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Businesses often confuse the brand identity with logo, the logo is just a part of the brand identity. When it comes to the online, the online brand identity is more than just a logo and color pallets. In fact it is the complete online strategy which build an online image of the brand. And the online brand image or impression is called the brand identity. Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE businesses have adopted to the online and digital marketing very early, so it is not a new concept here. However, businesses often over looked or underestimate the importance of the online brand identity. In UAE almost all of the residence (to be precise 99.2%) have access to the high speed internet and also own smartphones and computer devices. Which means the overall population is well connected to the internet. The internet usage is also very high comparing to other parts of the world. Social media, eCommerce and other online trends are very popular in UAE. If a business is operating in Dubai or any part of UAE it is crucial for their success to be able to meet the needs of their online audiences. The brand identity directly impact on trust building and customer loyalty. It also help you to stand out from the competition.

What is Online Brand Identity?

The online brand identity is the entire online image of the brand, it includes from logo to social media interactions and everything in between. Earlier the brand identity was considered to be just a logo and some color pallets. However, these days the brand identity is more like that of a personality. Consider meeting someone, when you see a new person, you build some kind of their personality image in your subconscious mind, when you have any interaction with them or engaged in a conversation with them this understanding grows deeper. The difference between the brand identity and online brand identity have gotten blurred out, now a days both terms are interchangeable. The online brand identity or jus the brand identity is similar to the interaction with a new person. How the brand interacts with its audience, how their visual representation is, and how they communicate, will form their online brand identity.

Here are 5 best strategies to build online brand identity in 2021:

1. Business Plan and Value Proposition

The one thing is most important to project in your online branding is your business’s core values, mission, vision and the value proposition. The brand should be able to communicate with its customers in a way that it can build a very positive impression of the business. The important thing is to tell your audience why you exist as a brand and what distinguishes you from others. A business should have to define its purpose of existence and it should be able to communicate it through its branding, content, and overall online communication with its targeted audience.

The brand should communicate its values and it should be able to tell the customers:

• Why it is different from others?
• What benefits it is offering that distinguishes it?
• What problems it can solve or what convenience it can provide?
• Why people should chose this brand?

And so on. These details are the actual business plan and value proposition for your online brand identity and these should reflect from the communication and materials you publish online. Business can derive taglines, mission statements, sales pitches and slogans from this. Later on these taglines, visual identity and slogan will become your online brand identity.

2. Do Market Research and Create Customer/Audience Persona

For any successful brand the success can only be assure if the brand targets the right audience, for example you can’t market luxury cars to kids. It is crucial that your chose the right audience for right products. There are so many things that need to be consider while creating customer or audience persona:

• Age Group
• Gender
• Location
• Education
• Work
• Etc.

These are some of the major categories or classifications to narrow down your audience. Furthermore the audience can also be segregated on the bases of their online interests, social media likes and a lot many other parameters. The important thing here is to understand that you can never effectively market a same thing to different age groups. Yes, there are certain products, but mostly different age groups and different demographic are targeted differently.

Only one audience is not enough either, as different products and services target different audiences. For example the a T-shirt with a slogan related to a social media campaign will be more popular among the teenagers or young generation and a simple Polo Shirt would be liked by the slightly older audience. You have to think critically. The competitive analysis should be done. See what your competitors are doing, what they are selling, whom they are targeting to sell. This will help you building a personality that can build a positive image.

3. Build a Unique and Memorable Visual Identity

The visual identity is still the strongest element of any brand’s personality. The logo, color pallets and the overall design theme will distinguish you from other brands and competitors. In Dubai and other parts of UAE the markets are continuously growing, economy is strong which is attracting more investors and businesses are popping up on daily bases. In such circumstances the most important thing that can distinguish you from others is your visual identity. It could be just a logo, or color scheme which should be consistent throughout your entire communication. Moreover the online brand identity includes all the traditional elements such as logo, fonts, color schemes and some digital or a bit modernized elements too, for example a logo can be published on several different platforms and mediums at all sorts of small, medium and large places, some businesses use a miniature logo for small places or a larger logo with tagline on larger places, such things will define your overall visual personality.

The point here is whenever someone look at any of your visual design they should understand it is your brand. Moreover all the traditional branding elements such as corporate profile, printable/downloadable content, business cards, and any other item should have consistency. The digital world is very different from the offline world, in the online world the customer expect to get what they see, they do not give any chance on the bases of doubt, they will simply go away if you failed to communicate with them. The visual identity is what plays anextremely important role in overall online brand identity. Along with that your communication and content on all digital mediums should be able to identify themselves as soon as a customer put their gaze upon them. Then comes the rest of the elements such as your website or product/service pages, social media profiles and online press releases or blogs. In fact the brand identity in its entirety includes your customer service and customer experience as well. If you are failing to provide satisfactory customer experience, it will impact your brand identity.

