Modern Brand Management: Using Technology as a Branding Tool

The internet is an amazing tool for brand managers to collect, and disperse information about consumers, products and brands. Keeping on top of every single tech trend is impossible, but following the current is easier than you’d think, and has amazing rewards for brands who can use technology strategically. Website design, social media management, and digital partnerships are all great ways to spread brand messages, and online surveys and strategic insights research can provide valuable information on how consumers are responding to your products.

Traditional marketing strategies don’t always accommodate or appeal to diverse audiences, so using new technology allows you to rewrite the rules enough that the diverse interests and audiences you’re working with can feel not only included, but prioritized. Only 19% of people featured in advertising are minorities, but 65% of people surveyed said they’d be more inclined to support a brand that centralized diversity in its messaging. Take advantage of technology and all it has to offer, follow these techniques to improve your brand online, and you’ll reap the benefits for your brand’s growth and relevance in the real world in no time.

Promoting Your Brand

Getting your brand out into the world can be complicated and expensive. Buying advertising space, paying influencers, and sending physical marketing materials out can quickly deplete your marketing budget with no guaranteed results. Digital tools, however, are anyone’s game, and you can project your brand to your target audience much more effectively for far less money if you use digital tools strategically. Paying for online advertising can seem like a shout into the void, but Google AdWords lets you see how frequently terms are being searched so you can maximize your placement on search engine results.

Existing research on search engine data and advertising language is sometimes very old-school, so as a brand that focuses on diversity, you might have to more independent research to make sure you’re gathering accurate information. Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as many other social media sites offer targeted advertising where you only way when someone clicks on your ad, and you can narrow down your demographic by age, profession, location, and many other variables. Not only does this reduce wasteful spending on poorly placed ads, it allows you to test your brand message in different demographics to see where you have the best response rate.

Gathering Information

The same way you can project your brand to a wide variety or people using the internet, you can also access data from people you might not otherwise have an easy time finding. Using online surveys and questionnaires will allow you to conduct critical market research without the hassle of travel or time zones. You can simply design a survey, and pay to have it hosted on various websites that pay consumers to fill them out. They will screen for whatever traits you’re looking for and then collate the data from the completed surveys for you to use. There’s no knocking on doors, no handing out brochures, just connecting immediately with the consumers whose opinions you value.

Understanding how your brand is being received is incredibly important when making sure your marketing strategies are on the right track, and a survey can help you isolate trends by demographics to stratify your advertising across different markets. In addition to helping you spread, and collect information about your brand, technology can help you control what your brand image is online. Checking social media for tagged posts, and searching your brand on review websites can help you see what consumers are saying, and give you a chance to respond to and remedy any complaints and improve your reputation with customers.

Using technology to manage your brand doesn’t need to be complicated. You’ll be able to appeal to a diverse audience, and more accurately represent your brand as you do. You don’t need every new app or website to keep on top of things, just the good sense to use digital tools to enhance your reach. The opportunities are endless, and new technology is developed every day, so consider if using digital strategies to manage your brand is a valuable investment – odds are, it will be.