Re-Branding In The Internet Age
From companies pumping millions into agencies to make the best advertising strategy to having an in-house online PR team; the marketing game has gone a complete 360 since the arrival of the internet.
It was just a decade and a half ago when companies were still getting their head around the internet and its potential. Today, it’s a whole different story. With companies employing hoards of online strategists, technologists, and PR teams to ensure their best image online. Add to this social media platform and branding becomes a vexing challenge. But the internet is a supper-effective tool for multiple reasons and smart branding can mean the difference between a super successful brand and a dud.
The Internet makes for great ATL and BTL marketing.
Above The Line (ATL) marketing refers to marketing efforts targeted towards a wide and varied audience such as TV commercials, newspaper ads, etc. On the other hand, Below The Line (BTL) marketing refers to the usage of resources to reach a smaller audience on a direct level; such as kiosks distributing free samples of new products by a company. The internet effectively allows for widespread marketing as well as doing so targeting a consumer base of a certain age, geographic, or occupational demographic. In the case of re-branding, the platform makes it extremely easy for a company to ensure the widespread reach of its new brand aesthetic and values while also targeting it’s most likely consumers on a direct basis. Further, a “call to action” button added on multiple platforms gives the user easy access to the brand catalog and content. This makes for better user engagement with the brand.
Effective SEO and SEM can shoot-up web traffic.
Studies have shown that 93% of all web traffic comes from search engines such as Google and Bing. To put it in the simplest terms, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) allows search engines to understand a website and its content better, listing it higher in the search results on a page. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) on the other hand is the deliberate listing of your website on the top of a page as an advertised search result. While SEO allows for more organic web-traffic, SEM can be a great way for newer companies or companies that may have re-branded themselves to make consumers aware of their presence and services. It has been proven that marketers that combine SEO and SEM along with pay-per-click ads see a 25% spike in web clicks and an average of 27% increase in brand profits.
Building an online community brings brands closer to consumers.
The concept of crowd culture cannot be described better than on the internet. With users gaining access to a worldwide community of people interested in a similar topic, hobby, or skill; the impact of branded content can be immense. This concept, however, works more in favor of pre-existing brands that have some following. Associating the brand with a certain culture or collaborating with influencers or artists promoting a certain sport, skill, talent, etc. makes people associate the brand with that culture. Apart from this, many online forums allow for active conversation about multiple cultural topics. A brand taking up social responsibility also helps build a positive image among customers.
While the world moves to a digital playground, make sure your brand doesn’t fall out of the game by keeping in mind these pointers. For what dies, in reality, will always live-on, on the internet.