Optimizing online marketing purely based on metrics alone is tempting, as is managing campaigns based on conversion numbers and targeting a loyal audience with precise tracking and retargeting, but the long-term goal traffic, is often overlooked.

The result is that the sales funnel is not filled up and the number of users reached, decreases continuously. Pure performance control should therefore not be the sole part of the online strategy, because two factors are important on the way to a strong brand name and image: (1) awareness ensures reach and traffic, (2) image is so important because people base their purchasing decisions mainly on trust and feelings. The more trust is placed in a brand, the fewer comparisons are made with alternative products. The conveyance of values such as sustainability or emotions is transferred from the brand to all products.

Nowadays, when people are spending more and more time on the Internet, you can increase your exposure significantly through online advertising. Users currently have plenty of time and are more willing to browse online in a targeted way. Even people who are not very digitally savvy can now be reached online.

Building or strengthening a brand usually requires staying power: continuity and many advertising contacts with the target group are important. The values associated with the company, or the products offered, must be constant and consistent across all touchpoints and this process is currently being accelerated by increasing online use.

Ensure a uniform presentation across all channels and devices in accordance with the overall corporate design and corporate culture. The imagery must be consistent across all formats and appear in the right context.

Online marketing can specially help with brand building, such as:

• Programmatic display campaigns, which are the digital branding choice for many businesses. With attention-grabbing advertising in different banner formats, the user can be reached again and again in a memorable way during his/her journey on the Internet. Adherence to corporate allows for brand recognition across all ad formats and, not to mention that only few internet users can avoid display ads, making comprehensive display campaigns almost essential for branding goals. Unfortunately, users with installed adblockers cannot be reached in this way, so the programmatic ad should not be the only element of your branding campaign.
• Marketplaces have many users, but the branding opportunities that arise here are not always fully exploited as advertisers primarily focus on optimizing their product data. Unfortunately, in the product data, the marketplaces offer hardly any opportunity for a company to introduce the corporate design, even the fonts and colors of the company are generally not adopted.
• Search engines are just as important as display and marketplaces, and Google is still the go-to place for many Internet users. As one of the oldest disciplines in online marketing, Search Engine Advertising (SEA) can easily strengthen your brand. Brand campaigns are necessary in order not to give the competition a chance for visibility and not to rely on organic results. On smartphones, organic entries often do not appear in the visible area "above the fold". If the demand for your brand has increased, you will even benefit twice, because SEA brand campaigns are significantly cheaper than non-brand campaigns and convert more at the same time. Non-brand campaigns on generic search terms are more expensive, but also necessary because they expand the target group.
• Social media channels are relatively inexpensive advertising channels that lend themselves well to branding-focused banner ads. They offer an excellent opportunity for target group selection, whereby the selection for branding goals should be as broad as possible.

Since there is clearly a positive association between brand image and awareness and consumers’ preferences and purchasing decisions, you might want to consider the brand building tips mentioned here.

By Daniela La Marca