How to Build Brand Awareness

Choosing the right channels, developing a content strategy, creating engaging visuals, launching a referral program, demonstrating your ability to provide value, securing your brand identity, becoming a sponsor, and giving something away for free are all ways to build brand awareness.

1. Choose the Right Channels

The right channels can make a world of difference when it comes to your brand's awareness.

• Choosing the right channels for your brand’s awareness means understanding which ones are more likely to reach your target audience.

• Different channels attract different types of audiences, and choosing the wrong channel can mean spending time and resources on a strategy that does not yield results.

• The right channels can refer to anything from selecting the best social media platform for your social media outreach to deciding between a podcast and a newsletter to distribute content to your audience.

For example, an eCommerce website looking to sell nostalgia items based on 90's pop culture references is more likely to find success marketing on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where their target demographic is more likely to be found.

If they tried to market their products on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter, which are considered platforms targeted to professionals, they would be less likely to reach their target audience.

2. Develop a Content Strategy

Content will forever be a large part of your branding, regardless of the size of your company.

• Your content reflects who you are as a company, and it's important to ensure that your content is consistently serving its purpose.

• Developing a content strategy helps ensure that your content is delivering the right message and engaging your audience.

• Identify what kind of content best represents your company and will help you meet your goals.

• In order to stand out from the crowd, your content should accurately reflect your brand.

For example, Spotify's #SpotifyWrapped campaign showcases a user's yearly listening patterns. 

The nature of the campaign encourages sharing, which furthers Spotify’s reach and brand messages.

The user-generated content also makes the campaign highly relatable and encourages people to interact with Spotify's brand. 

3. Create Engaging, Eye-catching Visuals

In the world of digital marketing, visuals are key to grabbing the attention of your target audience.

• Whether it's a simple image or an intricate graphic, visuals are more likely to attract customers than plain-text content.

• To create engaging visuals for your brand awareness strategy, focus on two main elements: creativity and consistency.

• Your visuals should be creative enough to catch people's attention while still remaining consistent and relevant to your brand identity.

• In addition, visuals that embody your company's values—whether it's sustainability or customer service—are sure to engage people while emphasizing your brand message.

For example, Oatly, an oat drink company, uses striking visuals to set its visual marketing apart from the competition.

Their visuals have a consistent, minimalist style while still embodying the company's core values, such as sustainability and health.

These visuals not only grab attention, but they also help to further reinforce their brand message of being an eco-friendly alternative to dairy products.

4. Start a Referral Program

• Word of mouth has always been an effective way to spread news about a business or product, and referral programs are an excellent way to jumpstart word-of-mouth marketing.

• Referral programs allow you to reward loyal customers for referring new customers. This is a great way to increase brand awareness while also engaging with your existing customer base.

• Your referral program should be easy to understand and use, as well as offer rewards that are enticing enough to encourage customers to refer your business or product.

For example, Dropbox offers a referral program that rewards users for referring new customers with additional storage space.

This incentive not only appeals to current customers but also enhances brand visibility. 

As more people refer their friends, Dropbox's services gain wider recognition among an increasing number of individuals.

5. Prove that You Can Provide Value

It's important to remember that people don't buy products or services; they buy solutions.

• Your brand awareness strategy should include proving to your customers that your product or service can provide value and solve their problems.

• This means creating content that educates customers on how your product or service can be beneficial for them.

For example, software solutions like Adobe offer tutorials, webinars, and other learning resources to teach customers how to use their products more effectively.

WordPress is another great example of providing value to customers. WordPress provides a wealth of tutorials and documentation to help users in making the most of their platform.

These resources educate customers on using WordPress and provide evidence of its value and problem-solving capabilities.

6. Secure your Brand Identity

• You cannot boost your brand’s awareness if you yourself are unable to determine what your brand is.

• By securing your brand identity, you are pinpointing exactly how you're going to present yourself to your audience.

• This means creating content that is consistent with your company's message and values while also taking into account the audience you're trying to reach.

• Consistency is key to your branding. 68% of businesses credit consistent branding across all platforms as a contributor to at least 10 percent of revenue growth. 

• Your brand identity should include a logo, tagline, social media presence, website design, colors, fonts, imagery, and more.

• It's important to ensure that all of these elements are cohesive so that your message and values are clearly conveyed.

7. Become a Sponsor

• Sponsoring or partnering with an influencer or organization is a great way to increase the visibility of your brand if you have a little extra money to invest in your brand awareness strategy.

• You can sponsor events, launch campaigns, or even partner with influencers who are well-known in your industry.

• By associating yourself with an event or influencer, you have the opportunity to reach new audiences and gain access to resources such as additional content creators who can help spread the word about your brand.

• Brand sponsorships are becoming more popular, particularly as social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram make it easier for brands of all sizes to reach audiences.

Scrub Daddy, a company that sells cleaning sponges, has found success with its TikTok sponsorships. 

Their most notable sponsorship is their collaboration with the popular TikTok creator, Vanesa Amaro, whose content is focused on home cleaning tips.

The Scrub Daddy collaboration marked her initial major brand partnership, strategically enhancing the company's relatable and authentic brand image on the platform. 

Through her content, she demonstrates the practical application of recommended products for everyday needs.

With authenticity being something that 88% of consumers look for in the brands that they support, Scrub Daddy has seen plenty of success with this strategy. 

8. Give Away Something for Free

Giving away free products or services is one of the most effective ways to generate interest in your brand.

It not only allows people to experience your company for themselves with no financial risk, but it also helps build trust and loyalty among customers.

The Freemium model is a popular way of doing this.

It gives customers access to the basic version of your product or service for free while also offering an upgraded Pro version with additional features and benefits.
Companies like Dropbox, Spotify, and Evernote have all used this strategy to offer their basic services for free while also providing premium versions for those who want more.

By offering free services, these companies are able to build trust and loyalty with customers while also boosting their brand awareness.

Wrapping Up: How to Build Brand Awareness

To get your brand's name out there, use these strategies to your advantage:

• Choose the right channels

• Develop a content strategy

• Create engaging, eye-catching visuals

• Start a referral program

• Prove that you can provide value

• Secure your brand identity

• Become a sponsor

• Give away something for free

By implementing the right strategy, you can ensure that a greater number of individuals come across your brand and forge positive associations with it.

With increased exposure, your business will be better positioned for success.