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Marketing

6 Reasons To Choose A Small Digital Agency

These days you’re spoilt for digital agency choice, especially in Cape Town, a city that’s bursting at the creative seams. And while there is no right or wrong size for a digital agency, there are many benefits to working with a smaller, more specialised company. While large agencies will impress you with over-the-top pitches and send you home with a branded mug, you become a small fish in a big pond or even a polluted sea. A boutique agency will focus on the work, prioritise your needs and personalise the offering. We know that all companies need a digital presence, so here are a few reasons that smaller is better when choosing an agency. Appreciation “Your business is our business”. A small agency knows that if you succeed, they succeed. A boutique agency will prioritise your growth and celebrate your victories, because as you build and learn – so do they. Smaller agencies have a limited amount of clients, and there is always large importance placed on keeping each client happy and always ensuring quality and timeous work. Save A Buck If you want the backing of a well-known or famous agency group, you’ll have to pay for it. And while paying for the boasting rights has its merits, you may not receive the attention you deserve. Larger agencies tend to focus on the BIG accounts because big accounts equal big revenue. This often results in the smaller accounts becoming an after-thought and, although still paying the premium rate, means your brand gets shoved into the “just get it done” category. Choosing a small company is usually more affordable and will result in better quality work and more bang for your buck. Know The Team Ready for the name game? A smaller agency will have a carefully selected, dedicated team, and although you may deal primarily with one person, you’ll quickly know the people working on your brand. This personal dynamic means the team will truly understand your requirements and brand personality, meaning more creativity, better outcomes and fewer changes. Specialised Agency Services After getting to know the team, you’ll learn what they do. A smaller agency usually has a focused specialisation and has identified each team member’s talents and passions. If a smaller company offers you a service, you can feel confident knowing it’s something they do well. These specialised services have the added benefit of better time management and improved productivity. When your team knows what they’re doing and has in-depth knowledge and experience, it’s easier and more reliable to set deadlines and stick to them. Realistic Expectations Setting goals and managing expectations can be quite a task but it’s a fundamental mistake that bigger agencies make. “Overpromising and under-delivering” is avoidable and smaller agencies have learned that honesty is the best policy when it comes to work-scope, budget and expectations. A boutique agency doesn’t believe in the “upsell” culture and knows the value in forming long term relationships with brands that are still finding their feet in the market. The Work A larger digital agency will often get stuck in a rut of frameworks and systems – and if you hadn’t guessed it, frameworks and systems are two places creativity go to die. This isn’t the case when the team is small and specialised, the focus is different, the mindsets are flexible, and the creativity flows. Don’t be put off by the idea of a free-minded boutique agency, they have frameworks too, in fact, the frameworks are just as important. The difference is these structures do not guide the work, the work guides them, and there is a greater understanding that each brand, company and individual has different needs – no more “one size fits all” approach. Find Out More B Online prides itself in small digital agency ethics and hard work. So, chat to us, get to know our names and find out how we can help you grow your digital footprint.

The Importance Of A Strong Corporate Identity For Your Business

Design

The Importance Of A Strong Corporate Identity For Your Business

Having a strong corporate identity is more than merely having a recognisable logo (although that plays a part too!). Corporate identity refers to how a company presents itself to the public as a whole. It represents and helps every organisation in conveying its personality and values. It is an expression of an organisation’s culture, character, personality and products and services. A solid corporate identity can present businesses with a number of excellent marketing opportunities such as: Customer Impact With A Strong Corporate Identity A strong corporate identity is something that bridges the gap between businesses and potential customers and partners. This refers to building memorable recognition of your organisation’s identity. Furthermore, a successful corporate identity offers a positive association of your company within the consumer’s mind. This ultimately allows your business to grow optimally within its competitive market. What’s more, is that it should strengthen your customers’ conscious AND subconscious opinion of your business. A successful identity should instantly describe your business’s service and be a positive reflection of the quality of your work. Furthermore, it helps differentiate your company from your competitors which in turn has an impact on a loyal customer base. In our heavily visual world, a solid corporate identity could be argued as one of the most important and powerful tools for businesses. Brand Awareness A part of corporate branding culture includes, but is not limited to your company’s logo design, website design, business cards, brochures and so much more! A consistent visual expression of your brand creates brand awareness amongst your customer base, shareholders and even to your employees. A strong corporate identity is also related to your business marketing sphere as it allows your consumers to instantly recognise your brand. Being visually memorable in this day and age is essential to give your brand an edge amongst your competitors. Not only this, but it also encourages your consumers to associate positive brand experiences with your logo and any other visual identification. This will be unified in your audience’s minds to create a memorable brand experience. Avoid Misrepresentation With Your Corporate Identity A good corporate identity will build loyalty amongst your customer base and avoid misrepresentation with competitor brands. Therefore, your brand MUST be instantly recognisable. A solid corporate identity leaves no room for vagueness or inconsistency in your brand’s personality. Your corporate image must then adequately translate your business’s vision and purpose accordingly. It is also the foundation on which you are able to build a positive brand association. Above all, standing out is of high importance, as your company’s image and reputation are an integral part of every business’s growth. Inspire Confidence A strong and successful corporate identity also has the ability to inspire confidence! Through identification, your business can effectively generate credibility both internally and externally. This professional identity is important to uphold amongst your customers, industry peers as well as your investors. What’s more, is that your company’s employees also need a positive sense of identity. Employees are a pivotal part of manifesting and nurturing a positive corporate image. It is important for your workers to be proud to uphold the company’s brand, after all, they are primary ambassadors for your business! When your employees are proud of the company that they’re in, it subsequently improves productivity and morale. A successful identity will take you further in the long run. An efficient corporate identity can prove to be a big investment as it is an indicator of a strong commitment and conveys that your business is in the industry for the long run. Where To Start? At B Online, we can curate a powerful corporate identity that will ensure your business or organisation has a strong competitive edge amongst a sea of competitors. Whether you’re a small or large organisation, we design your brand according to specific brand personalities, values and objectives! Furthermore, we are experts in logo design, company profiles, business cards and any other brand collateral that your organisation may require. Whether you’re building your empire from scratch or interested in rebranding your corporate identity, we can revolutionise your brand presence within your specific industry. Don’t delay, contact B Online today!

