Small businesses dream of someday making it big and having their brand plastered all over billboards across the country. But many of them believe that building a strong brand is just a dream. There’s only a lucky few that ever go on to global acclaim, they believe. The rest are left fighting over the scraps.
But thanks to new digital tools, it’s now easier than ever for small companies to build a big brand. It’s no longer true that corporations have to be large and have to have big marketing departments to be successful. Success in the digital age isn’t dependent on the vertical integration of production and marketing. Digital platforms are horizontal, meaning businesses don’t have to get big before their brands get big. Now the tail really can wag the dog. Here are some tips to building a strong brand in the digital space.
Image Credit – thebluediamondgallery.com
Use Real Time Brand Management Software
Digital platforms are useful in many ways. But one area in which they really excel is in drawing all the information you need into one helpful application.
Now there are solutions out there, like Chatmeter, which allow you to track your brand in real time. For instance, you might want to know how your customers received a recent marketing promotion. Real-time, brand management solutions allow you to monitor sentiment on social media. They also allow you to see exactly how your product has been received in different parts of the country. And they also allow you to view instantly any reviews that have been posted related to your product.
These solutions mean that small businesses today have a lot of information about their brands. In fact, they probably have more information about their brands than large enterprises did twenty years ago.
Think Of Your Brand As A Person
You shouldn’t think of your brand as just a part of your company or an extension of yourself. Rather, you should think of your brand as you would a fictional character. It has its own personality; its own attributes, beliefs, and values.
Why think of it in this way? Because that is how your customers think about your brand. They don’t know the individual people who make up your company. All they know is the personality that the firm projects through its brand. In their mind, the company and the brand are the same entity.
Don’t Mimic Big Brands
Customers can tell a fake brand from a mile away. Just mimicking big brands doesn’t make you more appealing. It makes you look as if you’re trying to be something that you are not. And that never inspires confidence.
Instead, stick with your own unique personality. Even though your customers probably love big brands, there will still be a certain special place for you in their hearts.
Instead, why not position your brand differently. Why not try to stand out from the big brands and put the message out there that your company actually believes in something. Just because you are small, doesn’t mean you don’t have a personality.