Brand awareness is the ability to have your desired customer recognize your brand and associate it with specific products and services. Small businesses must focus their marketing efforts on strengthening brand awareness to increase trust and credibility to stand out among their competitors. This blog will discuss the importance of brand awareness and how you can increase it for your business.

Why is Brand Awareness Important?

Now that you have a better understanding of what brand awareness is, it’s equally, if not more, vital that you understand why it is important for you and your business. Let’s dive in.

Businesses that can effectively establish and maintain brand awareness are likely to increase their revenue due to consumers being more inclined to purchase from familiar brand names than unfamiliar brands. 59% of consumers said they prefer to buy from familiar brands. As a consumer, you can relate, right? 

Brand awareness, if done correctly, leads to trust. You don’t just want people to know about your brand; you want them to have a positive experience with it. With increased confidence, your brand becomes more recognizable and more successful as a business. Trust is critical in most, if not all, relationships. 

How to Increase Brand Awareness for Your Business

At this point, it’s easy to understand how vital strong brand awareness is for your business. So, the next step is to identify and implement simple, realistic, measurable strategies for your brand to either begin or strengthen your brand awareness journey. Consistency will be critical when developing your strategy to achieve brand awareness. 

Here are five strategies to better implement brand awareness into your marketing strategies.

5 Strategies for Increasing Brand Awareness

1. Use social media: Social media is a great way to reach your target audience. Engagement is essential when interacting with customers on social media, so be sure that you’re creating unique captions that are educational or personable. Ask your audience a question that will get them to respond in the comments section. Create short-video content that captures enough of their attention to keep them coming back for more. And last but not least, show some personality. Social media acts as an opportunity for your audience to get to know you, so stand out by showing them who you are and allowing them to connect with you in an organic, authentic way.
   
2. Focus on the local market: As a small business, you can effectively share your brand by being active within the community. Keep an eye out for local events that would benefit you. Also, be sure to support your fellow local small businesses. This will help to build a solid local network.
3. SEO: People use the internet for recommendations on almost all services and products at a rate like never before. For this reason, it is essential that you create an online presence for your brand. Most people don’t look past a few scrolls from an online search, so it will be vital that you increase your rankings. This starts with your content. Do you have the right keywords in place? Is your layout appealing? Can customers engage with pages on your website? Assess these variables through a consumer lens and then re-adjust as needed. Want to learn more about SEO and how to optimize it best? Head over to our previous blog.
4. Customer service: High-quality customer service is often what keeps customers coming back. If your business receives a negative review, keep a friendly tone and offer a reasonable solution. If a customer writes a positive review, consider rewarding them with a free product or service or a warm, personable gesture. Happy customers are invaluable to your business. More positive reviews will improve your website’s visibility.
5. Promotional products: Once the budget allows, invest in high-quality promotional products. Include these items in shipments to customers, goodie bags, local events, or as part of a giveaway. Utilizing promotional products as a company offers a subtle yet affordable way to build brand visibility. Seeing your logo on a bike at the gym is really fun. Help your customers market for you by giving them items with your branding that will follow them around town.

The Bottom Line

To summarize, brand awareness is necessary and says a lot about where you stand in the competitive landscape. Some of the strategies we’ve mentioned can assist you in effectively measuring what’s working and what’s not. Overall, the strategy you decide to employ to achieve brand awareness is up to you, but focusing on them will be instrumental. If you have any questions or need further assistance with getting started, reach out to MindStream Creative and let us help you stand out.