4. Website and Online Publications

Website is an integral part of the online branding. These days the websites have become much more important than an online profile. People often attach legitimacy with the website, if a business doesn’t have a website people might doubt its legitimacy. Your business website could also be used as a strong communication and marketing tool. A business website can be a great first impression and can provide all details and information that a prospect may need to get impress with the business. The website can be a great source of the online leads and organic traffic. In Dubai and all around the UAE some businesses are even generating more leads from their website than from their store. Websites are very helpful in building trust and confidence among visitors. The online brand identity heavily rely on your business website.

There are certain things that you must need to consider while preparing your business website:

1. The website must have the business logo on the most visible place
2. The website mush showcase your important products and services
3. The website visual design, color scheme, fonts and the visual art should be in-line with the brand logo and brand profile
4. The website must have a detailed ‘About’ section which provide all necessary information about the business, its missing and vision and core values
5. The contact details and page should be integrated with Google Maps to provide easy navigation to your business
6. The content must be prepared with great care, use plain language, taglines, headings, and highlighted content to grab your audience’s attentions
7. Pay attention to the customer journey and CTA (call to action)
8. Make it responsive and smartphone compatible
9. Design and develop an SEO (search engine friendly) website
10. Provide additional features and functionalities, such as customer support, complaint center integration, customer portals, appointment booking and such features
11. The user interface and the user experience must reflect the core visual theme of the brand
12. Add trust markers on the website, such as proof of work, portfolio, client testimonials, etc.
13. Include online publication tools, such as Press Releases, Blogs, and News sections

These are some key points that should be consider while preparing a website for your business. A website could be great aid to your online brand identity. Make sure your website speaks well for your brand. The content of the website has to be prepared with great care. It is not only the visual representation that matters but for online brand identity the entire customer journey and customer experience matters. The website content and updates provide you a very effective platform to communicate with your audience.

5. Social Media and Digital Marketing

Social media and digital marketing plays an important role in online brand identity. A business can’t successfully build their online brand identity if they are not successful in their social media and digital marketing strategies. In Dubai and all around the UAE a huge population spend several hours on social media platforms on daily bases. Which makes them very effective and important in building online brand identity. Having social media profiles and pages is not enough, the social media requires a very proactive approach. A business must have to be very active on social media if they want to promote their brand online. The social media profiles and pages should clearly speak the same visual language as all other mediums and channels are speaking. The logo, color schemes, design elements, graphics and the content should be completely in-line with the brand.

The digital marketing whether it is paid or organic also plays an important role in brand awareness and online brand identity building. The business must have to be very active in digital marketing too. All popular social media platforms are offering advertisement platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn and Twitter. These platforms are very popular and each one have its own advantages and disadvantages. In fact I would rather say one platform is suitable for one type of digital marketing campaign and the other is for another. All digital marketing platforms are very useful if used correctly.

The search engine marketing is one of the most effective online or digital marketing technique. Businesses who advertise in search engines can immediately see the increase in sales and conversions. However a business website can also be a great source of organic traffic. The organic traffic is absolutely free and whenever someone searches for something in the search engine such as Google, it returns a page with a bunch of links, if your website is search engine friendly or optimized for the search engines then you can have a high ranked place in the search engine result page. This could generate a ton of organic traffic and it’s completely free. As much as a business website gets traffic, as much chances of conversion are. These things will add to your online brand identity. If a prospect sees a business website each time it searches about a particular product or service they will think that this particular business is the leader in this domain. This build trust, improve brand visibility and improve conversion rate too.

Conclusion

The online brand identity is considered to be a gold standard now. If a business has failed to do well in online domain the chances are it will eventually fail in the off-line world too. The online brand identity is not only the logo, color pallets, visuals, graphics, website, social media, in fact it includes all that and it also got impacted from the customer experience and all the touch points of the customer interaction can impact a business’s online reputation. The brand identity has to be very unique, memorable and it should be able to distinguish you from tons of other competitors. The visual brand identity is obviously still very important but all other factors also play important role in building online brand reputation. The website, social media, customer experience and customer interactions with the brand through multiple mediums also play an important role in building the overall online brand identity. RSI Concepts is a leading name in online branding and digital marketing, if you need any help to prepare a completely new brand identity or if you want to revamp your older brand identity, feel free to reach us out through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you.

Check out this blog: Why Your Small Business Needs a Website?