When potential customers are looking for a new restaurant to try, a place to shop or something to watch, the first place everyone checks is online. Before we entered the digital age, there were a variety of sources that customers relied on for that information – newspapers, magazines, friends and family. A lot of the time, we just had to go in without any knowledge or expectations.
Having a strong online presence is vital for brands in the digital age, because that’s how the majority of customers make their purchasing decisions. A digital presence has multiple components – it isn’t enough these days to just have a solid website. Customers also look for an active social media account, and check on third-party sites for responsiveness to customer reviews.
In this article, we’ll look at the specific reasons why your brand’s online presence is vital in the digital age. Of course, there are some differences in the approaches different types of businesses need to take, but overall, the reasons are the same.
Recognisability
One of the main reasons that having an online presence is essential is that it makes your brand recognisable. Most markets are fairly saturated and it can be very difficult to stand out. Having a strong online presence is one of the easiest ways to be prominent.
Being recognisable is especially important in a small country with a large tourist population, such as New Zealand. Visitors to the country often thoroughly research online what to do when they visit, before they arrive.
Let’s look at casinos, as an example. New Zealand has a healthy gambling industry with a wide range of platforms, so making a brand stand out is paramount to platform developers. So, why is it that most people will initially think of a single brand? Staying with the casino theme, let’s look at SkyCity as an example. You could say that SkyCity’s online presence in NZ is bolstered by the fact that the Sky Tower in Auckland is a very popular, iconic entertainment destination, but the other side of the coin is that its clean and clear branding is instantly recognizable – and most importantly, memorable.
In order to reach the widest audience, a brand needs to be active across multiple platforms. Certain social media platforms are more popular with certain demographics, so instead of being active on every single one, the best choice is to narrow down which social media platforms are most used by your average customer, and focus on those.
Reputation
Having a strong online presence that you control is one thing, while having a strong presence thanks to positive reviews is another. Customers are now more aware of how much control brands have over their own pages, and that steps like removing negative reviews can skew how a brand presents itself. When a brand has a strong base of positive reviews, they’re more immune to issues caused by bots or problematic individuals.
Business podcasts like Experts of Experience have episodes that explain the importance of keeping your customers consistently happy. The majority of business owners understand that customer satisfaction matters but it can be hard to know exactly how to achieve that. An active presence on review sites and social media can give insights into your brand’s strengths and weaknesses.
The most difficult part about maintaining your reputation online can be in maintaining the balance between defending your brand and being overly defensive. It can be very hard to accept criticism, especially when it is of a crude or aggressive nature. As difficult as it is, polite acknowledgement is often the best response.
Relevance
The 24-hour news cycle and social media trends have made the period in which brands are relevant much shorter. Having a strong online presence can help brands remain relevant for longer. The current trend cycle pushed by social media is incredibly short, and brands have to work much harder to stay in front of customers’ eyes.
There is currently a lot of push back against this faster cycling because it creates a lot of waste. The most intelligent – and environmentally friendly – thing that brands can do is to aim for having a consistent presence online and in consumers’ minds. This stability won’t generate the same spikes in profits that being a viral product or hotspot would, but it is longer lasting and easier to maintain.
Having a strong online presence that remains consistent is a good way for brands to stay relevant. They can acknowledge and participate in trends through social media without becoming fully associated with them. This means that once a trend has died out, the brand won’t lose any of its relevance and name recognition.