What We Can Learn About Branding From A Popular TV Show

Do you wait anxiously on Sunday evenings for the newest episode of The Walking Dead? If not, I am positive you’ve at least heard of the show. This is a result of The Walking Dead’s expert branding and impressive digital presence. They enforce their branding through multiple digital avenues such as; social media, email campaigns (they cleverly capture email addresses from giveaways on their website) and their innovative 2-screen experience: ‘Story Sync’. With digital marketing the possibilities to strengthen your company’s brand are limited only by your creativity. Let’s dive into a few different methods and see how you can benefit from them.

1. A Carefully Crafted Website

Your website should be inviting and plainly state how you can help your visitors. Create a strong connection with them by highlighting your benefits, past customer experiences and interactive features. Don’t get carried away with clutter, keep the layout of your site simple to encourage browsing. Keep these facts in mind when developing your site:

• Smart use of relevant positive/negative/long-tail keywords are important to finding new customers – 15% of Google searches have never been searched for before. (Source)
• 60% of all Internet activity in the US originates from mobile devices (source).  Our previous blog post regarding Responsive Web Design explains why optimizing your website for all screen sizes should be at the top of your branding priorities list.

2. Engaging Social Media 

Social Media is an amazing resource when branding your company. These days it seems that everyone and their mother, even grandmother, accesses some form of social media every day. We are no longer limited to expensive television commercials and billboards. You are literally right in their hands and in their homes. Here are a couple of statistics that demonstrate social media’s importance:

• 71% of companies planned to increase their digital marketing budgets this year. (Source: Webbiquity)
• 78% of companies said they had dedicated social media teams in 2015, up from 67% in 2012. (Source: iScoop)

3. Informative Blogs

Blogs are a way for you to connect with your customer base and develop your branding as well. Use your blog to build trust by giving access to helpful information and updating readers about what is going on with your brand. In addition, your blog can be a convenient companion to your social media posts. In 2015 content marketing (blogging) generated three times as many leads as traditional outbound marketing, but cost 62% less. (Source)

4. Email for All

Email is another proven branding method, from e-newsletters and drip campaigns to promotional updates. When using email as a branding tool, pack more power behind your keystrokes with messages that are formatted for mobile and desktop users alike. This makes your messages easier to view no matter where the reader may be. Remember, when a visitor goes to your website through a link in your email, they should instantly recognize a correlation between your website’s branding and the email. Consistency is key across all channels. Here are a few eye-opening statics regarding email.

• Only 8% of companies have an email marketing team, despite the fact it is often rated as the platform the delivers the highest ROI of any digital marketing channel. (Source)
• Almost half– 48%–of all emails are opened on mobile devices. Yet 39% of marketers say they have no strategy for mobile email. (Source)

So just as the immensely popular TV show, The Walking Dead uses a variety digital channels to expand their branding, you can too. All of the above listed mediums and more are within your grasp, why not make the most of them?