“If we had digital marketing or social media back in the day, our business would be worth a billion dollars by now. You kids have it easy!”
Well, yes… and no.
Yes, digital marketing and social media have increased efficiency for businesses. No, digital marketing and social media aren’t easy. If they were, store closures would hit record lows in 2025, not highs.
Every business has access to digital marketing tools. Anyone can open a social media business page and post content regularly.
However, the results will be different.
How To Build Your Online Business Brand
Building your business brand online is more than just posting information about your products and services on social media or sending promotional emails to customers.
The path to achieving success in an online business requires a strategic plan that outlines the necessary steps and identifies its goals.
When you’re building an online business brand, the first step is a must.
1. Invest In A Business Website
There are two major reasons for the massive store closures in 2025: Inflation and the growth of online shopping.
A combination of rising prices and unmemorable in-store experiences has triggered a consumer exodus away from brick-and-mortar locations and toward e-commerce.
If you don’t have a website, your business might not survive 2025.
Social media won’t be enough. You won’t be the only seller on Facebook Marketplace. Shoppers will compare your products with those of other sellers. You won’t get their full attention.
On a website, they’re all yours.
A website is an investment, not an expense, because it can yield dividends for your business… IF properly designed and managed.
To achieve the highest return on your investment, consider entrusting your website to a professional web designer rather than taking the DIY route.
A professional web designer will build a website with features to ensure users the best experience.
- Mobile-responsive design: Customers can view your content on any mobile screen size. No need to zoom in!
- Fast download speed: Impress your site users when your web page downloads faster than three seconds.
- Easy to navigate: Users can explore your website without feeling they’re trapped in a maze from the classic Jack Nicholson movie, “The Shining.”
- Optimized content: Publish content that responds to user intent and guides search engines.
- Fully-functioning buttons: Share content, subscribe to newsletter service, provide contact information, send inquiries to customer service, and pay for products. Users will love your website for making transactions easier.
The website is your place of business on the Internet. Users will click on your “business address” or the URL to go to your website.
It’s a one-stop hub, a central location where potential customers can find information about your business, purchase products, follow your social media accounts, learn from your blog, and contact customer service for assistance.
Unlike a brick-and-mortar store, your website doesn’t close. It’s open 24/7, 365 days a year.
The website is also your contingency plan, a disaster recovery center where business continues to run if the unexpected happens.
Examples of unexpected events include severe weather, flooding, social unrest, labor disputes, and, hopefully, not another pandemic. Businesses that thrived during the pandemic were those with websites.
Having a good business website is a non-negotiable for building a strong online brand.
If you don’t have a website or if you’re disappointed with your current one, contact us.
2. Define Your Brand
A brand is a perception that’s cultivated in the consciousness of your target market.
The perception results from the overall marketing strategy, including the logo, packaging, content, and other advertising elements that set your product apart from the competition.
Defining your brand comes down to one question:
How do you want your target market to perceive you?
Case Study: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
In contrast to competitors like Dunkin’ Donuts, Tim Hortons, and Mister Donuts, which are known for their affordable donuts, Krispy Kreme emphasizes the freshness of its products.
Many Krispy Kreme stores feature the donut-making process. You can see the donuts going through the different stages of preparation along the conveyor belt.
The slogans that Krispy Kreme has used over the years have emphasized freshness: “More Than Just Doughnuts, it’s Krispy Kreme,” “Freshness You Can Feel,” and “Hot Now, Happiness Later.”
Outside the store, there’s a neon sign that says, “Hot Now.” Customers know that when the sign lights up, the donuts are ready.
Additionally, Krispy Kreme prefers the longer spelling “Doughnuts.” It was a move intended to differentiate the brand from the competition.
The overall branding strategy of Krispy Kreme is to market its products as premium donuts.
“Premium pricing for premium doughnuts. Yes, you’ll spend a bit more, but it’s worth it. Every bite of a Krispy Kreme doughnut will make you happier.“
Dunkin’ Donuts appears to have ceded the donut war to Krispy Kreme. Dunkin’ Donuts has rebranded to “Dunkin’” and has shifted its focus to promoting its coffee.
💡Key Takeaway: Businesses view their brand as their most valuable asset. An effective branding strategy keeps the company at the forefront of target consumers’ minds. Branding simplifies the delivery of messages to the right buyers.
3. Incorporate SEO Strategies
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a set of strategies that are implemented to enhance the visibility of your content to search engines.
Without SEO, Google won’t find your content.
There are three types of SEO that must be incorporated into your brand-building strategy:
- On-Page SEO: This type of SEO optimizes your web page content and its elements by utilizing high-ranking keywords, implementing internal SEO, crafting effective headlines and headers, creating compelling meta descriptions, utilizing structured data, and optimizing title tags.
- Off-Page SEO: As its name implies, off-page SEO utilizes factors outside your website to improve its search rankings.
