Question

Social media is considered an important marketing communication channel. and it's a crucial element of a company's branding strategy. In the past few years, there has been a shift from text-centric to visually-oriented experiences in social media platforms. Business-to-consumer, or B2C, companies like CompanyOne leverage social media platforms—mostly Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest—to target and engage their customers. I also want you to recommend two social media platforms, including those listed here,

discuss how CompanyOne can leverage them to enhance its branding strategy.”

Contribute your thoughts in the Slate, Inc.’s project team discussion area, and discuss your ideas with your team members.

Include 2 references one is a scholar and one nonscholary.

Class MBA 640. University of Maryland Global Campus.

Business Admistration.

Answer 1

Solution:-

Your brand is your reputation!

In today’s market, a successful brand has to be consistent in communication and experience, across many applications:

• Environment (storefront or office)
• Print collateral, signage, packaging
• Website & online advertising
• Content publishing

• Now, brand building being simple? The truth is: branding doesn’t happen overnight…or even in a few months.

  Building a brand is definitely a process. However, the ongoing effort will result in establishing long-term relationships with your customers.

  This can lead to a steady increase in sales, more projects, word-of-mouth referrals, and advocacy for your products or services.

• The definition of brand building is to generate awareness about your business using marketing strategies and campaigns with the goal of creating a unique and lasting image in the marketplace.

  Positive impression + standing out = brand success.

  In 2020, the amplification of your brand image can be done effectively through various digital marketing activities:

• User Experience (i.e. your website)
• SEO & Content Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Paid Advertising (PPC)

• Together, these channels are fundamental to gaining brand awareness and growth. We’ll dive into each of these elements in detail, later!

  I simplified the path for a brand building process below, to help your business brand or personal brand gain a more loyal following.

  Are you wondering where to start?

  Use these steps as a guide for how to build a brand!

1. Discover the purpose behind your brand.

Every successful brand has a powerful purpose behind it.

And so should you.

It’s what you wake up every day loving to do for other people (and the world) through your product or service.

There are four questions you should ask yourself when defining a brand purpose:

• Why do you exist?
• What differentiates you?
• What problem do you solve?
• Why should people care?

You’ll use these ideas to inform the foundation of your branding, through a tagline, slogans, voice, messaging, stories, visuals and more.

Studies show that 50% of consumers worldwide say they now buy based on a company’s brand values and impact.

So dig deep and find those nuggets of truth which can distinguish your brand from others.

Research competitor brands within your industry.

You should never imitate exactly what the big brands are doing in your industry.

But, you should be aware of what they do well (or where they fail).

The goal is to differentiate from the competition. Convince a customer to purchase from you over them!

We’re always thinking about how to make a brand stand out from what’s out there already. Don’t skip this step in the brand building process.

Research your main competitors or benchmark brands. For instance, study how well they have gone about building a brand name.

For a brand name to be effective, it needs to be easy for consumers to recognize and remember.

Creating a brand competitor research spreadsheet

Competitor research is a key element of your own brand development. Start by creating a brand competitor spreadsheet for comparison. You can use Google Sheets, Excel, or even just a notebook.

Determine your brand’s target audience.

The foundation for building your brand is to determine the target audience that you’ll be focusing on.

You can’t be everything to everyone, right?

Right.

When brand building, keep in mind who exactly you are trying to reach. You’ll tailor your mission and message to meet their exact needs.

The key is to get specific. Figure out detailed behaviors and lifestyle of your consumers.

I’ll explain with a few brief examples.

• Instead of “all Moms”, you could narrow down the niche to hone in on “single Moms who work full-time from home”.
• “Techy people” is too broad. But “tech-savvy early adopters who manage a large team” can narrow the focus in.
• If you are targeting “college kids”, there is definitely room to get more specific. An example could be: “college students studying abroad in Europe during the summer”.
• “Anyone who needs a job” is certainly not a niche target market. However, “retirees looking to return to the workforce in an executive position” can be!

As you can see, targeting a niche requires committing to something very focused to start.

You’ll come to realize that the competitive advantage when branding your business is to narrow your target audience focus. This can help ensure that your brand message comes across crystal clear to the intended recipient.

Your Brand Buyer Persona

Brand creation relies on truly understanding the buyer persona. Here are a few of the things to document when describing your ideal customer:

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Income
• Education Level

To get even more definition for your brand’s buyer persona, dive into these details:

• Motivations
• Goals
• Pain points
• Influencers
• Brand affinities

Identifying the target audience for your services or products is an exercise that will affect and benefit all areas of your brand building process, particularly marketing efforts. You want the right person consuming your content, clicking on your ads, opting in to your email list, etc.

As a result, determining the ideal audience for your business will support your overall digital brand building strategies. It’s definitely an important first step!

Establish a brand mission statement.

Have you thought about your brand mission? In essence, you’ll have to craft a clear expression of what your company is most passionate about.

This is your why; the reason you get up every day.

Before you can build a brand that your target audience trusts, you need to know what value your business provides.

The mission statement basically defines a purpose for existing. It will inform every other aspect of your brand building strategies.

Everything from your logo to your tagline, voice, message, and personality should reflect that mission.

When people ask you what you do: answer them with your brand mission statement.

Outline the key qualities & benefits your brand offers.

There will always be brands with bigger budgets and more resources to command their industry.

Your products, services, and benefits belong solely to you.

Starting a brand that is memorable means you dig deep to figure out what you offer, and no one else is offering.

Focus on the qualities and benefits that make your company branding unique.

Assuming you know exactly who your target audience is (see Step 3), give them a reason to choose your brand over another.

It’s important to note that this is not just a laundry list of the features your product or services offer to the customer or client. Think about how you provide value that improves consumers’ lives (outcomes or results that are experienced).

Here are a few examples:

• More authentic and transparent customer service
• A better way to support productivity
• Reducing costs with a more affordable option
• Saving time on daily tasks

• Let your brand personality shine.

  Customers aren’t looking for another cookie-cutter company that offers the same thing as everyone else.

  They are looking for an experience tailored to their needs, backed by genuine personal interaction.

• Digital marketing