Why a Strong Digital Presence Matters when Building a Brand

With the increasing number of websites, social media platforms, and apps, it becomes increasingly important for companies to have a strong online presence. Having an online presence helps consumers find your companyeasily, learn about your reputation, and decide whether they want to purchase from you.

A digital presence allows your brand to tell a story that sets itself apart from others in the market, providing a unique experience for the consumer. Your brand’s digital footprint includes everything from your website to social media accounts and online reviews.

Having a substantial digital footprint can not only increase consumer visibility, but it can also build up your brand’s credibility by giving people reason to trust you. Because consumers are likely to search for your company before committing money, they will naturally expect your business to show up when they search online. Therefore, your brand needs to appear (and rank highly) within search results.

If customers cannot find your brand when they do a search, they may question your ability to provide them with quality service. And if they see that you're offering little evidence of your experience, they might wonder whether your business is legitimate.

A strong online presence shows that you know what you're doing and gives your company an air of expertise that helps establish trust between you and your customers.

However, beyond simply having a website, it is important to develop an effective brand awareness strategy that extends across these platforms to ensure your brand is consistent throughout. By developing a strong online presence, you not only create a cohesive brand identity, but it also helps drive traffic back to your site through SEO (search engine optimisation).

Here we’ll discuss the importance of having a strong digital presence for your business and why it matters when starting a company today.

Let us take a look at the benefits of digital branding and how you can go about it by doing this efficient, practical and functional brand awareness marketing strategy.

Improve your brand visibility.

The first and most important step in boosting your business' digital presence is building a professional, user-friendly website. Your website is your business' virtual storefront and it should reflect who you are and what you offer. Clean, easy navigation and a clear call to action (CTA) gives users the information they need to know without any unnecessary distractions. Additionally, a site that is purposefully designed for an enhanced user-experience can make a strong first impression on consumers. For example, the increased level of interactivity between visitors and businesses helps build trust and rapport.

Attract potential customers outside your website.

You should establish an active and consistent social media strategy that helps you stay important to your audience. Not all social media accounts may be effective for your business though. What you can do is to determine which platforms your audience uses, and then establish a social media strategy tailored to your needs.

It can be beneficial to monitor the statements circulating online about your brand, and use that knowledge to help manage your public image or online reputation.

1. Brand recognition.

Customers today spend a lot of time online reading reviews and researching products before making any purchases. As a result, businesses can use this consumer behaviour to provide relevant content for potential customers which builds trust among them and gives them an advantage over competitors.

Aside from resourceful content, sharing genuine video-based testimonials can help build a credible company. Authentic testimonials effectively improve client perceptions about your brand or product, so they're an important part of creating brand awareness and of any brand building campaign.

With today’s technology, gathering authentic video testimonials isn't expensive or complicated. So, utilise testimonials to boost your brand credibility.

2. The internet is a vast space and allows you to reach many potential customers.

A well-built digital presence can give a start-up the same opportunities as an established business. However, if your digital presence isn't built well, you may not be able to achieve the same level of success as an established company.

You can use offline methods such as billboards, print advertisements, brochures, TV ads, and events to reach a small number of people but at a high cost. On the contrary, online marketing allows you to reach an unlimited number of potential prospects for a low cost.

3. Supports your offline work.

You can combine your offline marketing campaigns with a strong online presence to be very effective.

You can utilise online tools such as Facebook hyper local ads to give you the ability to target your campaigns to people who live close by — meaning someone who has already had an interaction with your brand offline could potentially interact with it online. This gives you another way to convert them into a paying customer, which can be very beneficial for your bottom line.

Tip: Your best approach should be using similar taglines and messages for both your online and offline campaigns, but don't be afraid to change things up if they're not working.

4. People are always online.

Whatever your industry or the nature of your business, the most important part of your target market is likely to be found online. Thus, it makes sense for you as a business owner to boost your digital presence.

According to Datareportal, there were 23.60 million internet users in Australia in January 2022. Australia's internet penetration rate stood at 91.0 percent of the total population at the start of 2022.” This is something you should take into account.

Without investing in a strong digital presence — especially on social media — you're missing out on a significant revenue stream.

5. The internet is available 24/7.

A digital presence means that potential clients can still find your company's products and services even after regular business hours, regardless of where they live.

If you're running a brick-and-mortar store where people can physically come into, you want to be there during normal business hours so that people can actually get in touch with you.

Being able to connect with a larger audience can provide opportunities for your company to grow. It gives your brand an opportunity to build its credibility and maintain its reputation. Building your presence on social media platforms is a substantial undertaking, but the benefits are well worth the time and energy spent.

Building a strong digital presence doesn't require effort if you don't want one. However, it will certainly pay off with a stronger reputation, greater brand awareness, and increased business revenues. If you need help on how to increase brand awareness with the best strategy, contact us now. We are one of the top SEO companies in Melbourne who specialises in digital marketing with years of expertise in measuring and creating brand awareness.