passion 4 digital Chapter 6 Developing an Effective

#passion 4 digital

Chapter 6. Developing an Effective Digital Presence #passion 4 digital

6. 0 Learning objectives • Recognise what constitutes a digital brand presence • Differentiate key concepts such as brand equity and social media branding • Maintain digital presences to create content synergies • Differentiate media types –owned and paid • Understand the role of User Experience (UX) • Develop information architecture that is based on your buyer persona • Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess your digital presence #passion 4 digital

6. 1 Defining Digital Presence • Your digital presence is the sum total of all the online activities managed by your organisation as well as the online activities carried out by your stakeholders. • In a digitally connected world, brands are co-created. • Your presence is not only for sharing information but also to build credibility, trust, engagement and brand loyalty. • Influencing behaviour does not solely mean the completion of a purchase. • Influencing and securing purchases remains a vital aspect for most businesses, so having clear calls to actions within your digital presence is vital. #passion 4 digital

6. 2 Brand Building • Branding is a pivotal aspect of your strategy because it provides a focal point for your buyer persona. • Your buyer persona can identify with your brand will associate it with the value that you deliver. • Your brand helps to clearly differentiate the products, services and experiences that you offer from those of your competitors. • In the Buyer Persona Spring your brand is an integral part of your organisation although in small organisations this may currently be an underdeveloped aspect of your digital identity. #passion 4 digital

6. 2 Brand Building with the Buyer Persona Spring A strong brand identity that is well communicated through key content on the right channels will appeal to your buyer persona and tighten the spring to your organisation. #passion 4 digital

Embedding your Brand’s Value Within your Organisation Your organisation must then consistently live and deliver this promise of value. Your organisation can develop this alignment by responding to a series of straightforward questions. #passion 4 digital

Brand Alignment or Misalignment in the Buyer Persona Spring #passion 4 digital

6. 3 Brand Equity • Brand equity is, “the extra value customers perceive in a brand that ultimately builds long-term loyalty” (Wood, 2010). • Organisations may own a trademark (the name, logo and symbols) but the brand its equity lie ultimately in the head, heart and actions of your buyer persona. • Brand equity is built as the buyer persona becomes aware of the brand begins to value its offering, when they know what the brand stands for, when they respond to it and when they want an on-going relationship with it. #passion 4 digital

The Brand Equity Pyramid #passion 4 digital

6. 4 The Rise of the Social Media-Based Brand • The rise of social media, plus advances in technology, means that consumers are now capable f creating and publishing content themselves. • Your customers, employees, pressure groups and brand advocates are all working away at presenting your brand through user-generated content such as videos, reviews and blogs. • To build brand equity and achieve resonance with your buyer persona, your brand will need to facilitate relationships, interactions and conversations. #passion 4 digital

6. 4 The Rise of the Social Media-Based Brand • Content that facilitates dialogue and sharing are some of the most important actions for delivering an engaging brand experience. • The combination of your content, channels and data sub-strategies should enable this brand experience. • Building your brand equity requires you to create and offer content through channels that will get you invited into the conversation, and that gets others talking about the brand. • Your strategy must include a data sub-strategy that closes the loop and listens to your buyer persona in a way that enables you to respond intelligently and personally. #passion 4 digital

6. 5 Social Media Presence • Almost all social media including Facebook, Twitter and Linked. In, allow customisation features for brands as well as individuals. • A key starting point for a successful social media presence starts with your name. • Most social media channels also allow you to have a profile picture. • Some social media channels allow a background picture. #passion 4 digital

6. 6 Developing a Network of Profiles • It is important that each of your social media channels as well as your primary website are well interlinked. • This consistency makes it clear to your buyer persona that your brand wants to engage. • All your channels should also be linked from your organisation’s website making them consistently visible as well as through email signatures, business cards and forum signatures. • “Follow” and “Share” buttons are the most important ones. #passion 4 digital

The Centrality of a Blog in your Brand Development #passion 4 digital

6. 7 Owned, Earned and Paid Content • One of the most crucial ways for a brand to stand out is through engaging content which makes users want to comment on and share it, and which sparks conversations. • There are three different channels where content can be placed: these are described as owned, earned and paid. • Owned channels and content include corporate, product and brand websites, blogs, campaign sites, social media profiles and mobile applications. • Organisations also pay influencers to share or endorse content. #passion 4 digital

Owned, Paid and Earned Content and Channels #passion 4 digital

6. 8 Building a Successful User Experience (UX) • Your owned channels are the ones that you have the most control over. • A successful UX translates into positive experiences that can lead to contentment, positive behavioral intentions and even to emotional connections with your brand. • UX is a crucial step in converting a user into one of your brand advocates. • Your goal is to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty through the utility, ease-of-use, and pleasure provided by the use of your owned channels. #passion 4 digital

