis to their offices. According to online site Statista, for online media trends, search traffic is up 43% globally since March, with 33% of that in online transactions. People, from corporate leaders to consumers to teams of workers, are all online working, searching, meeting, and buying. Work is getting done and, in many ways more efficiently with less time wasted in just travel time.

Restaurants and retail now realize their whole business model must depend on online visibility, delivery, and possibly offsite kitchens that supply multiple locations – all are becoming part of a new mode of operating. Retailers are using e-commerce portals, local order and same-day delivery to reach their customers. Those that haven’t yet are rapidly shifting to online alternatives to keep sales and visibility going. NextDoor has now seen a 73% increase in online traffic as neighbors connect, complain, and refer services.

Online traffic has dramatically increased and visibility is essential because we’re all living online

We are all spending more time online having meetings and working.

A web presence or social media for many businesses and firms was at one time just a destination to visit to see what a company did (brochureware)…and now it’s becoming the hub of communications and connections for the company and the team. This isn’t going to change in the short term. Some recent surveys of white collar and tech companies showed that roughly 45% of their workforce will continue to work at home at least part-time. This changes everything about work, meetings, and connections and resources we all use. Some telling stats from the New York Times: Zoom traffic by late May had increased fivefold and by far exceeded Google Meets and Microsoft Teams. We are shaping our world around connections but in a very different way.

Brands need to refocus their online strategy that includes their website, marketing, publishing, video and social media.

Being present and having a clear brand voice is essential.

What companies are beginning to see is they must develop clear and visible online brand strategies that get their brand voice out there to their clients and customers. This means both businesses to business-focused firms as well as consumer-focused brands. Building this visibility and creating nonintrusive yet memorable connections is essential. We are building online branding strategies using key branding tools that not only help define our clients’ brands but give them the power to connecting with their clients using important marketing tools and digital strategies that create value and connection to their customers. How you define your brand determines the best tools, the best messages, and media to use.

Online is now driving connections and brand awareness with search traffic up over 43% since March of this year

Now being online is what connects you – everywhere.

From Zoom meetings to webinars to your website, you’re now living your brand online. And now you can shape a more powerful presence with clients and business partners over a much wider geographic area. Being local may not be an advantage. Being an expert in the right areas can be. So as you shape your brand strategy and value, be aware that you’re connecting to a broader community that you can add value to.

A roadmap to changing your visibility and presence online

• Develop your brand positioning and really clarify it. This includes clear and concise statements about what your company is focused on, what makes you unique over other competitors. Think of this in terms of what will go into your website, your content, and how your customers will see you as unique and separate from competitors.

• Define your customers and clients. Having a clear description of who your customers and clients are by company and by decision-maker helps shape this idea of what your brand voice is. Who are you speaking to and why? What unique value do you bring to your customers and clients? What are their problems and issues? What do they need to be successful? And lastly, how can you be a valued resource?

• Build a new brand presence with your website. This is extremely important. The time couldn’t be better to rethink how your website looks, functions and communicates, and what it’s actually for. Think more of your site as both a story about your company and a resource for visitors, clients or not, to see and value your expertise and gain knowledge. And, remember, mobile is essential to how your site looks. You need to be visibly present in all forms to clients and customers.

• Develop a new visual brand image that reinforces who you are. This is the time to really dive into a rebranding effort. By doing this now while many of your customers and clients are hyper-focused online you will be able to gain visibly with them and use online tools that you’ve perhaps not engaged before to build your presence.

• Be bold about your message and get it out there. This means knowing who you are and why you’re valued and making sure it’s radically different than your competitors. Creating a short positioning statement or a handful of words or a tagline that is associated with your difference, this is what clients and customers remember. They want to know your value, why you exist for them.

• From short video to Zoom it’s time to now use many of the online tools that can connect you. With the increase in online video views (up 76% since February) it’s important that brands define a strategy around video content from educational to storytelling that makes a connection to your customers. This includes using Zoom for webinars, building digital presence through Linkedin postings, digital ads, and communicating through subscriber-based emails that offer valuable content. But remember it’s just not about you – it’s about your value to clients and customers and your expertise that truly differentiates your brand.