It is not always easy to choose the most effective and successful digital platforms to help grow your brand. With the opportunities that technology develops, new digital media platforms emerge every day and it can seem like a good idea to create a free account. More social media platforms must generate more engagement and loyal consumers. Or what?
This article explores which digital platforms you should choose to create valuable engagement and conversations between your digital brand and your target audience. It is most often a question of choosing the amount of digital platforms that you can handle with your accessible ressources.
Less is More
Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, with inspiration from writer Robert Browning, was on the right track when he proclaimed that less is more and that most value can be found in simplicity. It is true in most of aspects of life and when it comes to choosing digital platforms.
The Website
Start with your website: The website should be the top priority as it is the window to the potential consumers, and the most common digital platforms are always centred around the website. Consider the website as the beating heart. Every aspect from the access to the website to the written and visual content can drive consumer perception of the brand positively or negatively (Hall, 2017). For that reason, your website must uphold design and communication in accordance with the digital brand identity. Read more about the website as a digital platform here.
Paid, earned, and Owned
Digital platforms are often divided into paid, earned, and owned digital media channels (Hall, 2017). Paid digital media channels, such as display advertising, are platforms you pay for and, for that reason, it requires a marketing budget. Earned digital channels are gained through promotional efforts other than paid media advertising. It could be reviews or news coverages. Owned digital media channels are platforms that you have complete control over and includes the website social media platforms.
Social media platforms have changed the impacts and benefits of positioning and promotion. It is an easy way to get started, especially for a small business, as social media can promote services through networking (Hall, 2017). Furthermore, a digital presence on social media can also boost SEO and drive traffic to the website.
B2B Brands
Two of the biggest social media networks for B2B brands are Twitter and LinkedIn (Hall, 2017). Furthermore, Twitter and LinkedIn drive most social media traffic to B2B websites and blogs (Gallant, 2019). For that reason, if your brand is on the B2B market, you should focus on Twitter and LinkedIn as two owned social media platforms.
What is Next?
It can be difficult to choose the right digital platforms for your brand. If you need help or have any questions, leave a comment or contact me.
