Awareness is the beginning of every marketing journey, as it’s the first step of the marketing funnel. That is why knowing how to build brand awareness is an integral part of any successful marketing strategy.
“Brand awareness represents how familiar your target audience is with your brand and how well they recognize it.”
HubSpot
The ultimate goal of every marketer is to make their brand name eponymous with their product (think Coca Cola). Unfortunately, the reality is that few brands reach that point. But that doesn’t mean you can neglect to build and nourish your brand awareness. Quite the contrary — if you don’t continually invest in a branding strategy and maintain it, your company might end up left behind and forgotten.
The above are just some of the reasons you shouldn’t disregard the importance of brand awareness despite its being a vague concept. After all, is there a uniform way to measure it? No, not really. However, it still has plenty of benefits that no brand can ignore if it wishes to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive market.
The Benefits of Nurturing Brand Awareness
We already mentioned why you mustn’t neglect to spread brand awareness, but what are the tangible benefits you get from it? It’s safe to say that there are many, but some of the most notable upsides of increasing your brand awareness are:
- It builds trust with your consumers — Trust is an essential element for most people. According to a survey, 81% of consumers worldwide stated that brand trust was a deciding factor in their purchasing decisions. With that in mind, it should be unsurprising how vital it is to establish a connection with your audience for your brand’s success.
- It creates brand association — Once you become a well-known name on the market, your consumers start identifying everyday actions and things with your products. An excellent example would be that of Google. How many times a day do you say or think about Googling something? Probably at least a dozen! And how many times do you say you’re going to look something up on the internet? Likely much less! Do you see what we mean?
- It helps build brand equity — Essentially, this factor illustrates a brand’s value. But how is that determined? The answer is — primarily through user experiences and the way they perceive your brand. So unless you’re doing something wrong, the better your brand awareness strategy is, the more people will trust your company, purchase from you, and spread the word. And with that comes brand loyalty, which will result in returning customers.
As you can see, brand awareness plays a critical role in your marketing journey as the first step in the marketing funnel. It is the foundation upon which all other marketing efforts are built, so you’d be remiss not to invest in preserving and expanding it.
13 Ways to Build Brand Awareness
Now that you’re familiar with what brand awareness is and why you can benefit from it, it’s time we taught you how to improve it! Here are 13 different ways you can build brand awareness:
- Boost Your SEO Efforts With Valuable Content
- Guest Blogging
- Create High-Quality, Shareable Infographics
- Have an Active Social Media Presence
- Start a Referral Program
- Do Giveaways
- Launch a Podcast
- Use the Power of Video
- Utilize Online Advertising
- Reach Out to Influencers
- Controversy
- Have a Unique and Entertaining Brand Voice
- Sponsor Events
Without further delay, let’s look at these in more detail!
Boost Your SEO Efforts With Valuable Content
There are many reasons you shouldn’t neglect content marketing in your next marketing campaign, the most notable being that it’s been the go-to method for building brand awareness for years now. This marketing strategy shines the most in this aspect, as the digital landscape and user needs are changing rapidly. Long gone are the days when brands could rely solely on promotional material and various advertising methods. Today, companies have to take on a more user-centric approach to marketing.
That is where content marketing and SEO come in! The best way to put your brand name out there in today’s growingly digital world is by getting it on top of Google search results. The way you do that is simple — by creating highly engaging and valuable content. In other words, your content must be tailored to your users’ needs, meaning it should meet their search intent (answer their queries).
However, if getting to the top of Google SERPs was that easy, anyone could do it! There is much more to it than simply writing quality content. Namely, you will have to do some extensive keyword research first. That will teach you what users are searching for on the internet and give you an excellent idea of how you can help them! After that, all you have to do is construct your content around the keywords you choose to target and optimize it.
If you need help learning how to optimize your content, here’s a helpful guide by Search Engine Land; there, you can find plenty of optimization tips you can use!
Guest Blogging
Just like content creation is potent at getting more website traffic, guest blogging is an excellent method to get your brand noticed. When your brand’s writers make guest blog posts on various websites, you guarantee a mention of your brand. Even if the site you do guest blogging for only allows “nofollow” links and doesn’t bring your brand link equity, the author’s bio will contain your brand name.
This method of building brand awareness is particularly potent if you can write for websites with large amounts of organic traffic. Even if these guest posts don’t help your link building efforts, they will do wonders for your brand awareness!
If you want to start guest blogging and are looking for sites to write for, here is an extensive list of sites to guest post in 2020.
