To stand out among the competition in an increasingly digital world, a company’s own digital brand or footprint needs to be unique and memorable. Here are 11 critical elements your organization should consider when developing a digital brand identity that is sure to get you noticed.

What’s one thing about your digital brand/footprint that sets you apart, and how can other people emulate that point?

1. Graphic Design

Our company likes to experiment with our graphic design to stand out from other brands and give users a fun experience while on our site. It’s important to design custom graphics for your brand so your branding is unique and unlike anything any other business has. – Jared Atchison, WPForms

2. Functionality

We don’t care about the design of our page. We care that it works. We don’t write fluffy content. We create straight-to-the-point original research. Our emails are at times as short as one line because they contain only the essential. If you look at the websites of some of the Fortune 500 companies, you will notice that the majority sell and advertise most pragmatically. – Joey Bertschler, bitgrit

3. In-Depth Reviews

We consider ourselves to be at the forefront of in-depth reviews for a majority of products and/or services in our niche (personal finance). Since almost all consumers research online reviews before deciding on a purchase, we feel that has improved our digital brand and footprint. Other businesses should consider following suit because it’s worked well for us. – Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

4. Combining Personal and Business Brands

I have worked on developing my personal brand alongside my business ventures. They’re related, but not exactly the same. I try to keep them somewhat separate, but when they intersect, it’s done in a thoughtful, meaningful way. People can emulate that through a careful curation of content and ideas through personal channels that are adjacent to their business, but not only about their business. – Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster

5. Being Relentlessly Helpful

My company positions itself as being relentlessly helpful. We give away most of our best information to people because we want to help everyone succeed. We listen to our customers and prospects and then create content that addresses their questions and concerns. Only after assisting them to overcome their obstacle do we offer our own products as a solution. – Josh Kohlbach, Wholesale Suite

6. A Focus on Talent

We play for the long term. Basically being in a graphic design industry, it’s imperative for our company to have well-trained and updated talents on board all the time. It’s easy to get a few contracts and make a quick buck, but if you’re planning to achieve high goals you need to prepare yourself for the long run. – Kelly Richardson, Infobrandz

7. Product Presentation

I believe that the way we offer our products sets us apart from many other companies. Instead of lumping together features and programs that our customers don’t use, we offer a plan that lets visitors pick the exact products and features they want prior to their purchase. You can emulate this strategy by surveying your audience and finding your most popular standalone features and products. – John Brackett, Smash Balloon LLC

8. Being Product-Focused

I think what sets us apart in a market where there are plenty of plugins is that we are really product-focused. We rely on our product to do the talking the most. All our marketing and SEO strategies are built around what exists. It’s pretty clear that we have a product that people can use to achieve their goals and is what we give our best to. – Blair Williams, MemberPress

9. Simplicity

Our business grew and continues to thrive because we are so careful about making our audience happy. Our style guides, our Facebook groups and every product update we make are all about keeping it simple for people who don’t know how to code. I believe it’s our clear understanding of what our customers need that shows in our work, making us different. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

10. Being Customer Success Focused

I think the fact that we focus on customer success sets us apart as a brand. I’ve encountered many businesses with lackluster customer support and no customer success team. These two factors can cause your customer retention to plummet. Instead of focusing solely on sales, we spend tons of time looking at ways we can improve customer success long after someone buys a product from our website. – Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights

11. Audience Engagement

Engage with your audience. Far too often, business owners have a “post it and forget it” relationship with their social following and digital brand. To stand out, I always take a minute here and there to respond to comments and questions and to check in with my professional network. I offer helpful advice wherever possible, which helps establish my position as an authority within my industry. – Tyler Gallagher, Regal Assets