Creating a successful online brand for your product business
We are grateful to welcome Jacquie from Bailey and Roo to the Retail With Clarity blog. Jacquie is a designer, photographer and product branding expert and is sharing her essential tips for creating a successful online brand for your product business.
Having an online business has been more important than ever this year
What a year it’s been, no one could have predicted the changes and disruption this year would have on businesses. With many businesses being forced to close due to COVID-19 it’s meant for many that they’ve had no option but to go online with their business.
In some ways it’s actually been a good thing because it’s meant those that weren’t already selling online have had to make this pivot in their business to continue to sell.
Having an online business is essential in order to have a larger audience to sell to and boost those all important sales.
I’ve had some incredible conversations with business owners who have had no choice but to move their business online this year and have been shocked by the huge number of sales they’ve had (in fact many have ended up making double what they had been in their high street shops/boutiques!). A lot of the time it feels like a very daunting process for setting up an online business, particularly when you think about needing a website, social media, product photography plus being consistent with posting on social media to boost visibility.
I get it, it is very scary and can be extremely costly. This is where many business owners struggle. They focus more on the cost than what the outcome is and this is SO important to get right!
Having an optimised website is key
Having a website that works for your business, is mobile optimised and has those all important keywords making it easy for your audience to find, is absolutely key. There is absolutely no point in having a website if no one can find it!
Think about how many websites there are out there. What is going to make yours stand out and easy to find so you can make those sales?
If you invest in having a good website that works AND has that all important product photography that’s going to show your products off, half the work is done for you.
Social media can boost your brand visibility
Social media is an amazing tool for boosting your visibility online and getting more traffic to your website BUT it has to be done right. To help your audience to connect with you and build the know, like and trust that you are a business that’s worth investing in, they need to feel good when they’re on your feed.
Instagram in particular is amazing for audience building. Customers are actively searching for gift ideas, products to treat themselves, services and everyday items. Posts are shared with others, saved for later and you can even set up your shop so it’s easy to buy your products from your posts.
In order to have a curated social media feed, and even for your website gallery, you need to have clear images that not only showcase your products but that also reflect what your brand is all about. What’s your story? What makes you different to your competitors? Why should those potential customers invest in one of your products?
You can share this through your product imagery and styling, text based posts, behind the scenes, photos of you and your team and even inspiration posts.
Creating a consistent look and feel
If you have your brand identity it’s easy to create a consistent look and feel throughout every touchpoint of your brand experience and creative content. Your brand identity design is your logo/s, colour palette, typography/fonts, graphics and any textures or graphics that reflect your brand. Without these essential assets for your business it will be really difficult to create that consistent look and feel that’s right for your business so the number one thing all business owners need is that brand identity that’s right for their business. Then you can work on all of the other elements such as the website, photography, social media graphics, packaging etc.
When sharing any posts on social media it’s a case of thinking about whether it reflects your brand message, does it resonate with your ideal customer profile, does it show your product in the best way possible and more importantly, does it fit with your brand identity? If it doesn’t, don’t post it. Instead, share it in your stories which is where you can share everyday photos, snap shots and behind the scenes to show what’s happening in your business on a daily basis.
Your social media feed is your online shop window
When sharing any posts on social media it’s a case of thinking about whether it reflects your brand message, does it resonate with your ideal customer profile, does it show your product in the best way possible and more importantly, does it fit with your brand identity? If it doesn’t, don’t post it. Instead, share it in your stories which is where you can share everyday photos, snap shots and behind the scenes to show what’s happening in your business on a daily basis.
Think of your social media feed as your online shop window. If you’re sharing images that don’t create that lovely high end feel making your customers want to buy it can be the difference between getting that customer onto your website or them going elsewhere.
If your social media feed grabs their attention and is consistent showing you are worth investing in and trustworthy, there is a much higher chance of them browsing your website and buying from you.
The most important thing to remember when building your online brand is to be consistent and true to your brand message.
Jacquie x
For more tips and advice on how to create that curated Instagram feed, building your online brand or improving your product photography you can find me here:
