November 2008 Virtual Seminar: Building Your Brand Online
Bua Consulting held its first public virtual seminar on the 11th of November 2008. This first seminar was as much about getting to know the benefits and limitations of virtual world software - in this case Google's Lively, as the content itself. All in all the seminar was a success and we look forward to bigger and better events in the coming months with ever improving content and discussion. Please sign up for upcoming events or, if you would like to see how the virtual room works, visit our seminar room or contact us for an orientation.
Seminar Summary
The focus of the seminar was on how SME’s can build a strong brand presence online to in an increasingly digital business environment. A short video on building a brand was shown in our virtual environment followed by a discussion on how the strategies recommended in the video can be applied to different technologies.
Click on the images below to see the virtual room.
Some of the areas that were discussed:
1. The use of Facebook and MySpace as a means of communicating your brand.
Participants were in agreement that while Facebook is a new avenue of getting noticed it usually works better for business to consumer products rather than business to business marketing. Music and Alcohol brands have been working on these mediums to gain new customers. Another important point was that a company deciding to use this medium should identify its target market and measure the risks of using it clearly. The case of Virgin Blue and BA was discussed. http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12566818
2. The importance of word of mouth (WOM) in building a brand. Viral marketing.
WOM is still a vital important component in facilitating communication between businesses and satisifed consumers. The use of viral marketing campaigns (the online equivalent of WOM) was discussed as an avenue to let new customers know about your brand. Some of the most notable viral marketing campaings are listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing#Notable_examples
3. The use of digital media in generating and retaining customers.
While the discussion here was quite generic, the importance of having a website that is constantly being updated and improved was agreed upon by all. There is enormous power in the cross-selling and cross-marketing of the real and physical world and businesses that understand this are likely to be most successful online. The importance of interactivity, allowing customers to provide feedback, discuss matters in forums and interact with other customers is key. Also web 2.0 tools such as online presentations (e.g. www.docstoc.com) and videos (youtube and www.animoto.com (for an example see http://buaconsulting.com/online_business_clients.html)) Bua Consulting also gave the example of how it recently began to back up the physical presentation proposal documents with follow up online presentations, which involves a web based presentation and a simple online video. This has differentiated the company from others and improved the number of proposals that have been closed.
4. How are blogs used to enhance a brand?
Participants' thoughts were that blogs not only communicate brand but also help build a stronger brand image. It was discussed whether the success of your blog depends on the industry you operate in and the business or service you provide. We discussed how blogs are used by both big and small companies to gain customer feedback and opinions. For example, Microsoft uses blogs to a large extent with its technology evangelists using them extensively. Similary, the example was given by one participant of a small online watch business who have being successfully using blogs to get feedback on the authenticity of their products. This has led to improved trust with new customers and a large increase in sales. Blogging is therefore seen by business as useful and versatile.
A recent article in The Economist on how blogging has entered the mainstream http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12566826. (See also our IT Strategy and Emerging Technology or online business or blog)
What do you think?
Discuss these matter further in our forum
Online Business and IT Strategies
Open forum for discussion of Emerging Technologies
Topics: 2
Posts: 3
29-Oct-2008
by Fergalc
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