Effective Strategies to Build Brand Awareness

The world is divided into two kinds of people: Coca-Cola people and Pepsi people. These two groups of people are at constant odds with each other, never agreeing on which soft drink is best. It's been a cola drink war that's lasted for years. Ok, we might be exaggerating a bit here (but not really).

What remains true is that brand awareness can substantially affect people. There is real power in effective brand awareness. Purchasing a particular product can become like second nature. You become so familiar with a specific brand that you don't even bother looking around for another option. You know it, you trust it, you buy it.

Once a consumer is aware of a brand, they start to recognize it without assistance, seek it out to make a purchase, begin to prefer it over other similar brands, and establish a loyalty that not only spurs on other purchases but also inspires recommendations to family and friends. - Hubspot

Therefore, realizing the importance of brand awareness is key to helping your business. We will help you better understand what it consists of, why it's important, and strategies to boost it.

What is brand awareness?

First of all, it's an essential element of an effective marketing strategy. Brand awareness measures how familiar a customer is with a brand.

"The greater the brand awareness a business enjoys, the more their products and services are recognizable to their target audience, thus, in theory, augmenting its long-term strength on the marketplace." - Gennaro Cuofano

FourWeekMBA provides these specific points that further describe this sometimes generalized concept:

• Brand awareness describes the familiarity of a consumer with a specific brand.
• It allows organizations to dominate competitive consumer markets through differentiation and the use of brand names in daily conversation.
• Creating and maintaining brand awareness can be costly and a function of success.

The absolute peak of brand awareness is for a brand or product to become a proprietary eponym. This means that a brand becomes so well-known it replaces generic terms for similar products in our language. For example, asking for a Kleenex when you need a tissue or asking for a Band-Aid when you need a bandage—or perhaps asking for a Coke at a restaurant when you want a cola drink (that's right. I said what I said).

However, realistically most brands or products won't be able to reach this ultimate level of awareness. But that's fine! There are other ways to know you are achieving brand awareness successfully. According to Megan Marrs from WordStream, some of these ways are:

• Consumers having knowledge of what your business is known for.
• A social media user knowing your ad will be funny when they come across you in their feed.
• Customers choosing your brand specifically over others, even if there are cheaper options.
• Search engine users typing your business name or other branded terms into search.

Finally, awareness goes one step further than just brand recognition. It involves recalling the business name, the general feeling of the business, information about its products and services, and other experiential details.

Why is it important?

The most straightforward answer to this question is simply this: brand awareness builds trust.  Awareness gives your brand personality which helps create meaningful connections with your audience. Without a doubt, consumers having confidence in your brand means everything.

Once a consumer bonds to your brand, they're more likely to make repeat purchases with little to no forethought — which then bridges the gap between trust and loyalty. - Allie Decker, Hubspot

Another benefit of brand awareness is that it creates association. Take the examples we gave earlier with Kleenex and Band-Aid. The public's awareness is so high that they associate actions and products with particular brands and go as far as replacing common words with branded terms.

"When you had a pressing question, I’m sure you’ve Googled it. When you needed to make a few copies, I’m guessing that you Xeroxed them. And when you’ve packed for a nice picnic, I’m willing to bet you grabbed a Coke to drink." - Hubspot

Also, a great outcome of building awareness is brand equity. When you create awareness and promote positive experiences with your brand, the result will be increased equity.

According to Allie Decker, here are some positive points that can result from brand equity:

• Higher prices due to higher perceived value
• A higher stock price
• The ability to expand business through product or service line extensions
• Greater social impact due to brand name value

For a deeper look at brand equity, click here.

How can I build brand awareness?

Without a doubt, there are significant benefits to building brand awareness. Building it will take time and effort. It's not something that can be grown overnight. However, in the long run, it is worth it. Here are some effective strategies that will help you start to increase awareness:

1. Focus on content marketing.

Content marketing is a phenomenal way to tell your story. If done well, it will resonate with your target audience and increase brand awareness. If people connect to your brand on a personal level, it's more likely that they'll remember you. Telling your story online is a fantastic opportunity to explain to people how you started, what you believe in, and your values. It's also an effective way to showcase what your brand has achieved.

"Consumers love to connect with brands on a more personal level — which can be achieved through artful storytelling." - Joyce Ang, Instasize

2. Make sharing easy.

It's no secret that people nowadays love to share everything online. Making it easy for your audience to share your content with others is a great opportunity. It's up to you what content you share, whether a blog, videos, social media posts, etc. By simply clicking the share button, your customers will be helping to build your brand awareness. Give the opportunity to your customers to show that they're your fans!

Brand awareness is about impact. It's about interacting with your audience in ways that don't only ask for money, participation, or loyalty. - Hubspot

3. Create a social focus.

It might sound tempting to do active social marketing on many social networks. That makes sense, right? Having the most exposure, the better. Well, that's simply not true. The most advisable thing is to focus only on a few sites best suited to your type of business. You have to know which sites your audience primarily uses for this to work and dedicate most of your energy there. We're not saying to disregard other sites completely. Just focus more on the ones where you will likely find your audience.

For example, photo-heavy sites might focus on Instagram and Pinterest. B2B companies often do best on Twitter, whereas small businesses in creative industries (like craft marketing) can do well on Instagram. - Megan Marrs, WordStream

4. Humanize your brand.

Your audience wants to know what makes your brand tick. They want to know what your brand cares about and that there are real people behind it all. Realistically, it's much easier to connect with a company that has a personality. Share with your audience what gets you excited. Involve them to make them feel part of your brand.

"To leave an impact on your audience, you've got to define yourself as more than a company that sells stuff. How else would you define yourself? What words would you use if you had to introduce your brand to a new friend?" - Allie Decker, Hubspot

5. Use SEO for brand awareness.

There are several ways in which SEO can increase brand awareness. However, let's focus on targeting long-tail keywords. Choosing long-tail keywords relevant to your industry is good for local search. Over time, your target audience will search for a product or service in your business category and be exposed to your website and brand. You can also use reviews to increase your appearance in search results and improve brand awareness. Keep in mind that this is a long-term strategy but well worth it.

"It's as simple as this: high search engine rankings will do wonders for your brand awareness. Not only will your brand be easier to find, but the higher you rank, the more credible your brand will be in the eyes of your audience." - Omar Benseddik, Latana

The Power of Awareness

As you can see, building brand awareness will help make your business stronger than ever. Whichever strategies you choose, remember that it will take some time and dedication to show results. Because what's the point if you have a fantastic product or service to offer and nobody knows about it, right? Now go get building!

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