Why You Need a Digital Brand!

Why should anyone care about your brand? If you’ve never asked yourself this question before, then there may be a reason that you are in the position that you are. Especially in this day and age of so much digital media, there is noise galore, and without at a brand that is recognizable and able to be counted in; you will just be drowned out.

Grant Cardone recently had the CEO of the supplement company 1st Phorm on his podcast Power Players, of which, Founder Andy Frisella, credits social media and digital branding to his success. 1st Phorm has existed since 1999, but was barely making a profit until the advent of social media in 2008, after which they scaled tremendously and quickly. The supplement industry is always changing rapidly, and previously, athletes were sponsored by companies for monthly monetary sums as well as free products, which for the athlete was a really great deal. That Red carpet treatment for athletes is a thing of the past, and rarely, unless uber successful or your name is Derek Jeter, do athletes receive anything more than free products. Understanding the broad reach of social media, 1st Phorm developed a strategy around harnessing the power of an athlete’s circle of influence, and lack of withstanding endorsement deals, it was very enticing to athletes. They offered athletes the ability to earn a commission on each and every sale that they referred to the company, all through the power of social media, creating the awesome reach for the brand.

1st Phorm quickly, doubled, tripled and quadrupled in size, and is forecasted to make close to $200 million dollars in 2016; all driven by the power that is digital branding and social media. If you are still left questioning as to why your brand needs to be on social media, 1st Phorm’s explosive growth is one is a list of many, many companies that have created a digital brand and absolutely blown up their growth.

So, it is really important to have brand awareness, in that you have to constantly have in mind what you are trying to convey to the listening, reading or viewing world. Information can come at the snap of a finger, but so can annoyance; what will you be known for as a brand? For many, there is an absence of information OR the wrong information, which can be detrimental and even ruin your business You have to manage your image or even create it in the places where your customers already are, and even speak the same lingo, or you will just be totally lost. In the story above, 1st Phorm really figured out the problem of one of their main publics, athletes, and because they were able to answer that call, they were able to quickly, using digital media grow a brand that had been stagnant for almost 10 years.

Digital branding expert, Gary Vaynerchuck has made it his mission to “ding in” the importance of social media, and you are well-aware that the current brand driven media is all about what type of value that you can give. You cant keep asking before you are giving and to simplify it, the formula is more like: give, give, give, give NOW ask. Its something out there you have to think about.

You not only need to be always giving value, but you also need to be cognizant of what image you are showing people in all times and in all places. There is so many ways to reach people, but then again, our world is noisier than ever; will you rise above the noise? Therefore, be careful what you posting on your social media platforms, as it will always be around; Twitter is even backed up in the Library of Congress. Sure as hell, don’t play Facebook games, thats one way to get a lot of people to ignore you very, very fast. As you’ll notice by this statement, your digital brand extends not just to your business page, but to your personal page and that of your employees.  Its important to be genuine and be your true unique self, but if there is one way to go dark in social media, its to start posting about religion and politics. We all have a right to our own opinions, but social media is as much a public space as it is a personal space, so you need to be very cognizant of all the images that your brand is putting out.

With a digital brand, you can start out as no one, and very quickly build a network and a following if you show your face to the world as someone that is willing to give value; the exchange will balance itself out, if you continue to give people will want to give back to you. Stew on that for a moment. Now, what value will your brand give the world? Pick one thing, not ten, pick one, and offer the best possible content towards that can to that ends. In the digital world, just as in the real world, too many messages can confuse your public.

A digital brand is a long-term deal, but one of the most important that you will ever do, and will pay you back for the rest of your business life. Start correctly, take big actions, and have a plan of where you want to take it to. BUT, remember, like Gary Vaynerchuck says: “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.” You have to give a lot to get a lot, but in this digital world, anything is possible, even if right now, you’re a nobody.