Behind the Branding – 6 Steps Toward a More Relevant Online Presence

If you have a business, chances are you have an online presence.

We have to ask though – how old is your website? And what’s your logo like? Is all of your information – both online and in the real world – in alignment? If you know that there is some inconsistency with your branding or messaging out there, then this is big trouble for your brand. You must ensure that your visual and digital messaging is consistent in order to get the biggest impact for your business.

What do we mean by this?

We mean that your website, your logo, your colour scheme, your online shopping cart, your business cards, your blog, your email signatures, your employee LinkedIn pages and your social media profiles ALL have to exist in alignment. When it comes to tracking assets it’s no wonder that so many businesses mess this up and suffer from a diluted brand message.

Branding and having a relevant and strong online presence is all about the web design used in your business. At Digital Next, we can help with top-notch design and solid messaging – so get in touch if you think you might have a problem online and want to fix it today. In the meantime, here are six steps towards a more relevant online presence using quality web design.

Step One – A beautiful website

It’s important to have a stunning website, and a key part of that is ensuring that your blog does the job it’s supposed to. We don’t just mean that your website has to be visually appealing (it does, but that’s only half of the battle). We also mean that your website needs to cover usability, readability and the overall user experience.

Every element of your web design needs to be thought out with user goals in mind. When you do this, you’ll get a consistent and relevant online presence due to your customers having a positive experience on your site.

Step Two – Think about your content

You need to ensure that you format your text correctly to get the best results from your readers. If you want your readers to click through to a CTA then structure your content such that you’re hinting towards this! Great content design comes down to using things like:

• Lists
• Short paragraphs
• Bold words and headings
• Clever punctuation. And snappy sentences.

Step Three – Know your audience

You must know your audience and what you want to say to them.

Think about how the information you’re putting out there will speak to your audience and then make sure it’s sitting on your beautifully designed website and written in such a way as to be appealing with your content layout.

Step Four – Get social

It’s vital that your online presence includes social media in some form or another.

Your users will love a well thought out Instagram page that aligns with your website, so give it to them!

Step Five – Think about EDMs

While many businesses have moved away from the traditional “marketing email mailout”, they can be used to great effect with your business. A well-designed EDM has the power to compel people to take action and can be really effective when used for something like promoting a special or letting people know about a new event.

Step Six – Keep track

You want to be relevant? Make sure that all of your content is relevant.

You need to keep track of every asset you have so that if and when you update your logo or want to redesign something that you know what you have to update!

We hope this has been helpful – and for more information on how to have a relevant online presence click here to get in touch and find out more.