From souped-up Zoom calls to webinars that scream ‘you’, we look at ways to up your online ante in the most digital year yet.
With countries yo-yoing in and out of lockdown and millions of people confined to the four walls of their home, it’s fair to say digital is king for businesses in 2020. In fact, take a peek at most companies’ to-do lists and reaching this new at-home audience will probably be top priority. If you’re serious about building brand awareness in this busy marketplace (one where social distancing definitely doesn’t exist), you need to think beyond a slick website. Check out these ideas to give your on-screen presence a boost…
Video Calls
Not surprisingly, lockdown 1.0 saw internet usage rocket, and one company in particular soared to new heights as a result. Users of virtual meeting app, Zoom, jumped 30-fold in April, and more than 300 million people a day logged on at its peak. The likes of Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet have been a lifeline for companies worldwide, allowing staff and customers to stay connected while working from home. And it didn’t take long for people to spot the branding opportunity here. Call a Disney employee, for instance, and chances are you’ll be joined by Elsa and Anna, too, or see Buzz and Woody hanging out in the background. Admittedly not everyone has access to the world’s most famous animated characters, but plenty of companies are creating backdrops that feature their branding, their official HQ, or their company colours. It’s ideal if you’re speaking to customers, doing an online pitch, or conducting a workshop – certainly adds a more professional touch than a half-dead pot plant or an ironing board in the background. After all, you don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.
Virtual Events & Conferences
The last six months have seen everything from exhibitions and trade shows to festivals and careers fairs go online. And companies are relishing the opportunity to showcase their brand to a much bigger – sometimes global – audience. If you’re hosting the event, it’s crucial to get your branding front and centre. Everything from the initial e-invitation to the registration process, not to mention the all-important event landing page, online ads and social posts should have your personality stamped all over them. The sessions themselves should feature your branding, too, whether that’s educational workshops, guest speaker slots, or interactive sessions. And we’re not just talking liberal use of your logo. Think about your colour palette, your tone of voice, your choice of images – it all needs to feel like ‘you’.
If you’re not in the market for hosting your own virtual event, look at sponsoring someone else’s – someone that’s a good fit for your brand. It’s a great platform for getting seen by a big crowd, piggybacking on the popularity of another company, and building recognition. Often there’ll be opportunities to create dedicated profile pages and display video content that tells your all-important brand story.
Branded Webinars
A webinar tends to be a smaller-scale event, often featuring one presenter and a Q&A in a single session. They’re relatively quick and cheap to produce, hence why their popularity has shot up since Covid-19 put the brakes on face-to-face gatherings. It means that any webinars you produce need to work harder than ever to stand out, both in terms of content and the branding around it. Content-wise, you need to ask yourself two main questions – what value does the webinar give, and does it fit with your brand profile? As for the branding side of things, make it a part of every touchpoint, from the initial invite to the slides, screens and backgrounds used during the presentation, and the all-important ‘thanks for watching’ follow-up. Together, these individual strands will gift-wrap themselves around the webinar, telling potential customers who you are, what you’re all about, and why they should choose you.
Your Digital Branding Checklist
Building a robust digital presence is a surefire way to boost recognition and inspire loyalty. Think about:
Your logo
It’s the one image a customer should associate first and foremost with your brand. Look for opportunities to include it on every online platform you use. As well as using your usual, full-colour logo, think about a screen watermark, a simpler, more translucent version of the logo.
Your colours
There’s more to a recognisable brand than the logo alone. A strong colour scheme can tell someone instantly which company they’re engaging with (easyjet orange, anyone?).
Your tone of voice
Your written communication needs to sound like ‘you’ end to end, from an initial e-invitation to the follow-up thanks for coming and here’s where to get more info.
Your consistency
A strong brand looks and sounds the same however you engage with it. In other words, the key is to make sure there’s no difference visually between your website, your online events or your client calls.
Want to work together? Get in touch today.
A specialist Brand Agency
An award-winning branding agency, Threerooms has spent over 15 years making brands stronger and businesses more successful. Whether modernising brands with meaning or crafting effective marketing campaigns, our amazing team is focused on delivering brand transformation while providing exceptional customer service.
