Brand Awareness Strategy 101: How to Build Brand Awareness

One of the main ingredients in the recipe for establishing a successful business is to build brand awareness. Without it, no one would give that business a second glance, let alone buy their products or hire their services. Why? Simply because they don’t know it!

If that didn’t answer your questions, don’t worry. In this post, I’m going to tackle the basics on this topic before going in-depth about how to build brand awareness using effective strategies companies in every industry can leverage. By the time you finish reading this guide, you’ll be an expert, trust me!

Now, let’s begin!

What Is Brand Awareness?

So, first things first —we need a definition. Brand awareness refers to how likely people in general are able to recognize your brand elements and distinctive features. This not only includes your name, but also your logo, your colors, what you offer, and even your slogan. 

Have you heard of the buyer’s journey? It’s the process a person goes through before making a purchase or hiring a service. Well, this journey begins with brand awareness. It makes a lot of sense if you think about it from the person’s perspective because you wouldn’t make a purchase from a brand you know nothing about. Or at least, you shouldn’t!

Why Is Brand Awareness Important?

Now you might be wondering why this all matters anyway, so here are four reasons why creating awareness about your brand is so important:

• Gain customer trust and loyalty: As I’ve mentioned before, people typically purchase products from brands they already know because they trust them. Awareness can help your business build this trust, which will eventually lead to gaining customer loyalty.
• Obtain a competitive advantage: Awareness, when done right, will help you differentiate your brand from the competition, especially if you’re in a crowded market. Moreover, it’ll make it easier for prospects to choose you over them.
• Increase organic growth: People who are aware of your brand are more likely to trust it and and recommend it to their friends and family, helping you grow.
• Introduce new products more easily: A solid brand awareness strategy makes it easier to get peoples’ attention when you launch new products and get them interested in them.

And if those didn’t convince you, here’s some hard data to back them up:

• 81% of customers claimed they needed to trust a business to buy from them.
• 46% of people would rather pay a bit more in order to purchase from a brand they trust.
• About 59% of people prefer buying new products from brands they are already familiar with.

How to Increase Brand Awareness: 5 Top Strategies

Learning how to build brand awareness is not something that can be done overnight, as it’s so complex it requires a multifaceted approach. So, here are my favorite strategies to do it:

1. Video Marketing

The visual and emotional appeal of video content can easily help brands capture and retain their audience’s attention long enough to convey their message in a memorable way. This, in turn, can significantly enhance awareness. That being said, there many types of videos that you can make for that end. Here are some of the most popular ones and their benefits:

1.1 Explainer Videos

They’re used to break down a product, service, or process and visually explain what it is and how it works. Explainer video production can be animated or live-action, but regardless of the style chosen, it can simplify complex information and make it easier for the viewer to understand the value of what the brand has to offer. 

When it comes to brand awareness, explainer videos provide value to the audience, addressing common pain points or questions and establishing your brand as a helpful resource.

1.2 Educational Videos:

These videos are used to provide valuable industry information and insights to position your brand as a thought leader and build trust and credibility with your audience. When done well, educational pieces keep viewers engaged, which enhances brand awareness and recognition while increasing the chances that viewers will return for more information.

1.3 Commercials:

Commercials help brands to clearly communicate what they have to offer and what sets them apart from competitors while emphasizing their unique benefits and features. Moreover, the best commercial ads often leverage storytelling to evoke emotions and create memorable experiences that can significantly enhance brand recall and loyalty.

1.4 Product Demos:

When you want to showcase your product’s or service’s features and benefits in action, a product demo video is your best option. For audiences, being able to actually see the product in use builds trust and highlights its practical value, boosting brand awareness.

1.5 Customer Testimonials:

Testimonials focus on successful stories and experiences with your brand from satisfied customers. Providing social proof and sharing real stories can enhance brand awareness by strengthening your credibility.

2. Social Media Marketing

Creating a community around your brand is essential not only to reach a larger audience, but also to have the members spread awareness for you. What’s more, since social platforms have millions of active users, you can connect with your audience whenever and wherever. 

However, this only works if you maintain an active presence on social media by posting regularly and fostering engagement. To achieve this, you should create different types of content, such as videos, images, stories, and even live streams. Then, interact with your followers by replying to their comments and messages. In addition, you could use an advanced person search tool to gather more accurate insights about your target audience for marketing purposes.

In short, active social media profiles with good content will attract your audience, who, in turn, will interact with your brand and significantly boost your brand awareness.

3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO can be quite a powerful strategy to build awareness. As you probably already know, it involves making your website and its content more appealing to search engines so that potential customers can find you more easily. While this optimization won’t directly impact people’s awareness of your brand, it’ll have long-term effects that will definitely help your efforts down the road.

By leveraging tactics such as keyword research and implementation, link building, and content optimization, you’ll improve your brand’s visibility, authority, and ranking in the search results. This, in turn, will reinforce your brand identity and make your brand more recognizable.

4. Public Relations (PR)

PR strategies can be of immense help when it comes to spreading awareness about anything, even about brands. Sending press releases to media outlets, securing interviews, writing guest articles, and participating in industry events are all great ways to spread the word about your brand. On top of that, you’ll also be able to establish yourself as a reputable authority in your niche and increase visibility.

Now, what kind of topics, exactly, should you cover in a public relations strategy to build brand awareness? For starters, you can announce new products or services, or share key company updates and milestones.

5. Events and Sponsorships

Last but not least, taking part in, sponsoring, and hosting events can be another great strategy to boost your brand awareness. How? Well, events attract a highly targeted audience that’s already interested (or, at least, curious about) your industry or what you have to offer. Since they’re more receptive, your message will be more effective and chances are higher that they’ll be interested in knowing more about your brand.

Another great thing about events and sponsorships is that you can engage with your audience directly, face-to-face. This provides the opportunity for them to experience your brand firsthand and for you to build more personal relationships with them. On top of that, you’ll be able to get immediate feedback from them, helping you refine your marketing strategies.

How to Measure Brand Awareness 

To discover whether your marketing strategies are actually working, you first have to learn how to measure awareness of your brand. Luckily, there are some easy ways you can do that :

• Conduct Surveys and Questionnaires: Ask specific questions directly to your audience to gauge their awareness and perception of your brand. You can ask, for example, how or where they heard about your brand, whether they remember what your logo looks like, and what products or qualities they associate with your brand.
• Take a Look at Your Web Analytics: There are many tools you can use to keep track of metrics like website traffic, referral sources, or user behavior, all of which are directly related to brand awareness. 
• Monitor Social Media Performance: Use the plaftorms’ analytics to check out metrics such as the number of followers, engagement levels, and reach. All of these metrics are clear indicators of how well your content is performing and how your audience is interacting with it. 
• Analyze Search Volume Data: Take advantage of tools like Google Trends to explore search volume for your brand name and the keywords you want to position for. A high search volume means more interest and awareness for your brand.

Wrapping Up

Learning how to build brand awareness is a continuous effort that requires time and a consistent, well-rounded approach. You’ve already taken the first steps by understanding what it is and why it’s important, so now you’re ready to implement effective strategies to build it and enhance it.

From video marketing to public relations and everything inbetween, each strategy I’ve developed here plays a key role in making your brand known and trusted. But to be 100% sure your efforts are on the right track, you must remember to regularly measure awareness, even if it might be a bit tedious.

Investing time and effort (and, of course, resources!) in brand awareness will definitely help give you a competitive edge in the market. So, what are you waiting for? Start implementing these strategies today and watch your brand’s presence grow!