Online Branding for Your Small Business

An online business has a greater chance for success if those who buy its products and services recognize its brand. A recognizable brand also makes a business's site more attractive to potential advertisers

Remember: Recognizable doesn't necessarily mean universally known. This idea simply means that a business's brand will increase its chance to compete successfully for attention and market share in the appropriate space. It doesn't take an expensive global advertising campaign to brand your business. Branding can be accomplished through partnerships, direct marketing, a robust Web site, and a modicum of good public relations.

Fundamentally, branding online is pretty similar to branding offline. The palette is different because the medium is reduced to a screen instead of a billboard or a print advertisement, but the opportunity for messaging is the same.

When a brick-and-mortar company takes its business to the Web, an online brand usually serves as an extension of its offline presence. Think of FedEx, AT&T, or CNN. For these companies, their online brands reinforce or influence the preexisting ideas about the company.