International Seminar “Digital Business vs conventional business” part 3 by Edy Jogatama Indonesia

STEKOM University is determined to improve the quality and reach of its academic activities to an international level. Various international academic activities continue to be held as an effort to improve the quality and academic reach of the institution. This time, STEKOM University held an international webinar entitled “Digital Business vs conventional business which is more efficient and strategic in the world”. The speakers in this webinar came from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Ethiopia.


In this section, we will discuss the material that has been delivered by Edy Jogatama who is a lecturer and head of the Graphic Design study program at STEKOM University. In his presentation, Edy used the title "The importance of digital branding in digital business". Although discussing in a business context, the material is very suitable for academics in the graphic design field, computer graphics, visual communication design, or the like.


At the beginning of his presentation, Edy explained the understanding of digital branding. According to him, digital branding is an effort to design and build your brand online with a digital platform. It can be through websites, applications, social media, and others. In the era of online communication, digital branding is one of the most sensible ways to convey the value of your products and build connections with customers. With digital branding, it will be easier for your business to show its existence in the digital space. Digital branding will also help you in carrying out various product marketing strategies.


The explanation then continued about the importance of digital branding. According to him, digital branding is important because it has many benefits for building a long-term online business identity. Especially with the many new business opportunities that have sprung up, you need to be aware of the increasingly fierce competition.

Benefits of digital branding:
1. Build interaction with customers.
2. Make your branding memorable
3. Highlight your branding.
4. Expand the network.
5. Make your business viral.


Next is an explanation of the digital branding strategy. The first digital branding strategy is a logo. LOGO The logo should be the only image that the customer can associate with the branding. Just look at the bitten apple logo, you will know that the product brand is Apple. Also see the logo with the play button image, you know exactly it is the YouTube logo.

Logo is very important because it is the visual identity of a brand. With the help of a logo, your product will be easier to recognize and remember. The logo will also be the main identity across all the platforms and marketing channels you use. That's why it's important to create a logo that reflects the personality and soul of a brand.

Things that need to be considered in a logo are text, images, and design styles. Deciding whether to create a logo in the form of text or images is your choice. If you choose a logo in the form of an image, avoid overly complex shapes. Trust that the simpler the logo, the easier it will be for your audience to remember it. Now that you know whether you want an image or text logo, it's time to decide on a style. Which style fits your branding best? Is it modern minimalism, vintage retro, or energetic fun? Remember to always adapt it to the purpose of the brand.


The next important thing to consider in the log is size and color scheme. Your logo should look good in a variety of sizes and in a variety of materials: t-shirts, posters, billboards, jackets, and so on. It's also important to remember that digital platforms require special sizing and imaging. You have to design a logo that can look good for your profile picture, cover photo, email header, app buttons, and more. A color scheme can make your logo stand out and create an atmosphere of its own. Determine what color will be the standard for your product or service branding material. Don't forget, adjust it to the character of your brand.


The next digital branding strategy is a website. If a logo is a symbol of your business, then a website is a digital place that functions as a storefront. When customers want to know more about a product or service: general information, hours of service, who is behind the scenes, and so on, they will look it up on the internet. They will type your branding name on Google, and hope to find your website in search engines.


There are several things you should pay attention to when creating a website for your business, namely:

DOMAIN NAME.

HOSTING.

WEB DESIGN.

STRUCTURE.

SAFETY AND COMFORT.


The next digital branding strategy is brand messaging. The brand message is what your business wants to convey to potential customers. For example, if you're opening a coffee shop with local farmers' coffee beans, it's a good idea to mention that in your branding message. Your message must be in line with what your business does and your business mission. In addition, do not forget to always focus on the wants and needs of customers.


A successful branding message must be able to answer the following three questions:
What does your business offer?
What does your business stand for?
Why is your business important?
Several ways to create a memorable branding message in such a crowded market. The key is to find something unique to make your product or service memorable.


For this reason, the following points should be noted:

Define characteristics.
Make the audience curious.
Use jargon.
Define style.

Branding messages are conveyed to the audience online. So you have to follow what is trending on the internet. For example, through memes, GIFs, animations, or whatever is trending.


The next branding strategy conveyed by Edy is social media. Almost everyone, maybe even your grandma back home, has social media. Since its emergence, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on have indeed filled most of the sides of human life. So, you can take advantage of the role of social media for digital branding to attract more customers. You can customize each post about your brand with social media platforms:

Instagram posts.
Twitter.
Facebook.

The next strategy is online advertising. Online advertising can be used as a very powerful digital branding because it is more scalable and has a variety of formats. Currently, there are lots of media to advertise in the digital world, such as: search engine ads, display ads, social media ads, Google Adwords.


An equally important strategy is content marketing. It's not easy to keep customers loyal to your brand, and keep them coming back to buy your product or service. That's why bonding is so important. Content marketing is a powerful way to create a bond between your audience and your product. Marketing content is also what makes digital branding more human. While digital marketing emphasizes selling, content marketing focuses more on engaging your audience with your content.


The last strategy that Edy came up with may be a new technique that is developing in the digital world, namely influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that uses people with large social media followings to post about your branding.

Even though influencers are paid to talk about your branding, they will create content according to their style and creativity. In this way, of course, the task of the marketing team becomes a little lighter. You can't just pick the right influencers. You have to choose influencers that match your branding.


Edy describes six types of influencers based on the number of followers as follows:

Micro is an influencer with around 10,000 followers.
MACROS is an influencer with more than 100K followers.
PREMIUM is the Top influencer with the most number of followers.
Celebrity or INSTAGRAM CELEBRITY is a public figure who uses Instagram as a product promotion medium.

YOUTUBER works by uploading videos to YouTube about information, including product information.
* BLOGGER provides information about a product through written content on their blog.