So what is Brand Awareness? In short, Brand Awareness is the extent to which people are familiar with the qualities or image of a particular product or service. Take the Golden Arches, for example. There’s a really good chance that everyone reading this knows that the Golden Arches represent McDonalds. You know it by seeing them and you know it by hearing the words. And what about their colors? Again, everyone knows they use red and yellow (“golden”). Would you recognize their food without their branding?
The more people recognize your brand, the more successful your business can become. While there are a number of ways to improve the marketing of your brand, here are 5 that you can start doing right now.
1. Use Consistent Visuals
From newspapers and billboards to social media and retargeted ads, there are endless ways businesses can advertise their brand, products, and services. The key to improving your brand awareness is with consistency in the colors, fonts, messaging, etc. across all advertising platforms. The more people see the same thing, the more familiar they’ll become with your brand. If everything is different, you’re missing out on a great, and easily fixable, opportunity.
2. Maintain Social Media Activity
Social media is a tremendously effective and cost efficient way to connect with people. Among many other things, It allows you to attract customers, receive feedback, and build loyalty. And, you guessed it, improve your brand awareness. Like with many things, consistency is key. You might be a little wary of a business if you see that their last Facebook post was 6 months ago. That’s not a good sign.
3. Utilize SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The online world is flooded with businesses, products, and services. In order for your business to get noticed, you must stand out from the crowd and one way to do that is with SEO (or Search Engine Optimization). The easier your online presence is to find, the faster you can improve your brand awareness. Whether it’s on the website level, the targeted ads level, or anywhere in between, high quality SEO makes it easier for potential customers to find you.
4. Harness the Power of People
It’s people that drive your business. It’s people that support your business. And it’s people that could help promote your business. Social media influencers - yes, they’re a real thing - can be good to have on your side. Partnering with other people or businesses can also be an effective way to expand or improve your brand awareness. People are connected to people and the more of them that are invested in your brand, the better.
5. Be Honest
Everyone has a story, but not everyone tells it. Tell your story. Let people in. Make connections. One way to stand out from the crowd is to be authentic and unique. People simply don’t want products and services only. They want to know that they’re helping someone or that they’re making a difference. Give them a reason to be intentional with their spending and with the businesses they support.
Brand awareness is a powerful marketing strategy. The more people recognize your brand, the more successful your business can become. If you need some assistance with increasing your brand, contact Green Hat today!