Interactive branding is the need of the hour for small and medium businesses (SMBs). Studies indicate that SMBs are the backbone of the economy. However, with the thriving SMB industry, the only way to gain edge and turn the customers heads is by implementing a digital branding strategy that stands out.
With digital transformation, SMBs are booming. According to IBEF, SMBs increased by a CAGR of 18.5% during 2019-20.
On the flip side, the competition is stiff and intense. Running a small and medium business has never been a cakewalk. The first 5 years can be deciding on the success of an SMB. Many SMBs shut down in this time frame due to various reasons:
- Inability to understand and tune to the customer mindset.
- Ignoring to create a lasting impression by effective digital marketing and branding.
- Failure to adapt to change and envision futuristic demands.
Fortunately, a robust approach to creating online digital marketing and branding can help businesses overcome such challenges.
A well-grounded digital branding in place imparts competitive advantage to small and medium business owners:
- Interactive digital branding is the foundation to build trust with customers.
- Businesses can provide unparalleled customer service by leveraging digital.
Furthermore, customers research and understand a business primarily through digital marketing and branding.
However, businesses must identify the thin line between digital marketing and digital branding.
Digital marketing is an approach to selling through a digital medium, while digital branding is the art of establishing trust and providing more value to customers by leveraging digital.
This article guides you with an 8-step interactive digital branding strategy for SMBs.
Step #1: Identify your target customers
Before you embark on a digital branding strategy, create the ideal customer persona your business strives to serve. Gather end-to-end details about your target customers by impactfully using analytics.
Take the help of social media insights, Google Analytics, and Customer Survey reports to narrow down your customer persona. Be informed about their purchase preferences, age, income level, location, education, motivation, and other behavioral drivers that encourage them to close a successful sale.

Step #2: Invest in website and logo
The pulse of digital branding, as Paul Rand believes, design is the silent ambassador of your brand.
A logo is potent to create a perpetual impact on customers. History has it how reputed brands played with their logos to garner more customer trust.
Similarly, a website is the landing place for your customers when they search for your brand online. It must convey your business capabilities, values, and personality to customers.
An in-sync website and logo build customer trust. The logo-website duo is an indispensable combo for interactive branding.

Step #3: Elevate your brand with a unique value proposition
Why must customers prefer you over your competitors?
Clarify this with a compelling, catchy, simple, and straightforward value proposition statement.
Let it reflect the promise you assure to your customers. Make sure it reaches your customers by strategically showcasing it on your marketing creatives, website landing pages, marketing emails, and social media shares.
Remember, it is more important to sound human in your value proposition than to sound magniloquent.

Step #4: Leverage social media and SEO
According to HubSpot, 86% of consumers prefer an authentic and honest brand personality on social media. Besides, studies confirm that it takes 5 of 7 attempts to impress the audience.
The quickest and most effective way to accomplish this is through gaining more visibility by leveraging social media and SEO.
As a part of your digital marketing branding, comprehend the social channel where your target audience is the most active. Stay consistent with your social media marketing and create value-adding shares that solve your customer points.
Branding is a long-term game. To achieve this, SEO must be a part of your branding strategy. Besides being cost-effective compared to paid campaigns and other marketing approaches, SEO increases your chances of capturing the attention of global customers.

Step #5: Use analytics to provide value
Often, the reasons for business failure include the inability to provide value as per the dynamic customer preferences.
Predictive analytics helps overcome this challenge when establishing a digital marketing branding strategy. Analytics empowers businesses to:
- Adopt the optimal approach to increase the marketing funnel conversion rate and reduce the churn.
- Create tailor-made marketing strategies by analyzing customer experiences and pain points.

Step #6: Create consistent and value-adding content
The creation of consistent and quality content is the key to the successful branding of many trusted brands. Customers bond with a brand through the content on various digital platforms.
Website, social media, discussion forums, YouTube, Emails are effective channels to provide value-driven content to customers.
Various studies indicate that a well-driven content marketing strategy can impart an edge to small businesses over their counterparts. Investing in quality content to enrich your online branding in digital marketing is thus imperative.

Step #7: Adopt an omnichannel approach
Customers today are predominantly digital. They research for products and services on every digital platform possible.
Additionally, customers might visit a brand through any mode – app, search engine ads, organic results, website, social media, and customer support through chats, calls, and emails.
Businesses must be proactive to make their presence on every digital channel possible to ensure they won’t miss any chance of attracting customer attention.
Studies also indicate that customers are diverse in their digital device usage – laptops, tablets, desktops, and mobiles.
In other words, your website must be responsive to provide the ultimate browsing and shopping experience to your customers. Remember to always maintain your website with a fresh look. Inspect if it’s the time for a website revamp periodically.
As a whole, an all-comprehensive omnichannel approach in the digital marketing branding strategy is what small and medium businesses must never ignore. Expert marketers always vouched for the omnichannel approach as it is 90% effective in creating and retaining customers. Thus, it is an effort-demanding approach that assures promising results.

Step #8: Be socially vocal
The crux of banding is to create an ever-lasting impression on customers.
In cognizance with this, businesses must never ignore that customers perceive a brand holistically. The way it responds to current affairs and trends can convey a lot about the business persona.
Thus, maintaining an active voice on social concerns in a way that elevates your brand reputation is quintessential. It is an effective way to be your authentic self with your customers and create long-lasting relationships.
All the online branding in the digital marketing steps mentioned above helps create loyal customers and followers for your brand.
Don’t forget to value your customers’ voices and let them be your brand ambassadors through testimonials, success stories, and user-generated content.
With these steps mentioned above, you can build an interactive branding that lays a solid foundation for your brand growth.

Wrapping Up
A brand is a promise. An assurance that a business delivers to its customers. Digital marketing and branding are decisive for small and medium businesses to thrive.
The vital tip here is to be present wherever the customer might be. Make their buying journey clear and accessible with an easy-to-navigate impact-making website.
Let your logo speak volumes about your brand persona and the value you promise to your customer. Incorporate content and SEO in your omnichannel marketing approach to maximize your branding success rate.
At Pixielit Studios, we have helped hundreds of small and medium businesses leave an ever-lasting impact on customers with effective online branding in digital marketing. Please reach us at info@pixielit.com for end-to-end branding guidance and kickstart your branding journey today!