Traditional brand managers fall into the trap of thinking and believing that true branding can only be achieved offline. They fail to think about content holistically in ways that boost their brand outside their own online platform and some think that measuring ROI in tradition ways is a way to measure their success in social media. These are some of the mistakes common with brand managers and partly some of the reasons why more branding dollars have not yet come online and are still in traditional media (TV, radio, print publications) and offline content marketing (e.g., product placement in movies and sponsored soap operas). This is true regardless of the fact that in the current day and age many people and actually more people spend much more time consuming content online.
Brand advertising is trying to entice awareness, consideration, affinity, and remembrance not necessarily an immediate purchase. True branding benefits the positive image or feeling we associate with a product’s name or logo. True branding can be achieved in the online space when you let your brand participate in or contribute to the consumer’s online experience. Tip to achieve this;
1. Use smart online video ads, which do not simply take your TV ads and deliver then online, but rather considers the size of screen, interactivity, and social opportunities.
2. Consider social media campaigns that interact directly with consumers and influencers to humanize your brand in ways that were never possible before(HiPipo Charts Festival with Pepsi)
3. Develop content in several different formats to provide a true value-add for consumers of your category, services or products.
4. Release content on a regular basis to develop a cohesive brand story.
Portraying a brand message that will resonate with an online audience and drive them to develop an affinity for the brand in a meaningful way must be fueled by content.
You may have developed some content specifically to exist on your website but think holistically about earned media amplification. Earned media includes all content assets that are not owned by you and can live outside your own online presence — on blogs, YouTube, or anywhere else. It doesn’t need to replace driving traffic to your owned content assets, but it can surely augment it and hence grow your brand.
Do you want your digital team to ONLY use direct response tactics that will drive sales on your eCommerce site, or do you also want to reach as many people as possible and influence the choice they’ll make next time they’re walking down the grocery aisle? Digital marketing teams with a results-only mindset will disregard the value of branding and will not consider other benefits of a content marketing strategy. To do branding online, it’s largely about content. Provide people with quality content, embrace recommendations and favorable content created by third parties, be patient and you shall win the marathon with long-term consumers. See whole article here
