[VIDEO] Easy Steps to Improve Your Digital Branding

If you want to attract new clients or customers, and raise awareness of and loyalty to your business, then developing a strong strategy for branding is crucial for your success.

Two of your Think Tank of Three hosts recently jumped on Facebook Live to share their thoughts. mConnexions Principal Strategist and Owner, Julie Holton and Media Coach and Public Speaking Trainer, Kathryn Janicek share these steps to improve your digital branding.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Kathryn: Let’s talk basic stuff when it comes to your digital brand. What should you have when it comes to across all of your social media platforms.

Julie: Well, the first thing to remember is that there it is a digital brand or a TV commercial that or that you’re putting out there on TV, your branding needs to be consistent. Your brand is the same across – it needs to be the same across all platforms that you use ,whether that be from Facebook to a TV commercial to a print advertising and to a brochure that sits on your counter, your branding really needs to be consistent. We always say consistency is key. And so, I think one thing that we’re seeing is that more business owners have immediate access to some of these branding tools like digital marketing. So, Facebook for instance or LinkedIn, and we had a really great thing it gives us that immediate access to control our brand and the image that we’re putting out there. But one thing that that tends to happen sometimes is we don’t always know what to do with that, right, because so your client for instance is as you know she knows her stuff when it comes to the beauty world and what her business is. But branding may not be something that she’s really worked in before. And so, that’s where were consistency is yeah, I would say it would be the number one thing to remember.

Kathryn: Great. And talk about a little bit. You know, I was telling this client of mine or this future client of mine about the different audiences on social media platforms. You don’t pick out the same content on LinkedIn that she would dump out on Facebook. You know this is about strategy. This isn’t about just taking, writing something and just placing the same thing everywhere. Can you talk about the different people who are behind these platforms and how you change the content for your clients when it comes to each one?

Julie: Yes. So, while consistency is key, we still need to be crafting our messaging so that we’re talking directly to that audience. You know, personalization is really key and so LinkedIn, for instance, it’s the number one global networking site for businesses. I mean we’re talking millions of users but it’s very business oriented. When people are on LinkedIn, even think of when you’re on LinkedIn, you’re in that business mindset. Even if it’s 8 o’clock at night, if you’re on LinkedIn, you’re thinking with your business hat on. Whereas Facebook, which is very much a social and all of the ways we think of the word social. So, when that same CEO is on Facebook instead of LinkedIn, they are there for social reasons. So, you know there’s still obviously a CEO they always were that business hat but you’re going to craft your message a little differently because you’re likely reaching that person when they’re at home, when they’re in that social mindset. Maybe they’ve just had dinner with their family and they’re settling down to do whatever they’re going to do, maybe they’re going to look on Facebook at some family photos or catch up on things their friends are doing or events in the community. That sort of thing. So, you want to take that same message that you have keep your branding consistent, but shift your message so that it’s a little more conversational on Facebook versus LinkedIn because you have to recognize where you’re reaching that person what mindset they’re in.

Kathryn: That’s a great point.

Kathryn: So, it’s not just that there are different people on LinkedIn and you know, a whole different demographics. You know, it might be having a CEO like you say and there’s a different audience on Facebook. You might be male or female, but say somebody is on all the platforms. They’re on that platform to look for something specific. And I think that’s brilliant. Like here’s an example. You know, I’m the CEO of my company, but when I am on LinkedIn, I am looking for clients. I might be responding to clients, I might be looking for specific information that might be more business oriented like you said. But when I jump onto Instagram I might be looking for before and after’s on hair color or, you know, beauty things for my clients. You know how to make their eyes pop or whatever it is, but you know you have to use each platform for what you know somebody might be looking for on that platform. So let’s use it as an example. So, let’s just use the example of this client that I was talking to this week. She does beauty and I told her for example on LinkedIn she might want to talk about haircuts, etcetera. For making you feel more confident and work in the boardroom. What looks professional. But on Facebook, you might do before and afters of all that silly color that she does like not silly color but like you know, she’s doing some cool lavenders or whatever that may be more before and after’s on Facebook and Instagram. Would you agree, Julie?

