Developing an online brand can be much like assuming a new identity, which in many ways is exactly the case. It is not so much who you or your business 'was' but what you want them to 'be' and it is solely up to you to firmly establish your new identity through the brand building process. The coolest part is you can actually select your brand identity, who or what it is you want to be in the eyes of others , and then systematically go about reinforcing it. Care however needs to be taken when choosing this new image since it has to be something you can consistently 'live' up to in both words and deeds! On the other hand if your 'selected' brand identity is a comfortable fit you will find it to be the best online marketing decision you made! Once establish it will make all your promotional efforts that much easier!

Here are 5 steps you will need to take during the brand building process that if done correctly will prove to be the best online marketing decision you made!

Define Your Niche

In so many words here you will want and need to define your target audience or niche since without this focus any additional efforts will be mostly wasted. Much like shooting at a target, unless you take aim first, you can pretty much expect miserable results! After determining the market and audience that will be the focus of your brand building efforts you move on to the next step!

Determine Your Angle

Now you determine how it is that you want to be perceived by your target audience or within your chosen niche. What is it about you or your business that makes you unique or better defines who you are or what it is you represent! Is it your attitude, reliability, helpfulness or the quality of the products or services you offer? Select your most predominant 'trait or feature' allowing this selection to give you direction in determining the brand identity most suitable for your purposes!

Refine Your Image

Now you want to give the brand identity you feel best represents the uniqueness of you or your business an 'identifiable' face or image. This is something that when people see it they will come to associate it with you and it will reflect the 'uniqueness' for which you want to become known! The use of a logo, a picture or even a symbol is helpful provided it serves to reinforce your image! To choose something that goes counter to what you represent would only make the brand building process more difficult and less effective. One other note is to always be mindful that the impression you give off is a positive one!

Expand Your Exposure

Upon determining the identity that best suits your needs and a visual image of some sort that helps to reinforce your brand identity its time to go public. At every opportunity you will take the right actions or make use of your logo to help reinforce your new image. Making use of social media and networks sites is highly recommended as is distributing content due to the viral capabilities these strategies offer. You want to be sure the internet community is aware of who you are and what you represent!

Maintain Consistency & Visibility

The name of the game when brand building is repetition and consistency and this applies to how you interact with others as well. The content you publish, the sites you build and the actions you take all must be consistent with the new identity you are trying to establish! When everything is said and done what you are actually doing is conditioning people to see or regard you or your business in a certain way. Focus on keeping fresh content flowing to your blog and 'show up' routinely at social sites all the while being mindful of being consistent as to how you represent yourself or your business! You want to 'stay in front' of people since this is how you will reinforce and establish your new identity!

Your online brand allows you to choose the way in which others perceive either you or your business. It also makes it infinitely easier to stand out from the 'masses' but care should be taken when choosing your new brand identity! The brand building process necessary fro establishing your new image requires a repetitive and consistent reinforcement of your selected image. This makes it all the more important to select a brand identity which will be easy for you to live up to since the process will be ongoing. By choosing an image that is a 'comfortable' fit and following the steps reviewed above will makes the entire process easier and more effective. Soon you will come to realize that establishing this new image was probably the best online marketing decision you made as you begin the experience the many benefits it offers!