Yes, the title signifies it. Online marketing is all about how you deliver to your prospects, each time there is an interaction between the 2 parties. In order to build a following of brand loyalists, it is unavoidable to build an irresistible experience for the consumers. The whole experience that is built, becomes a brand in the customers’ perspective.

Renowned brands all over the globe are known for delivering a brand experience, the customers would swear by. These outstanding experiences serve as a foundation to engage the audience on a regular basis and consistently build a brand as an authority in their related industry.

To put it in simple terms, a compelling user experience is what builds a positive and successful brand perception. It is how you understand the feelings and the thinking of your audience.

Definition of a successful Brand:

A position in an industry established very carefully, a set of value propositions fulfilled and an overall experience that is based on service and a 2-way communication is what a successful brand all about.

 Benefits??

• It shows your authority in your related industry, given that you are getting feedbacks/testimonials from your customers. Word of the mouth publicity works big time and satisfied customers will always give you a boost with this aspect.
• A great user experience is a stepping stone which lets your customers see your unique value proposition, which reflects your brand, vision, core values and the mission.
• In online marketing campaigns, what is utterly significant is, acquiring quality links and social shares, helping you to achieve your purpose in gaining the desired visibility on the SERPs.

Branding through a website?

 A great website and the role it plays in today’s tech-age is so much more than the traditional brand building models. A website has to be equipped with intuitive information, backed with a strong and impactful user interface design. And that’s not all, you should have the right tools and expertise in order to enable a two-way interaction with the visitors. You want your audience to connect with your brand – Give them an experience they will never forget. With an outstanding user experience, in terms of the website, communication, products and services and fulfilment of the value proposition, you are laying down the fundamentals of brand loyalty.

Let’s break down the major elements that build an online brand proposition, and see how considering the provision of a great online experience could prove to be a major point:

Key Online Branding Factors:

 Customer: In your online branding model, the customer is in the centre. A multitude of factors are considered including some of the major ones that are mentioned below:

• The kind of content preferred by your audience
• The places where the customer go to discover information
• The keywords used by your audience in the search engines
• Which product or service appeals to them the most so that they would spend their time and money?
• What drives the customers to take purchasing decisions?
• How to engage the customers.

Your online identity’s task is to identify the various channels accessed by the prospects, so that you could raise an awareness via the most frequently visited channels and engage with them knowing their needs, limitations and other factors through a number of online tools available.

Also keeping in consideration, the offline model is vital. As this will play a vital role in determining the online model. The same principles of the traditional buying system are to be followed in the online branding task. Still, there are some reservations as far as investing in the digital channel is concerned. Here is an eye-popping revelation. Although, major brands are aware of the benefits of making the customer experience the central of all their online marketing activities, a report by e-consultancy says that only 18% of the surveyed brands admitted to be serious about providing the best possible user experience.

Identity: First things first. A strong brand identity will help in revealing your unique value proposition and provide you an edge over the others in the market. It reflects the brand value and your voice through social networking and effective outreach. Create an impression of your effective brand with attractive elements (logos, typography, color schemes, etc.). A strong brand identity is the one which increases awareness and brand loyalists. Below are some points which will help in improving your brand identity and achieve your goals.

• Optimize the Content: Proving great value to your customers will definitely help you in getting their faith. An enticing content in various forms is the key to this. Give out compelling information that shows your authority, credibility, and engages your audience
• Use of Visual Devices: Incorporating your core values and vision into your logo will help you create a notable identity. Creative and colorful pics and other visuals will haul your audience’s attention and positively encourage their decision making process. People will interact with you based on what your vision and core values are which are displayed with the help of the company’s logo.

Twitter is a great example of how it’s distinctive tweeting bird signifies the brand without even mentioning the name. Also how the attractive “t” works well. You don’t need an explanation of what the brand is when you see the logo. This is how an effective brand identity works.

Competition Analysis: It is like an open book and more accessible than it was ever before. Competitor’s analysis plays a key role in the branding process to differentiate the reputation, outreach and the approach. The transparency of numerous digital channels allows analysis very effectively and conveniently. There are various ways to analyze the competitors’ performance. Insights could be obtained on how they offer their products or services, how they communicate with the audience, what do they focus on while presenting their brand to the audience. However, the key points which should be considered while analyzing the competitors are given below:

• The social network occupied by them
• The competitiveness of the keywords targeted by the competitors
• Their online value propositions
• Their content strategy to deliver more impact
• The websites through which they get the backlinks

Messaging: One of the key factors to get your message across safe and sound, messaging has the ability to make or break your online branding campaign. Your products and services get the much needed backing online. Key messages serve as a punch line to add weight to your value proposition and clicks with the audience in a jiffy.

A large number of brands have their own messaging styles. I would like to show my personal two:

Nestle’s key driver of brand is very simple, “Good Food, Good Life”. The message is loud and clear. In addition to the now famous logo, the message over here is quite lucid and effective. The vision, the core mission of the company is very well explained in short. A true daily needs brand, with a soothing name, logo and message makes this brand a hot favorite amongst it’s loyal customers.

Nestle – “Good Food, Good Life”

I came across Zappos.com while searching for online luxury shopping websites and was quite impressed by their punch line, “powered by Service”. This key message signifies motivation, confidence and commitment to their service. The unique value proposition is in the message itself. This is what makes this website stand out from it’s competitors. Yes, there might be many who have to provide the same products they have to offer. However, it is their service that makes them exceptional.

Zappos – “powered by Service”

Product: The various formats and ways of interaction through digital media, has opened the doors for some creative and exciting ways to demonstrate and deliver the products online. In online branding, how effectively you put across your key message and the benefits of the products and services, will decide the success. Various features like video content, social media sharing facilities, real time configuration, to name a few could be used to display the uniqueness of the attributes your brand has to offer.

A brand has to decide the right mix of the tactics that it should use, which should be based on the product’s brand position.

A not so complex, personalized products website I have seen lately is the printvenue.com, which allows us to use their website and personalize the products they have in their list. This serves as a user connected and highly personalized user experience.

Conclusion:

Good experiences are always remembered. The efforts implemented in the brand’s promotion in addition to your products is significant, since these things count and influence the consumers to take purchasing decisions and also the after-purchase activities such as word-of-the-mouth publicity or sharing their experiences about your products.

 You want a faster brand loyalty and authority; create an ever-lasting brand experience.