Julie: Absolutely, that’s a really great example of how to differentiate the content in the platforms and I’ll take it one step further just add to this conversation you’re having with the client. Oftentimes, we don’t like the thought of creating new or different content for each platform. Sounds like a lot of work – because it is a lot of work right. So, if you have the ability to create all new content. Absolutely do it. But if you don’t, just change how your writing, that so let’s say she puts together this great blog post on hairstyles that make you feel confident at work. You can still share that on Facebook ,on Instagram, on Twitter. We’re just going to change your messaging around it, so maybe instead of sharing that in the middle of a busy workweek, on Facebook maybe you are going to share it on a Sunday evening when people are on Facebook. But they’re starting to already think about how the weekend is coming to an end. They’ve got Monday morning on their mind. So maybe you’re just crafting that message a little differently, sharing it on a different day, and reaching that same or similar, maybe not the same audience necessarily, but a similar audience. But you’re still trying to reach them where they are, in that mindset they’re in. One thing I want to add to Kathryn, we did talk earlier about it,  you and I were chatting earlier about how there is a different demographic on the various platforms. And so yes, we know that there are many people who use several platforms. They’re on more than one but it is true that their demographics are a little bit different.

Julie: So, Twitter, for instance, skews more male than female and has a slightly older audience – older not meaning older but we’re looking at the generations and the demographic that you’re targeting, you’re going to be looking there for maybe 35 and up. And it really has a sweet spot with the 50s and 60s men. And one theory behind that is maybe men are more interested in their sports scores and their quick one liners and sharing information that way, instead of scrolling through pictures. You don’t have to stereotype, but that’s one school of thought out there. Versus Instagram. Here’s a great example because it’s all pictures you can share links in your bio. Links are not clickable on Instagram. So, it’s very difficult to share content that way but fixed pictures are obviously key, and we know it really skews for a younger audience, so you know that doesn’t mean that only millennials and only Gen Z is on Instagram. That’s not true. We know that all demographics are on Instagram. It just means that that is the platform that if you’re looking to reach millennials, for instance, if you’re looking to reach teenagers, then that is the platform you should you should focus your time and effort on. But it doesn’t mean other audiences aren’t there.

Kathryn: Let’s talk about some real super basics. So when you’ve got your digital brands and again there are some people at home will be watching this from the office. I got that down. This is  just going over some real basics because sometimes Julie and I assume that this is this is common sense but sometimes you realize we have to realize that this we need to remind people about some of the basics. And, that would be making sure that you have the same name across all of your platforms. That is, if you’re trying to attract business, you’re trying to buy your product your service, you’re trying to get more followers. So, when you meet someone, or they see you on TV or they see you on stage and they get to search for and they want to follow you everywhere because they’re now like your biggest fan. You want to make sure that your name is similar or the same. I would say the exact same across all platforms. And also, Julie, the picture should be the same too, right?

Julie: Oh yes. So, think of it in terms that if someone’s going to seek you out after seeing a post or after hearing about you through post that friends have shared. How are they going to find you? How are they going to know it’s you? And what image are you trying to convey? So, absolutely, keeping that consistency, keeping it the same. So, people recognize you. I mean, imagine if, you know, Pepsi or Coke had multiple versions of their logo that everywhere you looked you saw a different version of Pepsi. It would be confusing. When you see the Pepsi logo, you know what’s in that. You know what you’re about to drink. This should be the same thing no matter what type of business you have. Now, that doesn’t mean that like within the imagery and some of the photos and graphics and video that you built around your logo in your brand, that can’t change that. But you still really want to be consistent in style and certainly across multiple platforms. Your name should always be the same and it should be the same as what your Google listing is what’s on your website., what’s an on your business cards. Any way that people are going to find you and come across that name, it needs to be the same. You don’t want to leave any room for confusion. We already know that when it comes to branding, it’s one of these sexy topics for us to talk about because one it’s so hard to track. Even in this digital age that we’re in, it’s really hard to track awareness. And so, it’s not as exciting as some of the other things that we can dive into because it’s not as concrete. But we do know that repetition is what sells. And so, when people see the same thing over and over, they see it across multiple platforms. They’re going to have an easier time of remembering who you are and who you want them to know you to be. Because, let’s remember too that when it comes to branding, we all have what we think we are and then we have what others think we are. So, making sure that we can align that up is as much as possible is really the key to winning the branding right.

