Dr Terri-Karelle Reid. Photograph by O’Neil Grant.

BitDepth 1372 for September 19, 2022

For Golda Lee-Bruce, Communications Specialist at the IADB, building an online brand begins with the story that’s told about it.

That story should, most effectively, follow the classic narrative arc; the status quo experiences a disruption that forces change, creating a new reality.

Lee-Bruce was speaking at Chamber’s DigiMark conference at the end of June, a two-day event that introduced small and micro businesses to the digital environments they must adapt to for post-pandemic success.

The event itself was a bit of a mixed bag, tossing digital speculation and advertising agency relevance into a mix of conversations that often seemed ahead of the real-world ambitions of the intended audience.

But there were elements in these discussions that will bring value to the tiny businesses normally outside the scope of the TT Chamber of Commerce that its Nova Committee is working to reach.

Define a goal.

One clear directive from almost every presenter was for businesses to be absolutely clear about what they wanted to achieve with their digital strategy.

Advertising agencies begin by asking their clients to codify their goals using a standard document before thinking about a campaign.

Lee-Bruce posed questions that digital businesses should be ready to answer.

“Where do people go to find what they want to buy?” she asked.

“What will they find about you? What’s the story that your online presence is telling? Modern marketing is all about the story you can tell about your product or service and that story should be present in all your communications.”

Start with yourself.

In a very small business, identity is usually shaped by its leader. In larger businesses, a business persona usually emerges from the decisions the company makes and the positions it takes.

“People don’t seem to understand that we are walking billboards for our brand,” said Dr Terri-Karelle Reid, author of My Brand Compass.

“Be very clear about who you are and what you do and be unapologetic about it. What is your value proposition? How you view yourself must translate into what people perceive about you. The personal brand journey is a long one, so prepare for a marathon.”

Decide what to say and where.

Keron Rose, a consultant to entrepreneurs entering the digital space urged businesses to anchor their strategy using a website under their control to manage information about the business and its product or service.

He emphasised the importance of ensuring that websites are mobile responsive.

Subira Willock, Creative Storytelling Lead at Meta encouraged marketers to use more video as part of their strategy.

“Digital video consumption quadrupled to four hours per day during the pandemic,” Willock said.

On YouTube alone, there are more than a billion hours of video with more than 250,000 hours added each day.

According to Professor Anil Kokaram who spent seven years working with the YouTube video processing team, 80 per cent of internet traffic is video.
“Small businesses must be clear about what want to put out into the world and what problems they are solving,” said Ingrid Riley of Silicon Caribe.

“Consumers want to align themselves with companies that share their values.”

Be careful who represents your brand.

“Influencer marketing is an evolution of brand ambassadorship into the digital space,” said Baidawi Assing of Eat ah Food, a popular local cooking channel on YouTube.

“I don’t identify as an influencer and don’t engage in influencer marketing, though I acknowledge that I have influence in the space I work in. I would not encourage anyone to be an influencer. Be passionate about what you are doing.”

“There is a tendency to drift to the popular, rather than engaging with the individuals who are reaching the right segment of people.”

“There is a difference between having a community and being popular,” said Leah Marville, a Barbadian model working in the US.

“You can tell the difference between someone who has a captive community audience and engages with them back and forth, They have repeat visitors, as opposed to mass attention.”

Focus on the future.

“I hope Caribbean people don’t think we are going to snap back to pre-pandemic as if it was a really good thing,” said Riley.

“Having a spirit of experimentation and being open to learning new things creates new opportunities to grow the business and to create new products and services. Entrepreneurs should see these changes as an opportunity. If you want to be successful, you have no other choice.”