How to Build Brand Awareness

Some brands are so present in our daily lives that everyone has heard of them. Some have even become verbs, such as Hoover, Xerox, or Google. As the owner of a small business, the idea of building this level of brand awareness can seem impossible. But it is possible to create a buzz around your brand even if your marketing budget is limited.

What is Brand Awareness?

Brand awareness simply means that your target audience is familiar with your brand. When they need to purchase a product or service in your niche, your company is one of the first options that springs to their mind.

Why Does Brand Awareness Matter?

Brand awareness builds trust around your business. It makes marketing a lot easier as consumers are already familiar with your brand. For these reasons, better brand awareness goes hand in hand with higher sales, although the exact relationship can be challenging to measure.

How to Establish Brand Awareness

So how do you make your brand be the name that’s on everyone’s lips? It takes more than just running a few ads. The key is to interact with your target audience on more than just trying to get them to buy your products or services. That means giving information to your target audience that can help them make better purchase decisions and better use your products.

• Tell your story 
  Another way to establish brand awareness is to tell a story about your brand. What inspired you to create the products and services that you offer? Perhaps you needed a particular product, and there was nothing suitable on the market? Maybe you ran into problems using what was available at the time and thought you could do better? If you tell a story to which people can relate, they are more likely to believe that your product can solve their problems.
• Publish Free Information
  A great way to interact with your customers is to create blog posts with helpful tips and tricks. You can reach out to podcasts that feature products your business is interested in or creates.
• Leverage Social Media
  Social media is a fantastic tool for creating a buzz around your brand. The trick here is to interact as a person rather than as a company. Take the time to get to know your users. Ask about their likes and dislikes. Find out what they think about various issues related to your niche. Create a hashtag for your brand that your customers can use. Going straight for a hard sell is likely to turn many people off, so relax a little and take a more conversational approach.

How to Build Brand Awareness

• Focus on Social Engagement
  Once you have created a brand to which people find it easy to relate, it is important to keep building brand awareness, so your audience won’t forget about you. Keep posting and commenting on social media, and don’t forget to make your posts shareable so that they have as broad a reach as possible.
• Leverage a Freemium Model
  If your company offers services, a freemium model is an excellent way to build awareness for your brand. This means giving a basic version of your service away for free and then charging users if they want to upgrade to a version with extra features. You can do this in the forms of blogs, podcasts, free guides, and videos. Many apps successfully use freemium business models to build large user bases, which gives a massive boost to their brand awareness.
• Sponsor Events 
  As your business grows, you can use other building brands awareness methods, such as sponsoring events, releasing a podcast, and building up the amount of content you offer on your website and social channels. Start local, reach out to local businesses or host your own event. The important thing is to keep working on brand awareness; if you neglect it, your target audience could drift away and forget about your brand.

 
The first step in building brand awareness is to define your brand clearly. We can help you create a brand that fits your ethos and speaks to your customers. Contact us today to get started; we help our clients be better leaders and more confidently prepared for the growth and results we will deliver. 

Unleash your brand’s potential with our Branding Workshop.