BrandIn is an initiative by the Rotaract in RID 3220 hosted collaboratively by the Rotaract Clubs of Colombo West, Jaffna, Royal Institute of Colombo and University of Kelaniya. This focuses on building brands for businesses utilizing websites to enable the participants to effectively learn how to implement brand strategies using websites. Three sessions were conducted; firstly, an introduction to branding using web-based platforms, followed by a session on writing blog articles effectively which were held virtually. These sessions were open to the general public. A final session exclusive to Rotaractors, incorporating everything learned during the first two sessions was held physically, where participants built their very own websites using WordPress from scratch.
Session 1
This initiative is brought into execution as an answer to the questions ‘what is website-based branding?’ and ‘why is significant importance and attention drawn towards it?’
The initial online session of BrandIn- quarter 01 was successfully conducted on the 16th of September 2022, at 5.00 p.m. via Zoom. This virtual session titled as ‘Introduction to Branding Using Web Based Platforms’ focused on a crucial and essential aspect which is web based technology which also plays a huge role in the modern era. The session was conducted by Mr. Supun Manoj Kumar, freelancing web developer at What Media Marketing Pvt Ltd.
What is the first trade name that comes into your mind when you think of buying a new mobile phone? This is branding! Then moving on to the next set of questions which are; what is personal branding? How does it contribute towards expanding your product and outshining competitors in the corporate world? How can we conduct branding to uplift our product and create a remarkable value for it? How can we build a brand for ourselves or for our company? The attendees of the first session of BrandIn received comprehensive answers to each and every question mentioned above.
It is mandatory to create a unique name for your product. Preparing a logo could make your product significantly outstanding and attractive for your customers as they could recognize your product easily among other trade names. Additionally, colours play a key role in branding as it catches the eye of the customer. Creating a unique name and a logo, having an excellent blend of colours only, is not sufficient. You must also achieve popularity for your product at the competitive market space. It requires utilizing marketing strategies, expanding and advertising of your product. For this highly influential purpose of branding your product, ‘Digital marketing’ is a well-defined, beneficial method to promote your product through social media platforms.
Having your own website illustrates a significant role as the first choice of a lot of customers is to explore websites in Google, regarding a product before actually purchasing it. Next the speaker elaborated on how to create a website without any coding knowledge. He mentioned WordPress as one of the best solutions. The resource person practically presented on how to create a website through WordPress and its designing tools by creating a website on the spot during the session.
Session 2
The second session of phase 1 of BrandIn was held on the 17th of September 2022. It focused on making websites performant and easily accessible to the targeted audience of a brand. The session was conducted by seasoned industry professionals, Rtr. Lukshan Bandara the CEO and Co-founder of CADD and Ms. Jessica Mathiasz a Senior Copywriter/ Project Manager at CADD Pvt. Ltd.
The session kicked off with the participants being given a glimpse of what content writing for a website is all about and the skills required to do it. The ability to research, write with style, knowledge of SEO and the drive to learn were highlighted as key skills needed to write content for an effective website. Participants learned that they do not need a degree or any other paper qualification to do this and they can learn all of it on the internet.
A comprehensive explanation of what SEO is and how one can utilize the algorithms of search engines to work in favour of their brand was provided during the session. In addition to that, understanding the requirements of the brand, researching the brand, researching associated keywords of the brand, and structure of the content were all explained with precision and clarity. Participants learned that search engines rank all websites and how they can utilize social media to promote their websites, thus increasing their rankings.
Participants were also given tips on how they can make their website/ blog more appealing to the target audience. The utilization of sections, headers, font choices, and visual elements was discussed during this segment. The presenters also shared useful tools and resourceful websites where one can learn to be a professional content writer.
The session was incredibly insightful and, participants from different backgrounds took home valuable information on various ways of adding value to their brands.
Session 3
The 3rd and concluding session of the three-fold BrandIn project was held on the 27th of September from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Royal Institute of Colombo premises with the attendance of 30+ Rotaractors. This physical session was primarily focused on enhancing the participants’ potential in building their own blogs on WordPress.
This session was aimed at young individuals/ entrepreneurs whose limited knowledge on brand exposure on e-platforms is restricting them from taking their businesses to the next level. Through participating in this project, they were able to grasp a comprehensive knowledge on how to market their brand online using the tools and technologies available at their disposal for free.
The session was conducted by Rtn. Andrew Jebaraj, the Founder and Managing Director at Readme Lanka Pvt. Ltd. and Director at Rocketeer Labs Pvt. Ltd. He was able to conduct an interactive session as all participants were present in-person on-site at the venue.
The participants were grouped according to the Clubs they were representing and were assigned the task of creating an account on the free hosting service. While that was in progress, Rtn. Jebaraj underlined the key points that should be considered when creating and maintaining a website, drawing attention to practical issues such as websites being vulnerable to hacking and cyber-attacks, while also emphasizing the need to have paid security systems to mitigate the issue. He guided all clubs through creating their very own website on WordPress.
Furthermore, he accentuated how a simple and effective domain name is the key to successful website engagements. By the end all the participating clubs were able to successfully launch their proxy websites with all the members armored with the ability to create websites that attract engagement and online traffic. Rtn. Jebaraj was ever so gracious and accommodating to share his contact details with the participants, so that they may reach out to him for any further clarifications or troubleshooting, bringing about the conclusion of the BrandIn project and ending on a high note. We would like to thank all our facilitators, participants and last but not the least our dedicated organizing committee for making this project a reality!
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