A Guide To Building Your Online Brand

A brand is much more than just a Zoom background with company logo. It is your company’s identity, the way your customers and potential customers differentiate you from your competitors. If you don’t have an internet footprint, people will either think that you are out of touch or up to something shady. Either way, they won’t be eager to do business with you. Here are some ideas to help you build an online brand.

Determine Your Company Values

Ideally, one of the first things you should do before starting a business, long before you start coming up with Teams customized backgrounds, is to determine what your company values are. What is important to you as a business owner, and what are you going to stand up for even if it doesn’t benefit your business? These are questions you need to answer as specifically as possible early in the process because they can inform all the subsequent decisions that you make when starting up a new business. Consumers increasingly prefer to do business only with companies that share their values, so it is important to be clear on what your company stands for to yourself, your employees, and potential patrons. Everything that you say and do, from the time that you open your business to the day that you close it or transfer it to someone else, has to be in line with those values.

Custom Logo

You need a logo that is unique to your or your company. If your logo is too similar to a competitor’s, the other company may accuse you of trademark infringement. A unique logo is also in your interest because if consumers are confused, they may end up not buying from you.

Your logo should identify your company clearly to consumers. Often, this means including the name of your company, but this isn’t always necessary. There are plenty of companies that have an instantly recognizable logo that uses no words at all.

Your logo should be a reflection of your values in some way. It should communicate to consumers what is important to you. The colors and symbols that you use should create a concept in a viewer’s mind about who you are and what you stand for.

Once you have a logo, look for creative and effective ways to use it. Decorate the wall of your office with it, or incorporate it into your branded Zoom background. Not only is this a good way to help people remember your brand, but trademark protection continues as long as you continue to use your logo. If you stop using it, for any reason, you could lose the rights to it.

Exploring Different Markets

You may have a very specific audience that you are targeting through your branding and marketing. That is fine, but don’t be so focused that you develop tunnel vision. There may be peripheral markets that are not obvious customers but who could potentially benefit from your product.

Once you have identified some potential peripheral markets, look for ways that you could reach out to them effectively without abandoning your company values. Whether you do business online or in person, help them remember your company’s name.