While opening a small business comes with its fair share of challenges, the internet has made advertising and promoting your new company easier than ever. With an effective brand awareness program in place, becoming a household name with your target audience is easier than ever.
Business owners who have brick-and-mortar stores use extensive brand promotion tactics to promote their companies. One of the more common of these is to opt for branded uniforms, such as using custom embroidery Sydney retailers use to differentiate their workers’ office wear.
Brand Awareness Strategies to Consider
An effective brand awareness strategy aims to create familiarity with potential customers. Essentially, when a customer hears your company name, they should automatically associate the name with quality, efficiency and top service.
To achieve this, you will have to rely on several different tactics to reach your intended customers. Here are a few of the top tips, as recommended by our branding experts.
1. Align Your Marketing With Social Algorithms
You may think that bothering with social media algorithms is something better left to established companies. However, since many customers are online a lot, it’s the best place to go looking for them, so gaining some insight into this approach is worthwhile.
Social media algorithms assist your customers to make it easy to find what they’re looking for. Understanding algorithms and each platform’s best practice principles will help you create the right types of articles, posts and content. You’ll also know when to publish them to get the most interaction.
2. Reach Out to Influencers in Your Niche
Another way to boost your brand awareness is to reach out to established influencers within your niche. For example, you can offer them your services or products for free in exchange for a video testimonial.
Experts recommend reaching out to about 10 people to have at least five respond positively to your request. Use these testimonials on all your social media pages as well as your website. Keep in mind that this puts your product in view of all that person’s particular followers and audience, so it’s worth the effort.
3. Use an Omnichannel Approach
To create maximum exposure, it’s a good idea to consider an omnichannel approach. That means using different approaches on as many social media platforms as possible. While you might not be a fan of all of them, keep in mind that if your audience is there, your advertising should be too.
Additionally, the more customers see your products or advertising on more platforms, the easier it will be to create a lasting impression. Being “everywhere” positions you as a trusted go-to source in your particular industry.
4. Run Social Media Contests
Advertising to your current followers will only get you so far. Your startup business needs to continuously engage potential customers. Another effective way to do this is to run social media contests on your various platforms.
Create the type of contest that involves the “tag-a-friend” model. This is an excellent way for your current followers to help you expose your brand to their friends and people in their own news feeds. Ensure that your prizes are fun and related to your brand to enhance awareness.
Be sure to share this campaign on your website and all platforms. Also have employees wear embroidered polo shirts with your logo on when they’re advertising your contests on their own platforms.
5. Provide a Freebie
It’s no secret that everyone loves a freebie. With that in mind, it’s a good idea to offer a particular product or service for free to introduce your brand to potential customers. Aside from creating a buzz around your brand, it also introduces your social pages to a whole new target audience.
Offering a free trial period is also an effective marketing approach to create brand awareness. Free trial periods offer your product or service free for a limited time. These vary from 7 to 14, 21 or even 30 days. If you want to create a more urgent approach, opt for the 7-day approach.
Some business owners also opt to create a specific product to use in their freebie promotions. This product may be an entry-level item to a much more extensive range. Branded merchandise with each purchase is a strategy that also works well in this campaign.
6. Launch a Massive Remarketing Campaign
Remarketing campaigns are crucial to keep your brand and product prominent in your existing customers’ minds.
Customers who have already bought products from your company are familiar with your product, brand and service levels. Launching a remarketing campaign to these people will serve as a reminder that your company is still out there and offering bigger and better products, deals and services.
Your goal here is to reconnect with previous customers.
Often the focus of these campaigns revolves around launching or highlighting new products. A remarketing campaign also works well with a limited-time offer or social media contest strategy.
Final Thought
Brand awareness is a sure way of creating recognition in the market. If strategies are implemented correctly, your target audience will instantly recognise your product, service and brand name, no matter where it’s advertised. Brand awareness goes a long way toward ensuring an increase in revenue and company growth.
