When you have a business, one of the most challenging things you have to do is get your target audience to know more about you and understand why they need you. After all, it takes only 7 seconds for people to form an impression of your business’s brand, which can inform them of whether or not they would like to buy from you.
With modern-day consumers facing myriad brand offers and messages, it can be hard to have a voice, especially as a new or small business. That’s why brand awareness must be one of the most important things to tackle in the early stages of your business. Luckily, several tactics and tips help you reach your brand awareness goals. Here are some of the best ways to give your business the attention that it deserves:
- Establish a Brand That’s Recognizable
To raise more awareness of your brand, you must first build your brand and have an idea of what you want to communicate to your target audience. In building up a brand, there are several areas you must consider.
What tone would you use in your communications? In other words, how would you want people to see you? Are you going to be formal or playful? But that doesn’t mean you should stick to one voice for every communication format or platform. Perhaps, you can have a more playful tone on social media that’s different from your emails.
It would be best if you also considered your brand aesthetic. What visual elements would you like to include that would make your business immediately identifiable? It could be a color, font, or unique logo. Don’t forget about your brand values. Your brand values must align with those of your target market, especially since people are likelier to purchase from a brand that supports their beliefs.
- Create Value Beyond Your Product/Service
One of the best ways to increase your brand awareness is to show buyers how useful your products are in the long term. You can use this as an opportunity to share entertaining and educative content with them about the benefits of your product or service. You can share this information via your social media pages, blog, newsletter, or YouTube channel.
Although you’re in the business of making sales, your informative videos shouldn’t focus on making sales. Rather, use this format as a chance to establish a relationship with your audience and let them see how your product would solve a problem in their lives. Once they see how easier their lives would be with your product, they will be more prepared to purchase from you.
- Don’t Forget Traditional Advertising
While digital advertising has changed the face of marketing and has made it more accessible to small businesses operating with limited budgets, traditional advertising still holds a lot of power. Many people are tired of the constant exposure to ads when they open web pages, making it difficult to gain traction with your digital ads.
Now is the best time to tap into traditional advertising methods, especially if that model suits your business. It’s a great way to increase your brand awareness, as it is much less intrusive, and better-designed and compelling ads can help attract the right attention.
Thanks to technology, traditional advertising has become more sophisticated, so it is still very relevant to the success of your business’s marketing efforts. Remember that you want to get noticed; if traditional advertising is the solution, you should go for it.
- Use Promotional Products
There’s nothing that people love more than getting gifts, and you can use that to your business’s advantage. If you have the means and the budget, why don’t you invest in top-quality promotional items where you can display your business’s name and logo?
The good news is these items can be as simple as a pen or a flask, but, of course, there are tons of other amazing branded freebies that you can get. For more ideas, there are several shops where you can browse online to check out your options.
You can include these items in your shipments to clients when they make a purchase or distribute them to people that visit your store or stand at local events. They make perfect prizes for contests and giveaways as well.
Using promotional products is relatively affordable to increase your business’s brand visibility. In most cases, when you purchase bulk from suppliers, you can get them at discounted rates. You should also ask for samples before you have them mass-produced to see if they meet your business’s brand standards.
Keep in mind that, as many promotional products are important, they must also relate to what your business is about and appeal to your target audience. For example, if you sell sports tools and equipment, your customers would appreciate a water bottle or flask they can use while playing sports.
- Get on Social Media
You cannot achieve full brand awareness these days without a strong social media presence. With over three billion people active on social media, it’s the perfect place to find people that relate to your business and are likely to purchase from you.
But there’s more to social media than just creating profiles and pages. You must be active and committed to raising awareness through the content you push out. And that content should be authentic and communicate what your business is about. You can also interact with other brands and followers to attract more followers and potential customers.
Ensure that much thought and planning goes into creating your social media identity. The content you produce should be shareable and also encourage discourse or engagement. People love contests and giveaways, so you can include those in your calendar. If social media is not your strongest forte, you can hire or outsource a specialist to help you make the best out of it.
- Focus on Your Customers
Providing excellent customer service should be your topmost priority when running a business. Many people hold a lot of meaning when they receive quality customer service and are more likely to return to your business or recommend it to others they know.
You must still attend to your customers even when displeased with a product or service. Ensure that you respond quickly and keep your answers as customer-focused as possible. When communicating with them, your voice must be friendly and clear. Encourage them to ask questions if they do not understand anything.
When your customers leave positive reviews or are always sharing your content, you can reward them for their loyalty. That reinforces their belief that you care about them and makes them more open to spreading awareness about your business and getting you noticed.
- SEO Should be Your Friend
Contrary to popular belief, search engine optimization (SEO) has become increasingly important, especially for brands that want to stay relevant at all times and as Google continuously improves its user experience.
There’s more to SEO than just keywords. It involves creating websites that are user-friendly and optimized for various screen sizes. You must also produce quality content and ensure that your website can be smoothly navigated to increase its chances of ranking high in search engines.
How does SEO play into brand awareness? The answer is simple. If you rank high in search engine results, the more visibility you’ll get for people who might be looking for a product or service that you offer.
You don’t have to be an SEO specialist to know your way around, but it would help to seek the services of a professional to take over so you can focus on other aspects of your business that you are an expert in.
- Create a Podcast
Podcasts have become popular media and communication channels in recent years. Many businesses are using podcasting to increase their reach and build more brand awareness. Your podcast can discuss trending issues within your industry, which can help establish you as an authority source.
To get started, you need to identify what your podcast will be about and the types of guests that are relevant to what your podcast is about. You can also get a good start by joining a podcast as a guest and sharing your wise takes. That’s a fantastic way to attract people’s attention and leverage it.
- Participate in Community Events
Another great way to spread the word about your business is by participating in community events and programs. You can sign up for a stand or sponsor an event whose cause you support. The more places your logo appears, the better the chances of people remembering your business. It would be best if you also built healthy relationships with local businesses in your community. That means partnering on certain projects, recommending each other, and following each other on social media.
Your business’s brand awareness is very important, so before you start, think about the story you want your business to communicate and how it would attract your target audience.