Marketing

Top Reasons Why Your Brand Needs A Social Media Presence

Whether you run a small local shop or a multi-national company, every business needs a social media presence! Not only does it instantly allow you to connect with your customer base on a worldwide scale, but it also increases brand awareness. An increase in reach and targeted content could, in turn, boost your leads and sales. Here are some reasons why you should invest in social media for your business or brand: A Social Media Presence Promotes Brand Awareness According to a recent study, there were around 2.46 billion social media users worldwide in 2017, this number has increased to 2.77 billion since then. This popularity means that your brand could have INSTANT access to a global reach through online platforms. This is one of the fastest ways to increase your brand’s visibility. Regular posting is, therefore, important! Posting serves as an organic reminder to your customers about your brand as well as products and services. With social media, you can also unlock new audiences as you have access to a large pool of users. However, you can also build a niche market according to your brand’s desires through specified targeting for social media ads. Engage With Customers Online Social media is a great way to engage with your customer base. Not only do you get to advertise your brand to billions of people, but you also get to ENGAGE and INTERACT with your customer base. An online presence allows you to focus on providing value to your customers. You can simply do this through sharing tips, news, advice and other information that could be helpful for your clientele. Through direct messaging and the comment section, your brand can easily respond to queries. Interactions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram serve as organic advertising to other potential customers as they are available for a wide audience to read. Responding to all comments and direct messages in a timely manner will assist your brand by increasing engagement, brand trust and loyalty. Customer Satisfaction Social media is often the first place that potential customers interact with brands online. It is an important part of networking, communication and hearing your customers’ voices directly. Brand’s can use social media to answer customer questions, solve problems and receive feedback easily and effectively as well as improving customer relations. Providing data that is up-to-date, informative and instantly accessible promotes customer satisfaction for your organisation, in real-time! Build An Online Community & Brand Loyalty Customer satisfaction and developing brand loyalty go hand-in-hand. It is important to engage with customers and build a bond with them. Social media is the perfect platform for this! Social media does not merely introduce your product or services; it is also a building platform for your client base. Treating every query and potential customer with care increases your chances of building a loyal community. Not only this, customers are more likely to purchase products or services from brands they trust! An active social media presence makes it easier for your customers to find you online, in order for them to contact you. Therefore, connecting to customers through social media increases customer retention and customer loyalty. Marketplace Awareness Through Social Media Social media is the perfect way to learn more about your potential customer’s wants and needs through marketplace awareness. Through comments, questions and queries and other social media activities, it is easy to view your customers’ wants, needs, interests and opinions on your products or services that are not easily accessible elsewhere. As social media is designed to be public, this also gives you the opportunity to check out other businesses in your industry. Competitor analysis is important to ensure your brand stands out and can assist in your strategy. Ultimately, social media can help your brand get vital information about your industry at the click of a button. This can be done through statistics and analytics trend tools. A large following can also ensure that you have access to additional tools to examine detailed demographics of your customers in order to target niche markets for your products or services. Increase Traffic To Your Business’s Website Social media will help promote your brand by increasing traffic to your website! This is ideal for e-commerce websites to boost online purchases, as well as websites aimed at getting customers to enquire. This can be done by linking your website on different platforms to drive your potential customers to your site. Not only does it increase awareness but it also makes it easily accessible for your readers to find your web page. With social media, you are easily able to calculate your statistics and rankings. However, in order to ensure that you have a successful ranking, you need to keep up with ever-changing SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) requirements! These days, it is not enough to merely have a website and update a blog, one must stay active on social media platforms as well. As well as this, brands that share content on these platforms send out signals to search engines which then speaks to your brand’s integrity, validity and fidelity. Hence, it can improve your website SEO! Interested in improving your social media presence for your brand? B Online offers digital marketing services that will take your business or organisation to the next level! Contact us today.

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