Before you consider launching online marketing campaign, you must consider setting up your Digital Identity. Essentially, think about all the places where you will want your future marketing campaigns to lead customers.
To get started, here’s a shortlist of must-haves to set up before bringing on a marketing team. Look at it like a digital package that’s in your hands to complete. Here are the essentials.

1. Build your website first

Before spreading out across the internet, establish your home base first. Build your website and make sure it’s free of bugs and fully operational before you start sending people to it.

Your website is going to be the conversion point for your products or services. Everything that we touch on after this point is going to be a pathway back to it, so your site really is the most critical aspect of your brand identity.

Some important considerations of a good website include:

  • Make sure you have a clear and easy to spell domain name
  • Make sure your domain name is the name of your company if that real estate isn’t already claimed.

Finally, make sure that you have a good grasp on SEO and incorporate all relevant keywords into your site to maximize traffic opportunities.

2. Establish your social media channels

Even if you don’t think your brand will have any use for a Facebook account, claim one anyway. Consistency is key in branding — you have to have a uniform handle across all social media if you can.

Having @yourbrand claimed on all social media channels is just safeguarding yourself for the future.  Secondly, getting control of your handles across social media will prevent potential interference from competitors who might claim the handle otherwise.

Check out some of our social media packages

3. List your business on Google.

Type in the name of a business you frequent into Google or type in the name of a competitor. What should pop up first is their Google My Business listing that will tell you what the company does, where to find them, their contact information, and an aggregate of reviews.

Because of Google’s supremacy over other search engines, this will be the first and last stop for most people trying to look up your business.

4. Set up on a few email platforms

Email marketing builds credibility, a customer base and content. In short, you need to look into email marketing technology as part of your digital package.

All of the email marketing platforms out there have different pros and cons, so the one you choose should be able to tick the most boxes for your audience.

Do not advertise  — for now

Running ads seems like the way to get your business at the forefront of consumer’s minds, but it isn’t. Upfront, it’s just going to be a waste of your money because if you don’t have your digital pack together, you don’t have anything substantial to advertise. Let’s break this down item by item.

With no social media channels claimed and your website fully operational, where will your advertisements take your customers? Without all the right listings in place, how are customers going to know if the business that pops up on Google is yours or not? At best, they’ll be confused when they don’t find any trace of your digital presence. At worst, they’ll end up giving clicks to a brand with a similar name.

Without your digital identity being fully formed, spending money on advertising is seriously jumping the gun.

In Conclusion

By going through these steps in your digital package, you’ll position yourself to be fully responsive and able to handle an influx of business that will come as the result of your well-planned marketing campaign.