How To Build Your Online Presence On The Cheap – Step 1: Start With A Good Brand

Today I am starting a series based on some of the many questions I am asked by clients, friends and others who are realizing they can no longer sit idly and watch the social media world pass them by, or they are already involved but aren’t clear about the best steps. My goal with this series is to give you the tools to inexpensively set up your own online presence from start to finish by using the insights and links and my own experiences as best as I can provide them. While this may seem counterproductive to building my own business as a freelance web and graphic designer, I assure you it’s not. The reality is that many individuals and small businesses cannot afford the services of a professional designer, developer and/or social media manager, so this is an attempt to help them out however I can. A lot of the information I can provide is available online anyway, so it’s not like I’m giving away secrets. I just hope to make it a little bit easier and to save you some time and money along the way.

DISCLAIMER: while this series will give you some steps to build and grow your online presence with little expense, it is VERY important to understand that you absolutely DO get what you pay for. In other words, if you are not a designer, your logo and website and Twitter background and so forth will definitely show it! There is a reason designers like me exist and get paid to perform the services we do – because we’re GOOD at it! We bring experience and expertise and education to the project that typically has taken years to accumulate. To think that anyone can easily bypass all of that and produce the same result is foolish.

That said, there are plenty of things you can do for little or no money and an investment of time that can greatly increase your online visibility. If we get to the end of the series and it sounds like too much to undertake or you are not satisfied with the result, then please contact me and I’ll be happy to do the job for you. It will cost you a little more money, but you’ll save your time, possibly some frustration, and you’ll end up with a professional online presence that you can be proud of.

The key elements I will focus on in the series are:

Your Brand – how you will be identified

What makes a good brand?
How to choose a brand name
Your logo

Your website/blog – the hub of your online existence

Build it
Promote it
Feed and Water it

Social Media – spreading your message

Which channels are right for you?
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Flickr
Delicious
Digg

Customer Service – what’s the point of traffic without it?

As always, I don’t profess to be an expert at ANY of this. In fact, I would encourage you to stay away from anyone who claims to be. Most of the online tools and channels and data that are out there are still relatively new and changing quickly, so it is my humble opinion that anyone who tells you they have conquered it all is either a fortune teller, a liar, an egotistic maniac or an idiot. I like to approach life as an endless student, even in areas that I have years of experience and expertise, and I hope I never stop learning and looking for better and new ways to do things!

STEP 1: YOUR BRAND – Start With A Good One!

Personally, I think you should start here. Sure, you can skip ahead and set up your Twitter and Facebook accounts, but all you are going to do is confuse people a bit when you suddenly go schizophrenic with your visual online identity and corresponding avatars and profiles. It is very important to decide how you want to present yourself and your business to the public for so many reasons – every step you take can potentially prove beneficial or fatal. How’s that for some pressure?

I believe it is important to understand that there is more to your brand than the logo. There are many discussions about this, but I am a strong proponent for your brand being your identity, which includes your logo but also involves – perhaps more significantly – your representation and reputation. (I have written a piece sharing some of my thoughts about this here.) Here are some key things to consider in the creation of your brand:

Your decision should not be final. Yes, you need to make some very real decisions about how you are going to present yourself and your business. But allow yourself the freedom to grow as your business does, and dive into the brand creation process knowing that good branding will continually improve and reshape itself as time goes on. The clinical term for something that does not change is “death”. I am willing to bet you don’t want to plan for your brand’s death before you even get started.

Your foundation should be stable. While the brand should grow and change as you do, the foundation it is built on should not. You should have some key elements of your brand that you will not waver on – the “close-fisted” things you are most passionate about. For instance, one of the close-fisted elements of bkmacdaddy designs is integrity. I attempt to represent that foundation in everything I do. But there are other elements that I am “open-handed” about. Identify your foundational, core beliefs at the beginning and they will permeate your brand to the point that they will become an integral part of what you are known for.

Your goal should be defined. Where do you want to go? What do you want to achieve? Why are you even reading this article? You should know the answers to these questions as you create your brand. The answers will be the primary motivators for choices you will make in the brand creation process. The goals you have should be the filter everything else is sifted through. Decisions should be made based on whether or not they serve the purpose of achieving your goals.

Your approach should be consistent. Are you a consummate corporate professional? Then you should make the commitment to representing yourself that way everywhere you go. If you’re goal is to attract like-minded professionals to purchase your products, how will that be achieved if you are acting like a crazy teenager on Facebook? Or maybe you are a fun-loving mom who blogs about your kids’ shenanigans. Then you should do your best to present your thoughts and ideas and identity in a way that attracts other parents. I am not suggesting you become something other than yourself – quite the contrary. I am saying it is most important to understand your own true identity before you create your online version. It is my experience and firm belief that the two should be the same, for the sake of your brand as well as your own integrity (and sanity.)

Once you identify these elements of your identity, I would suggest writing them down, reviewing them and getting the input of people you trust. Don’t rush this. The other elements in the process will suffer if you do not have a quality brand to perpetuate. Once you have reached some decisions, you can move on to the name of your brand (if you don’t have one already). If you already have a name, you will need to consider how to best align that name with your brand and online identity. We will discuss that process in the next installment.

Please let me know if you have ideas and thoughts to add to this discussion by leaving a comment below. As I said, I am always looking to learn more on these things as I pursue becoming the best I can be at the things I do. Please also consider subscribing to this blog so you don’t miss a single installment of this series in the weeks ahead.

NEXT UP: Step 2: Choose Your Name Wisely »