Online branding is more about telling your prospects what it is that you do, who you are and your background, and how you go about offering your expertise on the Internet. Online branding is less about your logo, website design, and other physical elements that usually define a business. Online branding is a very effective way to create an authentic identity for your business which will help you to grow your business and make an impact on your online audience.How Online Branding Can Help Your BusinessDefine Your Brand: If you can define your brand right from the moment a person arrives at your Web page, your brand will have more impact on the visitor because they immediately know what you are about. On the average, you have about 8 seconds to capture the visitors attention before they decide to stay or leave your website. If you make the most of these 8 seconds people will remember your brand and be more likely to return to your website in the future.When you define your brand, make it personal by providing the benefits right on the home page. It is also a good idea to place a video of yourself on the home page to introduce yourself and make a powerful first impression. People like to know how they can benefit and that they are dealing with a real human being.Develop a Fan Club: Developing a list of followers is a great way to spread your brand across the Internet. You can do this through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as through list building efforts that generate opt-ins for your newsletter or other useful online content.Create Visibility: Create visibility for your brand by engaging in viral marketing. You can identify your brand by creating videos and free information such as ebooks that others will share with their friends.Keep in mind that if you want this branding strategy to be successful, you must offer high quality content that is useful and helpful to your audience, otherwise they will not be motivated to share it with others. Also, make sure that all of the content you create has your website URL included or some other resource where people can return to you for more information.Make It About What You Do: Online branding is more about what you do and how you do it because these are the two criteria that add value to your online audience. People always want to know what is in it for them, so online branding means establishing yourself as an expert in your field. If you do this effectively people will associate your brand with quality and you will retain a lot more customers.Website and Logos: Although online branding is more about you and less about website design and logos, it still is important to brand yourself with a website that is easy to use, professional looking, and simple to understand. Also, you do not have to go crazy with graphics, but it is a good idea to help your brand along with a professionally designed logo.These are all of the important ways online branding can help you build a successful business online. It will also give you the edge over other business that have generic traits and do not make the effort to create a brand that identifies them as experts in their field.

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