In a previous post, we discussed how to build a brand online. Building brands online is all about developing that meaningful connection with your audience.
For more specialized or niche markets, the audience may be small, but there are also plenty of benefits. As a specialized business, you have fewer competitors by nature, so visibility is greater in that niche marketplace. Your customers may also have unique, specific needs to be met, and your company may offer the best-tailored product or solution to solve it. Working within a smaller segment also allows you to emphasize customer support and focus on the quality of your product. Building a brand for a specialized audience starts the same way as building any brand online: you need to find your audience.
Find Your Audience
In order to build an audience, you need to know with whom you are speaking. That means asking yourself questions to identify your ideal customer persona, such as:
- How old are they?
- What is their gender identity?
- What do they do for a living?
- What do they do for fun?
- What are their values?
- Where do they spend time online?
Your audience should be specific and well-defined. Working within a niche market means there is less competition to become the “go-to” brand. A niche market consists of small, very specific groups within a broader target market.
Examples of specialized or niche audiences include:
- Conscious consumers, who desire to live more sustainably and reduce their environmental footprint
- Pet owners, who spend a combined total of $136.8 billion on their pets every year
- Parents, who desire educational toys, books, and clothing for their children
Most importantly, be honest with yourself about the potential profitability of your market. It is possible to be too niche to the point where there is no customer base to support your product. Less competition in a niche market is good, however, if there is little to no competition, that niche may be too small to support sustainable growth.
Invest in Your Online Presence
Regardless of where you are starting, building brands online requires investing time and money into your effort. Social media is great for creating a quick, free online presence for your brand. Of course, this is not without its downsides. A change to a platform’s algorithm could mean your posts are now buried, hidden from the majority of your followers, unless you pay for promotion.
Eventually, you will likely want to spend something to build your brand online. At the very least, you will want a professional-looking website and logo. This is not an area in which you want to cut corners. A professional-looking site can lead to increased conversions, an improved user experience, and overall greater credibility. Hiring a top digital marketing firm like AEK Solutions is a great way to invest in your online brand. Our proven strategies have helped our clients increase their leads, increase their web traffic, and increase their sales. With us as your all-inclusive digital marketing firm, your online presence will not go unnoticed.
Embrace the Human Touch
Your brand is your business’s personality. It determines how people think of and interact with your business. In a previous post, we discussed the human element in digital marketing. Algorithms are not a replacement for genuine human interaction. Algorithms can streamline your marketing efforts and potentially get your brand in front of new customers, but at the end of the day, you need a holistic approach that incorporates a human element.
In our proven experience at AEK, we have found that the best way to humanize a brand’s online presence is by using personalization, storytelling, and community building.
Personalization
Customers have come to expect some element of personalization when interacting with an online brand. They expect to receive emails addressing them by name, or suggestions of which social media pages to follow.
Amazon is an especially proficient and memorable example of personalization. When you re-visit their home page, you will be greeted with categories such as “Pick Up Where You Left Off,” “Keep Shopping For,” and “Buy Again.” Each category is tailored to your individual shopping habits.
Another example is Spotify and its Discover Weekly playlists. These playlists are a digital mix-tape of music you have never played. The songs are recommended to you by an algorithm, which looks at what music you have listened to in the past, and then adds similar sounding music to your weekly playlist.
Storytelling
Storytelling allows brands to forge a personal connection with their audience. Brand narratives can generate feelings such as empathy. Brand stories can also highlight real-world experiences, including pain points – and how your product or service provides a solution.
Your brand story should connect your brand to your target audience, so ensure you understand your target demographic. This will allow you to highlight aspects of your brand story that are important to that demographic.
Consider how this brand story will be communicated to your audience. Will you be using video? Infographics? Ebooks? Regardless of the methods used, keep your brand story consistent.
A good example of storytelling is Nike. Nike’s Find Your Greatness campaign reminds us that “Greatness is wherever somebody’s trying to find it.” Released to coincide with the 2012 London Olympics, the campaign shied away from featuring pro athletes or even mentioning the Olympics. Instead, the campaign reminded us of the stories of everyday people, and how we were all capable of greatness.
Another example is Levi’s’ “Go Forth” campaign. The Go Forth campaign highlighted America’s sense of adventure, work ethic, and pioneering spirit. While empowering, the jeans advertisement is not overtly in the consumer’s face.
Community
Finally, there’s community building. Typically this is done via social media or online forums. Community building allows your brand to form a relationship with your customers. Regular engagement with your community leads to organic growth.
Gymshark is an effective example of community building. Their blog hosts important announcements such as new retail locations, but it also serves as an educational hub for all things health and fitness. Their blog covers topics such as what to wear to Pilates, styling tips for men and women, and exercise guides. The marriage of their blog posting strategy and their social media cultivates an avid community dedicated to a healthy lifestyle.
Let Us Help With Your Brand Building
Building a brand online with a sense of confidence and precision for a specialized audience can lead to your business becoming dominant in its niche market. It requires finding your specific audience, investing time and money into your online presence, and using a human touch with your marketing efforts.
It also helps to have a team of seasoned experts on your side.. You need a comprehensive digital marketing firm that understands the unique needs of your brand.
At AEK Solutions, we embrace the power of storytelling and personal touch. When combined with our other digital marketing efforts and strategies, we help brands build personal relationships with their customers. The end result is sustainable, measurable growth for your brand.
Contact us to find out more about how we can help build your online brand.