Create High-Quality, Shareable Infographics
According to HubSpot, infographics are the fourth most popular type of online content. With that in mind, it should be unsurprising that they are a potent tool for building brand awareness.
But if they’re only the fourth most popular, what is it that makes them so good? The answer is simple — infographics are incredibly visual, which is what makes them shareable. Throughout the years, visual content marketing has proven to be an invaluable strategy for driving brand awareness because humans are visual creatures. That is why content types such as infographics perform so well online and on social media.
Infographics are particularly useful for giving usually dull information (often data) an exciting twist. After all, presentation is everything in marketing! Here’s an excellent example of how you can effectively use infographics to educate your viewers:
You can probably understand now why such visual representations of content can be so effective at building brand awareness. If you need more examples of incredible infographics, check out more examples on various topics at Oberlo.com. All of their visual work is pure magic!
Have an Active Social Media Presence
Another must-use method for increasing brand awareness is being active on various social media. Currently, more than 50% of the planet is active on social networks, making it a medium with an incredible reach that brands must not ignore. Because of social media, businesses can now market themselves in places where they couldn’t have just years ago. All of that makes it a must-use tool for all companies worldwide.
But how do you choose which social media platforms are best suited for your business? It’s pretty straightforward — find out where your target audience is! Then, build your brand presence and awareness on the appropriate platforms, and you’ll see growth in no time! Here are just some of the social media platforms many brands have found success on over the years:
- YouTube
- TikTok
Just remember to post content regularly if you want to get the most out of social media!
Pro Tip: Making a social media calendar can be an excellent way to organize and schedule your posts and content. So if you’re looking to maximize efficiency, make sure you create one!
Start a Referral Program
Word of mouth is one of the most potent ways of spreading brand awareness, as 80%–90% of users trust recommendations from friends and family. With that in mind, you can likely imagine just how effective referral programs can be!
By offering your users discounts, gifts, or exclusive deals when referring their loved ones to your brand, you will get a substantial boost to your brand awareness quickly! Here’s a fine example of a lucrative referral program by Tesla that is likely to draw many users’ attention:
As you can imagine, $1,000 is nothing to frown upon. With such lucrative deals out there, it’s only natural that many people will participate and help you spread brand awareness.
Do Giveaways
Like the above example, giving free products away is a tried-and-tested method of getting your brand’s name out there. Regardless of your product’s value, there are ways you can apply this method.
If your product is incredibly valuable (car, household appliance, phone, etc.), you can give some (or several) for free to one (or multiple) lucky customers. You have all the freedom to set the rules of the giveaway, including the entry requirements. An excellent example would be to allow only users who regularly shop and spend money on your products to enter. That will motivate your current audience to spend more while incentivizing potential customers to buy from your brand.
If your product is commercial (like a beverage or a snack), you can take it to the streets and do occasional mass giveaways. That is a perfect way to encourage people to try (and remember) your products since few people are willing to turn down free stuff. Alternatively, you could arrange with another business (e.g., a food delivery company) to distribute free samples of your product alongside their services. Either way, the result will be a massive boost to your brand awareness.
Launch a Podcast
Offering your current and potential customers a place to come to relax and just enjoy themselves can help make them more aware of your brand. The perfect way to do that would be to start a podcast!
Podcasts are growing increasingly popular as of late, especially since 37% of the U.S. population alone listens to or watches a podcast at least once a month. And do you know what the best part is? Starting a podcast is pretty straightforward. You can also theme it around something you enjoy, meaning it doesn’t have to be a chore!
If you wish to explore this method of building brand awareness further, we suggest you check out our article on things you need to do before you start recording your first podcast. There, you can learn how to get started with your podcasting adventure!
Pro Tip: If you decide to up your podcasting game and get extra serious with it, the best way to hone your skills would be from other podcasting professionals. So if you wish to enhance your podcasting skills further, check out these best podcasts of 2020 for inspiration.
Use the Power of Video
If you aren’t using videos to your advantage yet, you are missing out on a lot! Currently, videos are the most popular type of online content, and that is unlikely to change.
But why is video content so captivating? There are multiple reasons:
- It is incredibly engaging and interactive.
- Google loves videos and tends to rank them higher on SERPs.
- They give your brand a personality.
- Videos drive the most shares on social media.
And these examples are just scratching the surface! Besides the points above, perhaps one of the biggest strengths of videos is that it is incredibly versatile. There are so many different types of video content that you can find a use for them at every stage of the marketing funnel. So if you’re looking for a potent but flexible way to build brand awareness, videos are for you!
