Simply put, brands are everywhere. Small businesses, large companies, people, places, things–practically everything in your life is a culmination of branding. The groceries you buy, the stores you shop at, the people you watch on TV…they’re all defined by their distinct and particular branding. So why is brand awareness so important? Brand awareness is defined as the extent to which a brand is recognized by potential customers and accurately associated with a particular product or service. If no one is aware or familiar with your brand, then your chances of earning a profit or succeeding in your marketing objectives will be limited. Read on to learn more about how you can increase your brand awareness both digitally and personally:
1. Ensure that your Local Search Marketing listing is up to date
If customers cannot find valid or accurate information about your brand, then you’re already behind in the digital marketing arena. Local search marketing carries an extensive amount of importance, especially at a time right now where so many business practices are changing. Hours are being updated, stores are closing, curbside pick-up methods are increasing, etc… so your information needs to be correct when customers search for your business. If you own a small cafe, a hardware store, or even a digital marketing agency like us, then your information should be updated consistently in order for your brand to maintain its relevance. Gaining brand awareness is not a platform-specific practice; methods can be used practically anywhere online, especially on search engines, such as Google, and associated databases such as Siri or Alexa. For this reason, a correct local search marketing listing will only increase in value as soon as it is posted with accuracy.
2. Run a Facebook Awareness Ad Campaign
There are two types of Facebook Awareness campaign objectives that a business can run in order to increase recognition for their brand:
Brand Awareness
The primary goal of a Brand Awareness ad is to increase brand recall and familiarity. Because of this, it is best to not use this ad objective to sell your product or service. Awareness ads work great as an introduction to your brand or as a general reminder that your business is still up and running. Perhaps you recently re-branded, or you recently started your own digital marketing agency; brand awareness ads are a great start to get your brand recognized via Facebook and Instagram.
On average, customers need 8 touch points (or methods in which a lead sees the brand in a favorable way) in order to make a purchase. Start gaining traction through a brand awareness ad in order to kick off the touchpoint journey with your target audience.
Reach
Reach ads are designed to show your ad to the maximum amount of people in your target audience. “Reach” is also a metric that is calculated on all Facebook ads in order to generate an estimated number of the amount of people that saw your ad, or how many people your ad reached. Use this ad objective if your goal is to avoid having the same people see your ad more than once; a Reach ad will ensure that you’re getting as many eyes on your ad as possible.
3. Ensure that your content is relevant or engaging
From blogs, to email campaigns, to social media graphics and beyond, your content will easily boost your brand’s awareness as long as it is relevant to your business. Although it may sound easier said than done, generating content for your target audience will undeniably aid in brand recognition. Even if your company is more professional than others (i.e. law offices, county assessors, etc…), then there are still plenty of opportunities to ensure that your content is not only relevant, but fun and engaging. Finding your content sweet spot is a game changer because Facebook users are ready to see fun and engaging content as soon as they log on. The internet has given rise to so many fun and unique ideas and brands are using this to their advantage.
This is virtually a free method of building awareness–a social media post or a small promotional e-mail can truly go a long way. There was once a golden rule for social media marketing: 80% of your social media posts should be entertaining and used as a way to inform or educate your audience, while 20% of your social media posts should directly promote your business as a whole, including relevant products or services. Although this golden rule has lost its traction, due to the fact that every business’ social media journey will be different, it’s still important to keep in mind that the majority of your content should focus on engaging your customers through education or entertainment. Don’t use content as a means to sell, sell, sell; consumers are exposed to so many advertisements daily that it may overwhelm them and give rise to a negative association with your brand.
4. Get involved
Partnerships are a great opportunity to gain valuable brand awareness. Reach out to businesses who you’ve networked with in the past, and ask if you can utilize guest posting on their website, or if you can partner with them for giveaways or contests. Business partnerships, especially for small and local businesses, will give your company an excellent advantage because consumers will take note of your desire to promote a business other than your own and react positively. Other opportunities to get involved in your community include sponsoring local events if your business has the means. You may even wish to seek out opportunities that contribute to helping the community, such as setting aside a day or time for your team to volunteer locally. The more involved your business is, whether it’s through business partnerships or in the local community, the more brand awareness you’ll be able to generate.
There are countless other methods of generating brand awareness, but these 4 are a great start. Brand awareness doesn’t have to be costly, such as in the case of generating fun content and volunteering within the community. Although local search marketing and Facebook ad campaigns may cost more, there are certainly means to stay within your budget. Your business deserves to be seen and your brand deserves to survive. With the right methods of generating awareness, you’ll be able to stay afloat and rise to the top for many years to come.