6. 8 Building a Successful User Experience (UX) • Perceived instrumental qualities: what users notice as being easily usable and useful. This should include access for every user, regardless of any disability and should follow W 3 C guidelines (alternative text for images, transcripts for podcasts and videos) • Emotional reactions: how enjoyable the interaction is and how the content transforms the user’s hedonic state of being. • Perceived non-instrumental qualities: what the user believes to be appealing and attractive. #passion 4 digital

6. 9 The Principles of UX Design • The fundamental objective of UX design is centered on the end user. • The UX should meet a user’s expectations regarding ease-of-use, while offering a simple process for accomplishing a goal that is obvious to the user. • Users are no longer willing to wait for content to appear. • Usability is about being able to make fundamental use of your website, whether it is being accessed from a mobile device like a phone or a table, or from a variety of web browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. #passion 4 digital

6. 10 Usability Guide and Testing • According to the US government’s online to usability, there are five steps in creating a usability guide: planning, analysing, designing, testing and refining. • Besides simply using a guide and testing, there must also be a process for understanding and identifying usability issues through user testing and observing actual users. • Hedegaard and Simonsen (2013) found that usability design that include emphasis on dimensions of hedonic, affect and emotion, pleasure and enjoyment and fun, score much better in usability testing. #passion 4 digital

6. 11 Responsive Design • Mobile devices such as tablets, e. Book readers and smartphones are growing in popularity. • Your digital presence needs to be capable of operating on these platforms too. • Mobile delivers your on the go, alongside other screens and among a crowd to people who want to access information quickly and easily. • Building a responsive design is a similar task to that of building a great UX. • Mobile devices rely on touch input so your functionality should be straightforward. #passion 4 digital

6. 11 Case Study: Sailing Logic is a UK SME focused on introducing the sport yacht racing to those who see the sport as being exclusive. the brand offers unique packages that allow individuals who have never met to join together as a team and take part in prestigious sailing races, as well as offering companies the opportunity to team-build with their employees through corporate sailing outings. #passion 4 digital

6. 11 Case Study: Sailing Logic By partnering with bookitbee. com, Sailing Logic allowed their consumers To first research their offering from a Desktop and then to book their Packages from a mobile Device through their partners’ Utility-based app. #passion 4 digital

6. 12 Website infrastructure • The development process will take you from the design phase and to an interactive website that will connect you with your buyer persona. • The first step in your development process is choosing and registering your domain name. • Depending on where your target audience is, you may choose to use a local domain (such as. gr for Greece or. bg for Bulgaria) if you are primarily serving local markets. • Another question you will need to answer is whether the website should be static or be based on a Content Management System (CMS). #passion 4 digital

6. 13 information Architecture • The best websites are shaped with a strong understanding of their buyer persona’s interests, needs and expectations. • With a well-defined buyer persona, a clear understanding of your organisation and a definite digital strategy you should be able to identify the keyword phrases or keyword terms that are of highest relevance to your organisation and your buyer persona. • Good navigation should include menus and submenus similar to the contents page of a textbook. #passion 4 digital

6. 14 The AIDA Model for Creating Content • Attention/Awareness: Create attention and awareness for your brand, your website and other channels and your products and services. • Interest: Spark interest in your products and services through engaging content that is created by you for the brand. • Desire: Generate desire to buy your products and services through positive thrid party reviews and special offer campaigns. • Action: More your buyer persona to compete the desired activity on the website or through a social media channels, which has the ultimate business objective. #passion 4 digital

6. 15 Content and Website Design • Visual content has become an imperative for web designers. • Humanit is generally drawn to visual information (pictures or videos) more efficiently than text, and this particularly applies to international audiences where written text may be inhibiting their understanding of your content. • Sparking the senses and enticing curiosity are key. • The principles apply for UX, language must be easily understood by most readers. #passion 4 digital

6. 15 Case Study: Audacy Brands are no longer solely about selling products and services, they are selling ‘experiences’. Every brand sh should offer their own unique experience. If you were to search for digital marketing agencies, you might quickly become overwhelmed by the sheer number. This is where the French small business, Audacy, stands out from the crowd. #passion 4 digital

6. 16 Summary • This chapter outlined that an effective digital brand presence is the sum of all your digital activities. • A robust presence provides a platform to communicate, engage, and co-create value for your organisation and your buyer persona. • Your website can be optimised by creating an excellent User Experience which enables an augmented experience for the user. • Having a keyword-driven website information architecture is another vital component to satisfy you buyer persona’s needs. #passion 4 digital