The Internet has changed everything; it has begun a new digital war between companies to stand out in this digital world with their brand value. The image of a company matters a lot these days. A positive image can build up a company and leads it to become a Brand while a negative image can destroy the company. Well, this is a Digital Age, it is fast, everything is very easily accessible and competition is touching the sky. Every company wants to stand out in its services and wants to build its own brand identity. Branding plays a very vital role in the growth of the company.
Before the Internet generation, things were very different. Scalability and Reachability for the companies were tough. The only way to scale the business was an offline advertisement and word of mouth. But now in this Digital Age, the tables turn around and competition is tough. Here are the 7 Effective Impacts of Branding in the Digital Age and How the Digital Age has changed business behavior.
Importance of Digital Branding
Digital Branding means standing out with your business on Digital platforms and social media is one of the most important pillars of digital media. There are many different social media platforms available that are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many more. Digital Media mainly includes the TV which is one of the most consumed media but you cannot deny that it is dying. Companies have understood that digital presence is very important and for digital presence, social media is a better option than TV. Official pages of companies on social media platforms are the first step of digital branding. People can easily give their remarks about a particular company on these platforms and these reviews have a very high impact on the brand value of the company. Standing out on social media platforms with good posting, good advertising, and good reviews is all about a good digital presence that is altogether required to become a Brand.
Brand Identity
How people identify the company is the Brand Identity. There are tons of companies out there in this digital world but if anyone chooses any particular company one of the reasons behind that is the company’s brand identity. Brand Identity let that brand stand out from many other brands because it resonates with people and delivers more value. Apple Company is one big example of brand identity and Apple’s brand identity varies from region to region. Apple products in the US are considered to be more valuable, the image of this brand in the mind of people is something that delivers more professional value but it has a different brand identity in countries like Pakistan or India. Here, people don’t care about what value this product is providing in their professional life, but it is a sign of class for them. So, brand identity can be different from one person to the other, from region to region and in the digital era it is very important for companies to create some brand values, and brand identity in the consumer’s mind, so people can resonate with the brand, people can feel an attachment to that brand.
Brand Objective
In this Digital Era because of the internet, the brand’s objectives and brand’s targets are way clearer than before. The objective of the brand and the values that the brand is delivering are clearer than before. A clear vision helps the brand to target the consumer and not only it helps the brand, but it also helps the consumer to choose a brand. By using social media, brands can target online users more easily than ever before. Advertising tools help brands to target people by region, age, and even also by their interests. This helps brands to have more leads and more conversions. Before the digital age, the approach of companies to advertising was very different. Bill Board is one example, brands were using billboards to advertise their products, to advertise their values but it was for a random audience. Billboards are still there; it is somehow effective but way less than social media. Social media is the new marketplace for brands to advertise their products, their services, and their brand values, and yes this all came to possible because of social media platforms.
Scalability and Reachability
The bad review is very negative for the brand of course but if there are disadvantages to being on social media, there are advantages too. Scalability and Reachability are one of the biggest advantages and they can help to grow the brand in terms of sales. Social Media has made it so much easy for brands to grow, scale their business, and reach more and more people. You can launch advertising campaigns very easily; it was never this easy before and on a very less budget. Advertisement is a big part of this digital age it is the sole way of generating revenue for social media platforms. These platforms provide tools for the brands to make marketing campaigns and help them to reach the masses. It is very easy to scale your business in the digital era, you can reach out to anyone in this world and you can sell your services/product to them. Just like this, it is also very easy to reach more people using the power of digital media and the tools of social media marketing.
Open to Competition
There is no doubt that there is way more competition between the brands than ever before. Every brand wants to stand out, every brand wants to scale its sales, and every brand wants to gain more followers, more likes, more positive reviews, and in short more engagement which leads to high competition between the competitors. And high competition is very good for the people. When brands are having high and healthy competition, they are working on providing better services, and better values to the people, and people are winning here as there are more options available from which people can choose which is the best or which resonates with them. This came into possible only because of digital media.
High Credibility and Trust
Brand value depends upon credibility and credibility depends upon the trust of the customer. How much trust a customer has in this brand is brand credibility. And the digital age has made this transparent. Any customer can share their experience with the brand on social media platforms. Because of this, brands are more aware, they are more alert, and they are working harder to make the customer experience better so they can get a good review and can maintain the brand credibility. One bad review has a direct effect on the brand value and it also questions the trust of new customers. For example; most restaurants have maintained their brand value very well in people’s view and on social media. Something bad happens, food was uncooked or cold or something like this, and that customer goes on social media to make a review and talks about his bad experience. This review is public now, anyone can see this and can decide on a visiting base on this review or any review. Due to this, brands are working hard to maintain product quality and maintain customer trust.
Trend Setter
In the digital age, it is very easy to influence people or to set new trends. Brands can influence people with their values or with anything they want. As social media presence has provided easy reach to people, they can influence easily. Something popular on the internet or among people is called a Trend. Following a trend can help to gain more reach and help businesses to scale easily. Brands can follow the trend or can set trend; in both ways, they are using digital media to gain more reach. Following trends also helps the brands to make a strong connection with the people. For example; a new movie is trending on social media and many people are going and watching this movie in cinemas. In this case, social media apps like Snapchat and TikTok bring new stickers to their apps about that movie which helps people to connect with them. In the cinema, on one side of the popcorn box, there is a printing of that movie which helps to make a connection to the people. This all is happening in the digital age because of social media platforms and it is helping brands to even grow more and provides more value to the consumer.
Conclusion
Branding in Digital Age is very important and it has changed the way of the growth of the brand. It has changed the way of providing services to the people. It has made it easy for brands to target the consumer which is more likely to buy their services or products. Not only is it a life-changing experience for the brands but also for the people. It’s a win-win for both. Now, people have more options than ever before and people are more aware of the brands. Internet and social media platforms all together have made this possible.
