10 Don’ts for Digital Branding

Ruby’s Pseudo recently published a nice collection of insights on marketing to teens, and brands trying to reach youth in the digital world.

1. Don’t be too flippant and don’t give youth the basic facts they’re looking for; i.e. - What it is? Where can I get it? How much does it cost? etc.
2. Be approachable and accessible to youth.
3. Don’t redirect visitors to another site.
4. Don’t use background music. Youth can see through a false ‘hip’ image.
5. Don’t create a Facebook profile for your brand.
6. Don’t target the emotionally vulnerable with insincere “‘Single? Broken-Hearted?”" questions.
7. Don’t target a small age range, allow your brand to grow with its users.
8. Don’t blatantly rip and appropriate youth-produced content onto your site. This once again presents a false image, of which youth can see through.
9. Don’t use pop-up advertising. It irritates rather than entices.
10. Don’t push the boundaries of social network interaction.