Brand awareness represents how familiar your target audience is with your brand and how well they recognize it. Brands with high brand awareness are generally referred to as ‘trending,’ ‘buzzworthy,’ or simply ‘popular.’ Establishing brand awareness is valuable when marketing and promoting your company and products, especially in the early stages of a business. Source.
By creating brand awareness, you can cast a wide net across your audience of potential buyers.
Why should marketers be investing more time and money in brand awareness?
This is essential because it is how you can get your audience to feel comfortable purchasing with you; it keeps them coming back and helps bring in a larger audience. Brand awareness is what allows your audience to understand you. If they are happy and comfortable, it’s more likely than not that they will share this with their social network.
89% of B2B marketers think brand awareness should be the most crucial goal, which means that how simply a customer recognizes your business’ name, service, or product is how brand awareness creates affinity.
You recognize brands in the store, at the gym, or on the bus. Brands you like, dislike or have neutral feelings on. You head on over and choose which brand you want the most for a reason.
Is it because of the quality, the labeling, and the product reviews?
The labeling of certain brands often influences my choice. Occasionally, it's because someone in my social circle has had a good experience with a particular brand, which may lead me to check out their reviews; other times, I want to learn more.
Either way, those products use brand awareness which makes them who they are, to create success and bring in an audience.
How can you increase your customer base and sales if your target audience doesn't know or trust you?
This list will help you better understand the ways you can start increasing your brand awareness today while allowing your business to grow and change continually.
Presenting your brand's mission statement to new audiences can be a compelling elevator pitch for your brand. You can also use it to determine whether upcoming projects align with your overall brand mission. Your brand's mission should clearly state what its objectives are, its purpose, and how it plans to serve its audience.
If you need inspiration (we all need a little, or a lot, at some point), look at what other companies in your industry have made their mission statement. Make a list of questions that you want your brand mission to answer. What are the values of my brand? How is my brand different from competitors? Who is my customer?
Essential tip: It won’t hurt getting everyone from your team in on this. It will help strengthen the team allowing everyone to feel valued when involved-which is key when making that great team.
A clearly defined mission statement will enable you to tie everything your brand does to that mission. This will give the reader an idea of what your brand does and how it can make an impact. If you have a clear mission for your brand, you will be able to identify your target audience quickly.
When you know your audience, you will find that the content you produce and the items you sell relate to them. This can boost conversations and improve customer relationships.
Take it upon yourself to find out what makes you stand out from the crowd. What makes your brand different from those similar to you? Use this to draw people closer to you to stick with your brand.
Identifying your target audience will ensure that everything you do resonates with the people who matter most to your success - your leads and customers. Your audience will be more loyal to your brand over time if you foster solid and long-term relationships with your business.
Listen as Manage Inbound's CEO, Keith Gutierrez, shares his thoughts on creating awareness successfully.
We find that this works because often, people do not want the same thing-often, they are looking for something or someone close to the brand they are currently loyal to but open for a change, looking to get out of the ‘norm.
A brand that stands out to me is Target. It is fun and creative and keeps up to date with what is happening in their communities worldwide. Other examples of companies that have a high level of brand awareness:
See any that you recognize right away? Most of us can take a glimpse of these brands and quickly identify them. Using the right content, eye-catching images, and a distinct tone/voice in your content, you can develop the brand awareness you are looking for.
Take a look at this Brand Assessment Tool to help get you started.
Need a little more guidance….According to HubSpot, here is a list of steps you can take to get to know your audience:
A brand awareness consumer survey allows sales and marketing teams to understand better how consumers perceive their brand, and they can use this data to target their audiences better. Like many surveys, structure your survey clearly to minimize any unnecessary confusion.
And although you want consumers to choose and identify your brand over another, it can be tacky to mark your brand as “superior” to another brand. Regarding what questions to ask, remember that creating good survey questions will get you helpful consumer insights.
But what makes a “good” survey question?
According to Pollfish, a “good” survey question is:
A target audience survey is ideal for determining how effective marketing efforts have been for a brand. The target audience can be broad or specific depending on the brand's maturity, whether the survey is being conducted in a newly developed market or product launch.
Essential tip: your questions and their order should remain neutral in tone and logical order.
Consumer surveys allow you to directly ask customers questions without using company metrics or any other type of qualitative data that may be programmed to answer the questions that matter most. Today, you need to ask if you want to know how your consumers feel about a particular product or service.
There are many surveying technologies available that are becoming increasingly useful and convenient. Google Surveys, SurveyMonkey, Pollfish, and Audience are just a few.
Google Surveys makes it easy for marketers, entrepreneurs, and data scientists to run surveys, getting results within three days. Using screening and targeting options, start with a non-targeted study, and ask increasingly complex questions.
Today, video is everywhere. Video content is engaging, making it an excellent way for you to show off who you are and what your brand can offer your audience. You can choose which method works best for you with various ways to share videos.
