Other Brand Awareness Tips<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn addition to the examples above, there are plenty of other ways that you can ensure that you are creating a strong foundation for brand awareness. Keep in mind that this isn’t something that will happen instantly or find success with a single campaign or advertisement. Building visibility and awareness takes time and a solid strategy that is dynamic and robust enough to reach your audience through all channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, you should also make sure that you keep the following things in mind to make the most of your branding campaigns:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Be a Person, Not a Business<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Today’s consumer doesn’t want to be another number to a faceless organization. They are getting back to their roots and craving relationships with companies that allow them to get more personal. That personal connection isn’t just a benefit for consumers, but a must-have. If you really want to improve your visibility, interact with your audience and give them a reason to remember you beyond what you sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Socialize on Social Media<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Again, people already know that you’re a business with something to sell. They’re not looking to be told that 100 times a day on Twitter and Instagram. Instead, get social and use those personal skills to share content that people can connect with. If consumers feel that connection, they’ll be more likely to consider your business for their future needs. As much as 50% of your online reputation is accounted for through social activity online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Make it Easy to Share<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Ridicously simple, but make sure your content is easy to share. If you really want to get your brand out there, you have to make all of your content super easy to share<\/strong>. Don’t complicate the sharing process or your content will never stand a chance of going viral. You are trying to get people’s attention and grow the reach of your brand\u2014there’s no sense in trying to overcomplicate the process. Take advantage of word-of-mouth, too, because when you have the Internet on your side filled with good reviews and positive social posts, you may not have to do much of the marketing yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u00b7 Give Your Brand a Personality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n One of the best ways to build awareness and create a strong brand statement that your audience can keep with them in the back of their mind is to give your brand a personality. Since you’re already being just a person and not a company, the leap isn’t that much farther. Get creative and think about what your brand would be like if it were a person, and then execute a strategy to create that impression or persona in your branding efforts. Look at how much Wendy’s social media accounts soared once they started the trend of “roasting” other fast food brands on Twitter\u2014personality is a big plus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Offer Freebies to Build Awareness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n If you want to make absolutely sure that people see your brand, regardless of whether they are already interested or not, free stuff and “freemiums” are a great way to go. You can offer free digital content, discount codes, free items that you can mail, or anything else that you want. You could even offer to allow people to sign up for free or download content without paying so that they get a glimpse of what you have to offer and ensure that their money is going in the right place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Tell a Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n As mentioned earlier, having a narrative can make a big difference in your marketing efforts. Your audience today is so desensitized by commercials, streaming services, and other constantly-on technology that it can be hard sometimes to get them to just stop and look at or listen to your ad. You have to get their attention. Again, not by lying, but by getting creative and giving people something to latch onto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe Benefits of Proper Branding<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAt the end of the day, improper branding could cost your business a lot. However, using branding tools and strategies to your benefit can have the exact opposite effect. While we call these “benefits”, the following elements are far more likely to be reasons that you need branding and brand awareness. <\/em>Whatever you call them, though, they’re important to know, so read on and take notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u00b7 Brand Awareness Creates Trust<\/h3>\n\n\n\n We’ve already talked about trust a couple of times, but that’s because it is absolutely critical<\/strong> to the success of any branding campaign. No matter how well people know your name, there is such a thing as bad brand awareness. If you develop a strong sense of trust and authority with your audience, you will give them the peace of mind that they have a resource for whatever products or services you offer. When people trust a brand, they’re more likely to refer friends and family, giving you even more to appreciate.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe world we live in today has consumers heavily reliant on online research and other people’s opinions to make purchasing decisions. Therefore, once a consumer finds your brand and makes a strong connection with it, they probably won’t look any farther and you’ll have a repeat customer on your hands. That allows you to create a bridge between trust and consumer loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you use branding to give your brand a human personality, tell a story, and offer sincere solutions, you’re creating a much stronger opportunity for success in branding than if you just try to go put your name in as many places as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Effective Branding Creates Association<\/h3>\n\n\n\n How many times have you gone to do some routine task only to refer to a specific brand in doing so? For example, a lot of people will head to the Internet to Google something, rather than just to search for it. Some people undoubtedly call all soda “Coke,” and all lip balm is referred to as “Chapstick.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The association, however, is something that is easy to solidify in people’s minds. If you give them a chance to get to know your brand, you may also have the potential to change their mind and get them back to the generic names, or at least to your name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Awareness Increases Brand Value<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Finally, despite the fact that it may be obvious that increasing your reach will increase your profits, it’s quite true. In fact, brand value is the whole baseline of your business. It doesn’t matter if you reach 500,000 people because if they don’t know what you have to offer or they might not be interested, a lot of that effort will be wasted. When you create a positive perception and brand equity, you will find many perks, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Higher prices as a result of a higher perceived brand value<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Higher stock prices<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Greater social impact due to brand value<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Ability to expand business<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brand value allows you to set forth expectations like higher price points, a higher level of customer service, and other value-added assets that will make your audience feel confident investing in your brand. You will be able to build a sense of authority that is reflective of your brand value and ensure that all consumers know that your brand does offer exactly what they want from a trusted source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately, all of these things allow you to turn your brand into a “household name” that will become a staple among your audience and continue to grow on its own through the effects of your brand awareness marketing campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Measure Brand Awareness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nFor the most part, it’s hard to measure efforts that are designed to increase brand awareness, but you can measure indirect metrics that might help you identify where your brand awareness campaigns stand and how much success you are generating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Direct Traffic<\/h3>\n\n\n\n The first and foremost way to measure brand visibility and awareness is to see how many people come to your site via direct traffic. This simply means that instead of converting or clicking through from social media or an advertisement, people put in the exact website URL and come straight to your website. If people can do this, then that means that they already know your brand well. Remember, of course, that click-throughs from keyword searches do not count as direct traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social Engagement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Use social media analytics tools to measure your social engagement levels, including likes, followers, comments, and other elements of social media interaction. This will allow you to get an idea of how many people know and socialize with your brand, and can even help you attract new customers through the various social channels. There are plenty of tools out there that can score specific social metrics, such as your Twitter impact or your Instagram followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brand Visibility Surveys<\/h3>\n\n\n\n When you are looking for a direct way to see how your awareness efforts are going, there’s no better way to find out than to ask your audience. After all, they are the ones on the receiving end, using your apps and website to find the things that they need. If anyone is going to tell you the truth about your branding efforts, it’s them. These surveys can be created on a number of free and freemium programs, and they can be incredibly helpful in figuring out your next move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warnings and Things to Watch Out For<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nJust as a marketing campaign that is spot-on can deliver impressive results for your branding efforts, there are also a few things that could come up or go wrong along the way. No one can tell you which brand awareness strategies will be the most effective for your brand, but you do have to make sure that you’re not overdoing it. The process is a little different for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just as much as you can benefit from using social media for brand visibility, it can also go horribly wrong if you aren’t doing it right. This process is going to take time, as mentioned earlier, and you have to be prepared for that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n