Examples of off-page SEO tactics include utilizing external backlinks, leveraging social media marketing, managing reviews, and removing spammy backlinks. - Technical SEO: You can enhance website visibility by addressing the backend factors that could affect user experience, site speed, and crawlability.
A typical Technical SEO checklist includes conducting regular site audits, removing duplicate content, and optimizing image file sizes.
After establishing your SEO foundation, you can focus on activities that raise awareness of your brand.
💡Pro Tip: Technical SEO MUST be done by the professional web designer who built your website. We offer WordPress monthly maintenance services that include performance audits, security checks, plugin and program updates, and database optimization.
Let us take care of your website so you can focus on your daily activities.
4. Blog Regularly
Is blogging still relevant in 2025?
Here’s what the numbers say:
- 83% of Internet users read blogs.
- Blogs result in a 55% increase in website traffic.
- 76% of content marketers use blogs to generate leads.
- Blog pages are indexed 434% more by search engines.
- Websites that have blogs experience 13 times more profitable results than websites without blogs.
Blogging remains a powerful tool for branding.
What should you blog about?
- You Are Your Brand And Your Brand Is You: If you’re launching a business, it’s a safe bet to introduce yourself for your first blog. Tell your readers why you started this type of business.
Who was your motivation? What experiences triggered the light bulb moment? What’s your purpose and vision for the business? What is your UVP – Unique Value Proposition?
Consumers are more comfortable transacting with a brand that has a personality. The audience will patronize your brand if they resonate with your story. - Share Your Knowledge: How-to and List-type articles continue to rank high for blogs because your content addresses the search intent of your audience.
These articles allow you to demonstrate your experience, expertise, and knowledge of the topic, which aligns with Google’s EEAT guidelines.
EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Google will reward you with a boost in the search rankings. - Follow the Pareto Principle a.k.a the 80-20 Rule: According to the Pareto Principle, 80% of the outcomes are produced by 20% of its causes.
How does this apply to blogging?
If you only blog about your business, readers will expect the same thing always. In time, they’ll be disinterested in your content.
To learn how the Pareto Principle is applied, visit our blog page.
Our blogs cover more than website design, care, and development. We blog about business, technology, marketing, health and fitness, entrepreneurship, leadership, and money management.
You’ll discover blogs that educate you on the advantages of having a website, as well as content aimed at helping you achieve a successful career.
💡Pro Tip: Outsource blogging. Why?
Long-form blogs that average 2,500 to 3,000 words generate 138% more page views and backlinks than short-form blogs. Also, long-form blogs conform to Google’s EEAT guidelines and result in higher search rankings.
However, on average, it takes four hours to write a long-form blog. We recommend outsourcing blogging so you can dedicate more time to running the daily activities of your business.
5. Diversify Content Types
Blogging is just one form of content.
There are other forms of content that can be valuable to your branding strategy.
- Videos
- Images
- Infographics
- E-books
- Product guides
- White papers
- Case studies
- Testimonials
- FAQs
- Webinars
- Podcasts
Diversify your strategy by adding visual-based content to the mix. Visual content includes videos, images, and infographics.
The advantage of visual content is that it appeals to multiple senses: Sight, sound, and feel.
The act of buying is driven by emotions. Videos are effective in triggering the desired emotions that influence the decision to buy. Think of the fast-food commercials that depict family reunions, first dates, and celebrations.
Images enhance the aesthetic appeal of blogs and help organize content effectively. Infographics blend images, text, numbers, and charts, serving as tools that aid readers in understanding information more clearly.
E-books, product guides, and white papers provide your audience with comprehensive information about your products. They can be used to enhance Calls-to-Action on your website.
For example:
“Sign up now and get a free e-book.”
Case studies and testimonials play an important role in your online business brand strategy. They provide proof of concept and substantiate the value of your products.
FAQs, webinars, and podcasts address user search intent and put you in Google’s good graces because they adhere to the EEAT guidelines.
💡Pro Tip: Begin by creating blogs, videos, images, and infographics. Once your business starts gaining traction, you can incorporate e-books and product guides into your content strategy.
Be sure to showcase positive reviews and seek out strong testimonials from clients to feature on your website and social media platforms.
If you have built a substantial following—counting in the thousands—you can leverage that influence to launch a successful podcast and host webinars.
6. Harness the Power of Social Media
Social media is not a ranking factor in Google’s algorithm, but it can be an effective tool for driving visitors to your website.
Let’s look at social media by the numbers:
- 5.24 billion social media user identities globally.
- The average time on social media per user is 2 hours and 21 minutes.
- 27.3% use social media to find products to buy.
- 22.5% look for information from preferred brands.
- 21.5% follow their favorite brands.
- 50% seek new brands to follow.
Social media isn’t just a platform for marketing products and services. You can use social media to solicit feedback, reviews, testimonials, and other valuable input from your customers.
Meanwhile, customers can use social media as a channel to relay their complaints, inquiries, and opinions about your business.
