Thursday, January 28, 2010

Branding Your Website Means Personalization

By Art Basmajian

Type in any famous company in your search bar, and you'll see a great example to follow in branding your website. No, you will not be copying these internet sites, but rather, you have got to study the factors which make these websites distinct and different from all the other websites that feature similar products.

In a smaller scale, have a look at the various social network platforms where you can make a profile that will reflect who you are. You already have an idea on how flexible many of these online applications are. To compare this to buying an auto, social network sites are your run-of-the-mill production line cars that you can 'pimp' up according to your own private choices and specifications. Coming up with your own website, on the other hand, is like being able to build your own vehicle from scratch ; you can put in anything you want, and if you want help, there are pros that will help you.

To make things a little easier, here are one or two tips that will give you an idea on how to build a domain that will tell visitors all about you.

Catch Them with Creative Copy

Folks live by a credo or a motto, and if you can put that belief system into one simple yet catchy line, it will really help in branding your website. If this is too broad a stroke for you, then streamline it with a phrase that will reflect your vision for your company. You'll already have seen this at work in any fast food chain, clothing line, or sporting goods brand. Even the retail outlets that sell these products have them.

Catch Their Eye

Even with the added technology that makes it feasible to have audio files online, the 1st sense that your internet site will excite will still be the visible senses. In branding your website, it would be very helpful to have one single symbol that will instantly identify that internet site as yours. You can do something easy such as a graphic rendition of your signature, or get a professionally-designed brand based on your ideas on what best reflects your company's ideals.

Build your Web Home

You'll need to have your own domain to build an internet site that you can brand, and you need to choose a domain name that's part of your personal touch. It could also be something as straightforward as your name, or your product name, or maybe a catchy phrase, so long as you remember that you are branding your website. Likewise, be consistent. You can introduce other ideas later on after you have just made a good foundation.

Lather, Rinse, and Repeat

Now that you have all these little things that are the result of branding your website, use them as frequently as you can in all the promoting media that you will be using. You are after name recall, and for people to not say 'what's the name of that brand again?' it's like attempting to commit to memory a song or a talk ; you have to repeat it time after time and again till it sticks to your memory, or in this case, until your target audience learns to associate these symbols with you, your product, and your company.

Get a Move On

There's a time for planning ( and you actually should, simply to have all of your ducks in a row ), but there should also be a time for action. With so many tools available to help in branding your website, it would be hard - and stupid - not to do both.

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