Build a Web Hosting Brand that Sells - Internet Brand Recognition Basics
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Image is your hosting company’s identity. Some customers have a hard time telling the differences between different brands of web hosting, you need to help them. Make your business both distinctive and easily found.
First, it’s business sense that your company should not be a “web host.” There are hundreds of identical web hosts providing vanilla, generic service. Competing with a generic business model is extraordinarily difficult compared to specializing in a profitable or untapped market. Be a “dedicated web host” or provide “affordable hosting” or “hosting for college students” or even the “best host for ecommerce.” You should have defined a demographic before you even start. If you don’t stand for anything you can’t be recognized for anything.
This demographic will help you define other important parts of your business, give it personality. If you’re building a hosting business for college students, you will know to form the site’s layout and graphics with youthful or fun themes. Your site could be designed around images of students socializing or partying, if you want to go the route of looking like a social center. For ecommerce hosting, pick something entrepreneurs want to see. You could photograph somebody reclining in an office chair next to a giant safe. Cheesy, yes, but it makes a point.
This personality has probably given you ideas for a logo already. Just brainstorming about specific your market segment can stir up a lot of images for a logo. The trouble is picking one. Make sure the logo will appeal to people you are trying to attract.
Avoid basic logos that are a jumble of triangles and circles. As tempting as geometry might be, use something more memorable and that has more personality. Many find animals helpful in designing logos. Since the visitor to your site cannot see you in person, the logo is what identifies and defines you. Hopefully, it can provide a level of trust to the browser. After you have fashioned something or hah a graphic designer Photoshop you an eye-catching image, be sure it is displayed prominently on the top of all your pages and in all your ads. Repetition forms your image.
Your logo is distinctive and will form an image for people to trust, but you also want them to know who else they can trust through your business. Use brand association to show what other recognizable companies are working with you or that you are using. For example, if the hosting company uses or specializes in Microsoft technologies, be sure that visitors to your website can see that visually. Microsoft’s logo on your page will help to make you look trustworthy. Perhaps your business hosts a significant client. Provided they let you, put their logo on your site declaring that you are the proud to host their site.
Your company could also benefit from a tagline or slogan. Sure, your slogan will never be as famous and recognized as “Just do it,” but it helps to define your attitude. You logo probably can’t portray everything you want to be recognized for, and a short piece of text can help here. Keep it short and simple, and make sure it helps to build on your website’s personality. This should also be used on all your pages, not to mention your ads.
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