Pro Tip: Starting with video content may seem like a daunting and expensive task, but it doesn’t have to be. There are ways to begin filming videos on all budgets. So if you want to get started with video content and need help picking the right equipment, check out our article on making the best professional video studio setup on any budget.
Utilize Online Advertising
We all know how powerful advertising can be, but it’s even more potent when you take it online! That’s right — promoting your business online can be a perfect way to boost brand awareness. And do you know what the best part is? You have plenty of options to choose from!
From display advertising to launching your first PPC campaign, the world is your oyster! Is your business focused on videos, perhaps? No problem — you can give video ads a shot! Does the majority of your audience spend most of their time on their phones? No worries — mobile advertising is stronger than ever! Do your consumers frequent platforms like Facebook and Twitter? No issues there — paid social advertising is also a possibility!
As you can see, digital advertising is better than ever, so if you choose this method to drive your brand awareness, you’re in for a real treat!
Reach Out to Influencers
Influencer marketing has also become huge lately! According to Influencer Marketing Hub, brands earn $5.20 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing nowadays. However, this marketing strategy not only provides excellent ROI but is also an incredible way to get your brand in front of large audiences quickly.
OK, but how does that work? It’s quite simple — by reaching out to influencers in your niche and arranging for them to use, highlight, or recommend your product to their audience, you increase your brand’s reach significantly. That is because influencers already have substantial existing audiences, so giving your product exposure offers plenty of brand awareness.
“But where can you find influencers?” you may ask. There is no single answer to that question as that will depend on your brand’s product or service, but here is some data to help you identify the best platforms for influencer marketing.
Controversy
This way of building brand awareness is questionable, but it can work. Namely, controversy can be a potent tool at getting your brand name out there, but it’s also a double-edged blade. If you make a single misstep, it can do more harm than good for your company’s image. That’s why we wouldn’t recommend it despite it being a viable method.
But if you’re adamant about giving it a shot, we suggest you first take a look at a few (un)successful examples in our article on most controversial ads of recent years. You might get some interesting takes from it on what may or may not work.
Have a Unique and Entertaining Brand Voice
There is no better way to get your brand in the spotlight than by being unique! We know that’s no easy feat to accomplish, but it is imperative to get noticed. The current global market is more competitive than ever, and you must be able to engage and entertain your audience to get remembered. So what better way to do that than by adopting a brand voice that your consumers will enjoy?
If you’re unsure what we mean, here’s an example of a unique brand voice that skyrocketed a company’s popularity:
It’s unlikely you haven’t seen any of Blendtec’s videos before as they’ve been on the internet for a long time! They’ve been blending all sorts of gadgets and appliances since 2007! This kind of uniqueness is what can propel your brand from zero to hero overnight.
Sponsor Content and Events
Returning to some of the more traditional methods is an excellent way to round up our list! Sponsoring has been around for as long as marketing, and it’s a surefire way to get your brand name in front of a large audience quickly. Whether you choose to sponsor a live event or a piece of content (such as paying a YouTube creator to give you a shoutout), you will get your name in front of many eyes.
However, this method does require a substantial budget or some sleek negotiation skills (or connections), so not everyone will be able to make the most use of it. But if you can, you undoubtedly should!
How to Measure Brand Awareness
Before we say our farewells, we should address the importance of measuring your brand awareness. So how can you do that? In reality, due to the abstract nature of the notion, you can’t tangibly measure it. But what you can do is monitor the success of your awareness-driving marketing campaigns! That way, you can have an educated guess on how successful they were.
The parameters you will have to track will differ based on your campaign and its focus, but here are some examples:
- Paid advertising — you will have to follow parameters like clickthrough rates and ad impressions.
- Social media — the key points to look for will be user engagement rates, your posts’ reach, and new followers.
- Videos — you will track the success of your videos by monitoring things like viewers, unique viewers, average view time, etc.
- Influencer marketing — crucial metrics to track would be impressions and the number of referral code uses.
- Content marketing — the best way to measure your content marketing campaign’s performance is by following the increase in organic traffic, bounce rate, the number of unique visitors, and dwell time.
All of the above aspects for their respective campaigns can be surefire, although indirect indicators that your efforts at building brand awareness succeeded.
Now It’s All up to You
Despite brand awareness being such a vague term, it can be a driving force behind your business. That is why you mustn’t neglect it, regardless of how confusing it may seem. It is the first step in the marketing funnel, which is why it can make or break your brand.
We’ve done our part by providing you with plenty of ways to build brand awareness, so the rest is up to you! Go out there and get your brand in the spotlight! Once the snowball starts rolling, it will be near impossible to stop!
Good luck!