With brand video content, you can tell your story and paint a picture of your brand, products, and company. Telling your story is another excellent way to build and establish trust with your audience.
People love videos.
You know there have been times you have been caught up watching endless videos on cats, athletes, cake decorators, and the list goes on.…we have all been there.
Video is a format that has been widely adopted and embraced because of its ability to engage users for long periods for various purposes. With some of the most popular social platforms today being Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, and Facebook, video can help you share your brand and who you are in a way that text alone cannot do.
Do you have an opinion about something happening in your industry? Make a video about it! It can be fun! With resources like Wistia, you can find a place you feel comfortable. Do not forget social platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Everyone loves a good story. An honest way for you to connect with your audience. Sharing a personal experience on how your brand became what it is today can help connect you to your ideal audience and is a great way to catch people's attention.
What makes a good story?
You can break the term “storytelling” down:
We are telling stories every day, whether we recognize them or not.
Why not share these stories and turn them into an impactful way to connect with your audience?
For more on the power of storytelling and its essential elements, look at our blog, 19 Marketing Trends You Need to Know for 2022.
Research has shown that people remember information that has been turned into a story “up to 22 times more than facts alone.”
Building brand awareness through storytelling is an innovative and effective way to let your audience know who you are and remember you. People often feel connected through shared experiences and stories. Tell a story. Relate to your audience honestly and compassionately, and find ways to develop emotion.
Check out this Ultimate Guide from Storysoft to learn more about what it means to write a good story, and sell your brand.
Even though blogging for another website may seem backward, you can find great success here. With guest blogging, you can reach a new audience, build credibility for your brand and increase your SEO.
This can include guest appearances on podcasts, live events, etc. Through guest blogging, you can reach readers through an established platform. You can increase your credibility and drive more traffic to the blog and your business by using another person's blog to communicate with potential clients.
Take a few minutes and get inspired with one of Manage Inbound’s blogs, Blog Post Writing Secrets to Convert Leads Today, for more practical blog post writing tips.
If you haven't tried guest blogging yet, you should. It is a win-win situation for everyone.
At Manage Inbound, we practice what we preach; Listen as Manage Inbound's Keith Gutierrez steps in as a guest and shares his insights on Demand Generation and a Buyer-Centric Approach with Lucas Haensch from Pathmonk.
This can work because you are making yourself and your brand visible to an audience who may never have seen it before. Usually, you will guest post on a site you can relate to. The result is getting the attention of people listening to navigate your website and becoming new customers.
Connect. Reach out to your audience. Find out where consumers like you hang out and find them on those platforms—research different blogs and publications in your community and industry. You can even try out platforms such as MyBlogGuest or this collection of 500+ sites from Buzzblogger for some inspiration.
The more we share on social media, the more we show who our brand is, creating that brand awareness we need. Many successful brands are discussed on social platforms, and these conversations become crucial to brand awareness and sales.
Social content on social networks is built for native consumption. This type of content engages audiences already active on a platform, allowing for peer-to-peer opportunities socially.
According to Influencer Marketing Hub, social marketers’ top priority is to increase brand awareness.
Which of the following is currently the top goal of your company?
There also is a way that consumers can privately navigate through social channels and platforms without being tracked and turned into a metric. Many of you think that social media is ideal because it allows you to track everything, thus measuring the results quickly; sorry to tell you, this is not always true.
One of the most significant powers of marketing is social sharing; you reach your target audience and their network. Social sharing, whether from a friend, colleague, or family member, is a great way to convince potential customers to become customers. Choosing the right platforms(s) for your audience is critical.
Social media marketing is about finding your customers and potential customers; focusing on where they spend the most time will be beneficial. Find your favorite social channel, whether it be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, etc., scroll through, like a comment here or there, and even post a video or content yourself. This is a great way to open up to and expand your network.
We all like the word free. When it comes to content, free is key. People do not want to have to pay to hear what you have to say. They want to be able to consume your content when and where it is convenient for them. Creating content available at any time is a go-to for increasing brand awareness. This allows your reader/listeners to hear about you on their time, when it’s convenient for them, thus making them happy consumers.
That case study you have been working on and finally finished- turn that into a LinkedIn post to view the PDF with no form required. Have an Ebook or white paper you want to share but might not be sure how to get started? Share what you have worked on socially with a free digital download.
There are many ways you can take and promote content. In today's digital era, it is essential to remember to embrace all forms of content to help make your brand stand out.
Having content that is free and available is a huge plus. Share what you know. People will want to continue to listen. Simply un-gating content alone will not generate demand, traffic, or opportunities. Make sure you know where they consume their information; put it there if it's not on your website.
Free content does not have to be in written form, either. You can also turn your content across all visual platforms, for example, podcasts, videos, infographics, and social media, to name a few. If you are in an industry that offers a product, consider giving away free samples to show potential customers a little more about who you are and what you can offer.