Think of social media as a two-way bridge that allows you to reach out to your customers and vice versa. Social media has introduced a social element to business, “humanizing” the relationship between companies and their customers.
How do you harness the power of social media to build your business brand?
- Start Small: Choose two to three social media platforms. While the average social media user has accounts on six platforms, managing just two or three pages is often easier.
- Choose Your Platform Wisely: Facebook has the highest number of users at 3 billion.
For highly visual products such as fashion, food, and cosmetics, add Instagram or Pinterest, which are popular for image-based content.
X is an effective channel for generating leads and pushing limited-time-only promotions. - Create High-Quality Content: To ensure engagement, content must be fresh, informative, useful, relevant, engaging, and… let’s add a new quality… factual!
- Post Frequently: Some will tell you that posting once or twice weekly is enough.
We beg to differ.
Post frequently to stay top of mind with your target market and to satisfy the algorithm. For business, the best days to post are Monday to Friday.
Upload your content at 7:00 am, 11:00 am, 3:00 pm, and 6:00 pm. These are the hours that precede the busiest hours on social media – before work, lunch, coffee breaks, and dinner time. - Add a CTA: What do you want your followers to do? That’s your CTA. If you want the reader to buy, add “Buy Now” at the end of your post.
- Add Your Website URL: Where can your followers buy your products? Always include your website URL at the end of your post.
- Include a Chat Plugin: Facebook has Messenger. You can embed the messenger plugin on your website by copying and pasting the code. The chat plugin gives website and Facebook users another channel to reach your customer support team.
- Engage Your Followers: Respond to as many comments as you can, positive AND negative. Comments will help you with the algorithm. Thus, negative comments can be good for you!
Likewise, if you respectfully respond to the irate commenter, you’re presenting your brand as professional and proactive. - Review Analytics: To effectively understand your audience, begin by analyzing their demographics.
Observe how they interact with your page and their online behavior. Identify the types of content that generate the most engagement.
Utilizing analytics will help you refine your strategy and gain valuable insights about your audience.
💡Pro Tip: Social media posts are subject to the Pareto Principle.
Posting too much business-related, and especially sales content, will bore your followers. Mix up your social content.
Some ideas to consider:
- A day-in-the-life: Feature a manager, staff member, or yourself.
- Behind-the-Scenes: Show the audience how a product is made.
- Employee stories: Introduce a key member of your team.
- Company activities: Team building, softball game, family day, pet day.
- Curated content: Share content from relevant third-party websites.
Remember, social media humanizes business! Use it to build strong, long-lasting relationships with your customers.
7. Utilize Local SEO
You were planning to buy bread and pastries after work. Unfortunately, traffic has come to a standstill. According to Waze, it would take you two hours to get to your usual supermarket.
What do you do?
You do a Google search:
“Pastry shop near me.”
Within a few seconds, Google will show you a list of pastry shops near your current location.
The pastry shop you chose will be reminded why local SEO is important for online branding.
Local SEO is the process of enhancing your business’s visibility within a local area.
What do the numbers say about local SEO?
- 80% of customers run a local search at least once a week.
- 46% of searches have local intent.
- 76% who include the geo keywords “near me” in their search query will visit the location within the day.
- 20% of local searches result in a purchase.
- 76% of digital marketers and 52% of businesses have identified Google Business Profile as the most valuable local SEO platform.
💡Pro Tip: Create a Google Business Profile that includes essential information such as your address, contact numbers, operating days and hours, directions, and high-quality images of your store and products.
Ensure that the information on your Google Business Profile is current and accurate.
8. Incorporate E-mail Marketing
The ROI of email marketing is $36 for every $1 spent.
Email marketing is an effective channel for building your business brand for the following reasons:
- The volume of email exchanges will continue to increase every year. It’s estimated that 392.5 billion emails will be sent out in 2025.
- People check their emails multiple times per day.
- Your content goes directly to the Inbox, not the spam folder. It’s just one click away from being opened by the recipient.
To ensure the success of your email marketing campaign, it’s important to generate a list of high-quality leads.
Consistently creating great content, distributing it frequently through multiple effective channels, and strategically placing compelling CTAs on your website will help generate leads.
Segment the leads into categories that describe specific attributes and traits. For example, demographics, industry, purchase history, average purchase, and occupation.
The segmented list will serve as your guide for creating and emailing content to your subscribers.
To learn more about email marketing, read our article “How to Run a Successful Email Marketing Campaign.”
Conclusion
Digital marketing is indeed more efficient; however, like traditional marketing, it necessitates careful planning, execution, and having the right team to maximize success.
You need to conduct research, create content, run tests, perform quality assurance, review analytics, and make adjustments to your strategy. Digital marketing is a process that keeps evolving as your business grows.
While it requires considerable effort, with patience and persistence, you will eventually establish your business brand in the industry.
As an entrepreneur, outsource digital marketing to a qualified digital ad agency. Focus on running your business while we handle your online branding.
