How to build a brand online - Lohmann lecture

Unpacking the display advertising factor, Lohmann said: "Beyond the click you need to create a presence, momentum, consideration, ubiquity and awareness online.

"You need quality creative (rich media, video, mobile), spend more, shift paradigm and expectations online and target [smart media schedules]."

Making an emotional connection

In this age of information abundance, where the consumer has so much to digest and so many choices and very little time, Lohmann said a great brand needs to be credible, reliable, stable, consistent and transparent, and deliver messages clearly.

He added: "Great brands form relationships, motivate buyers, make an emotional connection, cement user loyalty, and are innovative and visible, and deliver value, service and quality."

Furthermore, Lohmann said companies' PR need to be proactive, aggressive, and increase their positive messaging, adding that the benefits of online PR strategy include unlimited space, measurable and tracking and a larger community of publishers (bloggers, boutique publishers and aggregators).

"What do you do about PR? Test you PR agency if it is digital savvy and request active digital reports," he advised.

Handling reputation management

Regarding the online reputation management (ORM), Lohmann said an effective ORM brings confidence and sales. "Do you know what people are saying about your brand? Are you ready for a crisis?" he asked. "People make mistakes - that is life where humans are involved. But how you handle it may make a huge difference."

He urged companies to engage an ORM service, engage positively with all the complainants and resolve issues. "Be humble, apologise. Pre-empt by not breaking brand promises and understand that your customers are not fools. There are a lot of things people are saying on Bizcommmunity.com when commenting about issues.

"Don't think consumers are fools. They know what 3G and 4G are, so if you will put messages out there, be prepared to face the consequences."

Build a community

On social media, Lohmann advised companies to leverage the network effect on influencers, provide attention and value and customer service, and build a community with trusted ambassadors. "If you are one of those un-sexy boring brands, don't be angry if people out there don't want to be your friend. Develop a content product that matches the taste of your friends."

Furthermore, Lohmann emphasised the critical need of search engine marketing and search engine optimisation. "If your search can feature in the top three, you are saving millions and millions of rands in advertising.

"You must know how to write content, and you will be found if you do it right. Get your house in order, recruit experts internally, act (spend money on search marketing) and save.

Be relevant online

Speaking about promoting brands online, Voice of Wits manager Michael Smurthwaite said the youth community is nowadays living online and consuming everything online.

"That is where they search for you before they look for you. If you are a retailer, I visit your website and find it irrelevant, you are wasting my time.

"Create synergies between your different media campaigns. It is irrelevant if these various channels don't talk to each other," said Smurthwaite.

The brand summit, hosted by CompuBrand in collaboration with Microsoft SA and Kagiso Media, brought together brand specialists, communicators and marketers.