Visme does a great way of explaining how they use infographics to help you present information in the form of an attractive visual graphic. You can easily use their template to help create the infographic specific to your needs.
For example, you can use this template to add any dates and events to a timeline. You can easily change the colors, icons, and text. This is a great way to showcase a series of events within your company as a whole story or a new product's production story.
Sponsoring an event will allow you to show off your brand, share your brand and what you stand for, and gain a new audience. Finding the time to let yourself be a consistent sponsor can lead to growth and provide a great learning experience.
You were sure to have seen a brand's name, whether it was a sporting event, a concert, or a weekend outing at a farmers market. It could have been a foam hand that was handed out, a new t-shirt, or even stickers and pens (my kids love this one).
Think of ways you can contribute to your community while at the same time letting your community know your brand.
When you sponsor an event, this can open an ample opportunity for brand exposure. You can try this in various ways: local sponsorships, sponsorships that set you apart from your competitors, or those that enhance relationships. The one that works for you is unique to every business.
We all have probably listened to a Podcast of some kind at some point in our life. Regardless of what it was, podcasts are being used daily for various reasons. A podcast is a personal way for you to interact and connect with your audience by building the brand awareness you need and want. People listen, connect, and recognize your brand and will keep returning for more.
When starting a podcast, there are a few things you will need to do to get started.
What will your topics be? Do you plan on having a co-host or guests? What kind of microphone do you need? Lighting? Should you include music (and what type-classical or rock?) in the intro or at the end?
Podcast Insights does a great way of breaking this down with a step-by-step tutorial on how to start a podcast.
New to the Podcast world. We can help. To stand out from the thousands of other podcasts, look at what you can share that others haven’t and start there. Make it fun! Think of what you and your team are experts in and create content from that.
"You just need one person to listen, get your message and pass it on to someone else. And you have doubled your audience."
Robert Gerrish | co-authored the business bestseller Flying Solo: How to go it alone in business- host of the Flying Solo Podcast.
Who doesn’t love a good label or packaging design? Branded packaging can offer an additional touchpoint to the value you give to your customer's experience each day while allowing your brand to stand out from its competitors.
Simply overlooking your brand's packaging is a missed opportunity in the market today. Using creativity, from a custom bag to unique company colors, can help you accomplish your brand awareness goals.
Take a look at The Care Crate Co., a company located in Cleveland, Ohio, and how they have shown great success with creative, branded gift boxes for any occasion while at the same time giving back to their community in a number of ways.
Creating custom ideas/packaging for your company and products can help give your customers a feel for your brand. This will ultimately lead to an increase in customer interest and brand loyalty.
The more clearly you make your brand more recognizable, the greater your chances are for your first-time customers to remember you and return to purchase from you in the future. You can promote your business and products in various ways by incorporating custom product packaging into your branding and marketing campaigns.
Brand awareness can help brands differentiate themselves from the competition if done correctly. Take it upon yourself to find out what makes you stand out from the crowd. What makes your brand different from those similar to you? Use this to draw people closer to you to stick with your brand.
Look at this Brand Assessment Tool to help get you started.
We find that this works because often, people do not want the same thing-often, they are looking for something or someone close to the brand they are currently loyal to but open for a change, looking to get out of the ‘norm.
I love a good pair of shoes (preferably a shoe that can be worn with or without socks). And why not choose a pair that help give back to others? A brand that stands out to me is TOMS. I have been wearing these for years. A great, comfortable, versatile shoe that makes a difference by giving a pair of shoes for every pair bought to someone in need. Now try and tell me this doesn't make TOMS stand out from the rest.
Set aside time to look at your social media content. Where you see the most likes, shares, favorites, etc., is what you want to grab and turn into more. Repurposing content has many benefits. A high-quality piece of content will only lead to more traffic to your website.
Unsure of which content is best to reuse? You are not alone. Repurposing content should be done well; you might consider turning this into a part of your marketing strategy.
A few things to consider:
Promoting your content can increase your chances of being heard. Besides increasing your brand awareness, your target audience can get to know you better. Try doing this daily and creating a monthly schedule; it will save you time and show you the growth your company sees more frequently.
It might even be a good idea to use a spreadsheet for you to keep and share with your team. You then will want to use this social media content and spread it out in your schedule for different dates in the future.
Check out social content tools. One we like to use is Edgar, the unique social media tool that does the scheduling for you.
Here you will see tips on social media scheduling:
Increasing brand awareness doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Make it enjoyable.
Explore the different ways you can do this. Be yourself, be honest and see the ways you can turn potential customers into customers. Remember that this will take time-keep testing out new strategies that interest you and your company to see what works best and is creating the most significant impact.
Use this list (or some of this list) I have created to help guide you through this journey. I hope it was helpful.
Brand awareness is essential to your marketing and will keep your audience remembering and coming back to you when they need you most.
Did I forget anything?
Which tips might you try first?
Would you like me to elaborate on these tips a little more?
I would love to hear from you! Drop me a comment below.