The Role of Branding in Digital Marketing: Brand Identity, Storytelling and Reputation Management

Think about the traits you love about your best friend or a family member. Maybe they’re engaging and fun, or you admire their strong work ethic. Perhaps they have a signature phrase they use when they’re excited about something, or you can always count on them to listen when something upsets you. There’s something that captivates you about them—and that encourages you to maintain the relationship.

Now, apply that concept to the companies you admire. While businesses aren’t people, their marketing leaders use branding to showcase traits and experiences they believe will attract a loyal and enthusiastic customer base. Essentially, branding is the personalization of a company. It creates a defined identity to help the business stand out from the competition and resonate with its desired audience and potential customers.¹

Branding in digital marketing involves using various online platforms—social media, email, websites and online ads—to personalize a company and strengthen relationships with customers. Let’s explore the pivotal role of brand identity in marketing.

An organization’s brand identity is the image it portrays to its customers.² It includes the company’s values, mission, beliefs and other traits. The goal of developing a brand identity is to help your targeted audience relate to and connect with the organization.²

Establishing a robust online brand presence helps cement your organization in the minds and hearts of your followers. The more your target audience sees what matters to your organization—its values and mission—the more likely you are to resonate with that audience.²

One of the best ways to demonstrate your organization’s branding is through storytelling in marketing. Everyone loves a good story–whether it’s found in a news clip, a book, a TV show, or a movie. Use marketing storytelling techniques to connect with members of your audience on the topics they care about, whether it’s through personal feelings, opinions, current events, or your products.

Before someone opens their wallet and decides to buy something from a company they’re unfamiliar with, they want to know it’s trustworthy. Of course, trust doesn’t happen overnight—it takes time to develop. Branding is a key way to solidify trust with your audience. Use it to define your company’s mission, set expectations, and create content that aligns with your brand’s values and to build a strong brand reputation.⁴ The more customers learn about your organization—and the more frequently they interact with it—the more likely they are to trust you.⁴

Brand reputation management is a strategic process that monitors how clients perceive your organization.⁵ Through various techniques, brands seek to protect the company’s online reputation on social media, review platforms and search engines.⁵

Some brand strategies in marketing include responding to social media comments, engaging directly with clients who contact your business, taking action when a customer leaves a negative review, and running positive PR campaigns.⁵

Effective branding requires consistency across all digital marketing channels. Experienced marketing managers know how important it is to exhibit the same core message concerning an organization’s values and mission across every online platform it uses. A cohesive messaging strategy helps build trust and solidify your brand’s online reputation with customers, which will help you build a loyal customer base over time.

Most organizations use content marketing strategies to help attract and retain a loyal customer base. Content marketing involves sharing articles, podcasts, videos, images, emails and other types of information with your audience.⁶ It aids in solidifying your organization’s credibility and expertise in your market.⁶ A well-developed content marketing strategy supports brand awareness, leading to customer loyalty and retention.⁶

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a combination of techniques used to increase your website’s search rankings. Some SEO strategies include using website elements and keywords to enhance your website’s visibility, obtaining backlinks from other reputable websites, and ensuring your business is easy to find for local customers.⁷ You can incorporate branding into your SEO strategy.⁷ For instance, you might target specific keywords that are related to your company’s mission or to showcase your brand’s personality or values with your Google Maps listing.

Social media is an ideal way to organically engage with your audience. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and TikTok offer a free space for your brand online. On these platforms, organizations can put their creativity to work and share posts that align with their brand messaging strategies. Social media is also effective for real-time customer engagement. You can directly reply to your followers’ comments and messages, showing that you value their feedback and care about their opinions.

Branding is essential to any e-commerce business, particularly those that operate in competitive markets. It helps an organization differentiate itself from its competitors and develop authentic connections with its customers. Marketers use e-commerce branding techniques to display the organization’s values, voice and identity. For instance, an e-commerce company selling educational children’s toys might use a branding strategy that conveys an appreciation for learning.

To evaluate the effectiveness of your branding strategy, consider establishing a few key performance indicators (KPIs) to benchmark your performance.⁸ Brand sentiment and customer engagement are especially useful KPIs for branding.⁸ Brand sentiment KPIs track references to your organization across digital channels and whether they’re positive or negative.⁸ You can track customer engagement levels with content you share via email, social media and your website.

Google regularly shares examples of case studies in digital brand marketing, including one concerning Fiat, the Italian auto manufacturer.⁹ When it launched the 500X Crossover, it partnered with YouTube to create a memorable ad that increased the search volume for the 500X model by 230%.⁹ The ad also increased brand awareness among 35- to 44-year-olds by 23%.⁹

As technology continues to evolve, so will digital branding strategies. Marketing and brand strategy professionals must stay abreast of changing trends and implement them if they present an opportunity for their organization.

William & Mary is here to support marketing specialists with higher-education opportunities. Our Online Master of Science in Marketing program includes courses in branding strategy, digital brand storytelling and campaign optimization. The program curriculum is designed to provide you with a deep understanding of the role that the digital and global world play in the field and will prepare you to lead in this ever-evolving industry.

To learn more, schedule a call with one of our admissions outreach advisors today.