Brand key to search and social performance

The fundamentals of brand building have not changed in the last decade, according to Daniel Benton, general manager Australia at global performance and media agency, Neo Media World.

Benton told Digital Nation Australia that while there are more channels in today’s environment, the fundamentals of marketing still apply.

“Segmentation, what is the audience you're going after? What does the market look like? Targeting which of those segments you’re going after. What is your position? That still absolutely applies,” said Benton.

“Yes, there might be more channels that you can play in like newer channels, like say TikTok, for example, Snap, thinking about getting into in-game environments, the metaverse, but those principles still apply.”

For businesses to improve their reach and gain traction through search engines and social media advertising, Benson said brand is critical.

“The former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt came out circa 2010 and said, ‘Brands are one of the factors we use to actually sort and determine who deserves to be on page one’. If Google can determine that you are an authority, say for example, in clothing like The Iconic or financial services like Finder, that's going to help you to show up. It's going to give you topical authority,” he said.

Benton said brand recognition will create stronger performance across search and social, improve click-through rates, drive better engagement and ultimately drive trust in the organisation.

“You can get a transactional e-commerce site so far with product and delivery and all the kind of functional best practice, but to build an enduring e-commerce business, you've got to build a brand. And that requires two-speed marketing, short term performance, long term brand building,” he said.

“If you look at some of the juggernauts of e-commerce, whether it's travel someone like Airbnb, eBay, Amazon, they've all got very, very sophisticated digital marketing, whether it's media, SEO, CRM, but they also spend a lot on brand, to build brand preference.”