Kathryn: The best way to do that is to have someone from outside of your organization tell you know this is what your brand looks like. This is what it looks like you’re selling. Is that indeed your desire? Is that what you’re trying to sell. Is this the story that you’re trying to tell because this is what it’s saying online? So, it’s really nice to have someone from outside your organization, not your wife, not your husband or your best friend or staff ,because they know your brand in and out and instead, have someone from outside say this is what I’m seeing, that you’re portraying is that does that align with what you’re trying to sell. Does that align with the thing that is the highest value for you to sell to because maybe you maybe have lots of products, maybe lots of services but you’re truly getting the people we’re just buying may be the least you know bang for your buck. You want to make sure that you’re getting it. You’re opening up that lead magnet and you’re seeing a funnel to track all of those people and buy you know your top product. Of course, you want to track if you need all different levels. But if there’s one thing that really makes you money and really you know you enjoy doing. You want to make sure that you’re selling that on your brands cohesively. Anything else Julie that came up this week that you saw with clients or you talking to future clients and you saw when it comes to their brand personally or professionally?

Julie: Yeah. So, you know touching on what you just said, we’re working with a client who is a dentist. The conversation we had this week was aligning the strategic business goals with the marketing. She’s a dentist, she has a great practice has patients walking in the door and new patients walking in the door every week, which is great. Everyone wants that. But there’s a difference between having people walking in the door and having the right people walking in the door. So, she does all of the typical dentist work. But for her, where the business the potential for growth is not just in just doing teeth cleanings or some of the typical dental work that we might think of. The growth for her practice is in some of the other work that she does. Because of her training, her schooling, she also does Botox for migraines and she does various treatments for the neck and the face because, again she went to medical school for a long time, she’s an expert in this area. And so that’s what she enjoys doing, for one. And also, what is going to help grow her business and take her business from the current level where she is, which is very successful, but take it to the next level and help her to grow. So those are the things we look at when we look at our marketing and our branding and building that business. Taking your business goals and how can we focus on that target audience. Instead of just casting that wide net out to everyone, let’s focus on getting the right people. So that was one conversation this week that was very beneficial that we like to have with our clients.

Kathryn: That’s an excellent example. I love that example. Well good.

Kathryn: And again, you know when we go off here you just let us know. During the replay if you’re watching with replay, comment below and let us know if there’s any questions you have when it comes specifically. Antonia Roman. We really appreciate your comment. You said thanks so much for explaining the different ways on how to reach our social media platform audiences. Yeah that’s super important when you’re creating awesome content. But you have to make sure that you write it specifically for what that person is looking for on that platform at that moment. And that’s really that was the biggest problem. The take away hope that people were watching get from today’s training is that really you know and like Julie said it’s not really that you have to write all of this new content. It’s just tweaking it for that specific social platform.

Kathryn: And it could be tweaking these. The caption the subject line getting into that blog. You know, why that person on that social media platform wants to read that blog right Julie. It could be just you know up to the summary to get people there to the blog.

Julie: You know the scheduling tools that we have are amazing whether you use Buffer or Hootsuite, or you know a whole plethora of tools. They’re great, but don’t fall into the trap of creating one post to connect your link or your image and then just sending it out over all of the platforms. Take the extra couple of minutes because it really doesn’t take too much time. If you’re sharing the same content, then take the extra couple of minutes to really refine how you’re sharing that content across each of the platforms. It’s still great to use these scheduling tools, it will save a lot of time ,just refine the message that you’re hitting that right target audience per platform.

Kathryn: So, I think one of the first things we do when we get new clients is unlink all their social platforms. They all go like I linked them all because its great I post once, and they go everywhere. So, it’s good. It’s really good advice. And again, thanks for watching. And comment below if you have any questions. Again, we were joined by Julie Holton who owns mConnections and that is a digital marketing agency here in the United States of America. I’m not going to say the state because she helps people around the country. And I’m Kathryn Janicek, I can help you with all your media public speaking and just looking good on video online on stage and in the media.