Digital branding is a brand management technique that uses a combination of internet branding and digital marketing;online marketing to develop a brand over a range of digital venues, including internet-based relationships, device-based applications or media content. It has emerged strongly over the last decade along with its roots from direct marketing.
Concept
As opposed to digital marketing, branding aims to create connections between consumers and the products or service being delivered so that brand recognition is established in the digital world. In short, the goal of digital branding is not necessarily driving the sales today, but to enhance the awareness, image and style of the brand, in turn driving long term customer loyalty. Brand establishment involves four key points:
Digital channels and content distributed to channels based on consumer data and habits
Creating digital relationships.
The digital impact on branding
There has been a prolonged chaos for information available about companies and consumers for ages. This increased limitations as access to information, geographical separation and interaction between customers. But now the existence of internet and websites which collect data and present us with comprehensive information, has facilitated more interaction between brands and customers.
The companies now have a powerful means to showcase the brand identity and value in innovative and efficient forms. The digitalization has provided the brands to come up with novel ways of customer engagement and manage the consistency of their brand empowerment. It has heightened the connectivity between brands and customers that was lacking earlier.
Another impact on branding practices is the emergence of value co-creation as an alternative way to long term customer relationships, customer loyalty and eventual profitability. Here, the joint effort is formed between the companies and customers during the various stages of the product. It strengthens the bond and builds loyalty and customer engagement. Coca-Cola is a great example of successful value co-creation.
Alongside engaging with the customers, there is increasing and active collaboration between the companies and their business intermediaries. This leads to collaborative and healthy promotion, innovative re-designing and a sense of co-existence among competitors in the market. One example of this is how Coca-Cola collaborated with Heinz to develop more sustainable containers.
The internet contains a vast population of people who need a product or service. What Digital Branding does is correctly position a brand or business in a way that they connect to their audience. Effective Digital Branding involves quite a number of methods such as SEO, an identity that stands out and many more.
Digital branding channels
According to Mabbly CEO, Hank Ostholthoff, digital branding is facilitated by multiple channels. As an advertiser one's core objective is to find channels which result in maximum two way communication and a better overall ROI for the brand. There are multiple online marketing channels available, namely:
