Charging Through the Online World

By: Niña Vanesa Valino

In the recent years, digital content creation has become a discipline on it’s own right. Technology’s ever-so-aggressive evolution has lead people to be glued to their gadgets more and more. Now, brands are taking this as an opportunity to get in touch with their consumers (or fans as we call them online), at a CONSTANT rate.

It now leads us to question ourselves… What are the 2 key things you must have in mind when we put out our brand’s voice to the digital arena?

First would be the “WHO” aspect of the brand. Before anything else, your brand must have a very clear grasp of whom you are talking to. Post questions like: What are their main purchase drivers; with whom/what do they associate your brand with; why do they believe your product/s, etc. From there, you may be able to strengthen/form your brand’s personality and relate well with your audience.

Ways to check if you are on track in communicating to your desired audience are: 1) If the persons who view, like, share, and follow your brand fall under your intended demographic; and 2) If there is a reasonable rate of engagement on your posts. Benchmark your goals with other companies who play in the similar industry and more or less go for the same consumers as you do (a.k.a. your competitor).

As an example, here’s an online ad entitled, “The Other Letter” by IKEA Spain for the 2014 holidays that they sent out via email. They successfully conveyed their brand’s essence whilst emotionally engaging their target audience: https://goo.gl/7y9wsU

Another important point in creating content is the “WHY”; the reason behind the communication. Information is just a swipe or scroll away from consumers wherein every digital content (almost all) is seen equally. People cherry-picks what they want to see whenever they want and how. This is the reason why all the more your brand’s social media posts should be relevant to your consumers’ needs and/or wants. Brands who have a very compelling why, will naturally have their consumers talking and make it worthwhile for them to sharing about it.

To measure the success in this aspect depends on your business objective. The campaign could be linked to a promo or new product launch, which can be tracked via sales. On the other hand, if the objective is geared towards a re-brand or change in consumer usage, a more in-depth research pertaining to consumer behavior may be done.

Here’s a video by Starbucks Partners Asia Pacific and China’s from their Facebook timeline for the 2015 holidays. The video resonates their campaign for #ShareJoy as the main message of their communication: https://goo.gl/f0KP8R

Digital media continues to progress at a quick and very exciting pace. Hence, it is very tempting to do a LOT of things. Just remember to have your brand’s identity rock solid at all times so it can always keep you focused in achieving your business goals.