3 Powerful Channels Of Digital Branding For eCommerce (And How To Use Them)
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel” — Maya Angelou
While there are many companies out there catering to various products and services, it’s the brand that resonates with customers. Your brand can make a customer associate a feeling with your company. It’s your brand that differentiates you from the others and communicates a positive feeling or a negative one, to your customers.
One way to go about building a superior brand reputation is by focussing on how you portray your brand and customers’ experiences through different channels of communication.
For eCommerce companies, it’s all the more crucial to meticulously work on your branding efforts, considering that there are tonnes of competitors out there, vying for your customers and followers. If you have an eCommerce business, then this post is for you. We will be giving you some examples of how some brands in this industry have creatively used various mediums to give their brand a good name, and how you too can.
Social media has been known for increasing direct user engagement with their favourite brands. Twitter has been at the crux of this social media race. This is a great platform to receive direct feedback from the horse’s mouth in the form of tweets, retweets, and direct messages.
There are some familiar yet really impressive features that eCommerce companies can use to power up their brand. Some of the features include the search, which can be optimized with the right use of #hashtags. Additionally, tweets with image links have 5 times the engagement rate.
Here is how IKEA used this terrifically along with well-articulated content that tells other users about how the brand’s fans use their products creatively.
Tip: The secret recipe to additionally improve on user engagement is by listening to the problems your customers might be facing, and offering them timely resolutions. This will make them respect and trust your brand.
Emails/Newsletters
Since digitalization, emails have long remained the primary channel of communication between a company and its users. It’s important that you don’t bombard subscribers with offers and discounts right away. Else, this will make you come across as too salesy or promotional.
With more eCommerce players joining the wagon, stand out by introducing your brand to the subscribers the right way. Tell your subscribers who you are and what your story is, while also telling them who you sell your products to. Everyone loves to know where the brand comes from, and how they fit into this brand’s’ story.
Huckberry has mastered the art of branding and marketing through emails. In the image below, they tell their brand story. This helps subscribers connect with the brand at a deeper level.
Tip: By making your emails content intensive, you’re educating your email subscribers with information that they will love you for. For instance, if you happen to sell stylish clothes, provide content on the kind of accessories and hairstyles that go well with these garments for various occasions.
Web Push Notifications
With web or browser push notifications, your customers need not install your mobile app in order to be notified of your offers or discounts. Unlike app push notifications, web push notifications work on desktop and mobile browsers. This medium of communication is a compelling one, power-packed with sharp features like scheduling and audience segmentation.
You can benefit from this medium by using it to retarget customers and bring them back to your website. Do this by sending thoughtful and well-timed notifications, while ensuring that they are personalized as per the customer’s’ needs and interests.
People love tailor-made bespoke things! Hence, ensure that your push notification strategy is well in place, with audience segmentation done. This will help you send customized messages to your subscribers.
For example, when segmentation is in place, it’s possible to send a push notification, like the one below, to that segment of the audience that may have been searching for vegan eyeshadow. This method ensures that right people receive the right message at the right time. This makes the customers feel that your brand understands and knows them well.
Tip: Pay attention to the tone of your message, the language used, the timing and frequency with which you send these notifications. It’s these small things that will either complement your holistic brand image or go against it.
The channels mentioned above will help in improving an eCommerce business’s brand association tremendously, if done right. For more such tips, stay tuned to The PushCrew Journal to be on top of your game.
Originally published on The Marketer’s Last Mile — the PushCrew Blog
