What is brand awareness, and why does it help attract customers?
Brand awareness is a fundamental part of any successful marketing strategy. By bringing attention to, and keeping it on, your brand's story and product range, you can begin to build a relationship with your target audience. Below is a range of practical, actionable advice to employ brand awareness best practices into your business.
What is brand awareness?
Brand awareness is a general term that describes how familiar consumers are with a brand or its products. Put simply, brand awareness is the measure of how memorable and recognizable a brand is to its target audience.
Establishing brand awareness is a powerful marketing strategy that leads consumers to develop an instinctive preference towards a brand and its products. Making a brand recognizable and memorable is at the heart of most marketing strategies because it is a major force behind brand trust, and ultimately, sales generation.
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How to improve brand awareness
Marketers can choose from a variety of brand awareness activities to promote their business and boost customer engagement. Here are a couple to consider.
Create shareable content
Creating shareable content is an essential aspect of any successful sales and marketing strategy. Here are some reasons why creating shareable content is important for marketers and some tips on what kind of content is best for sharing.
It increases your visibility and brand recognition. By encouraging your audience to share your content, you can reach new potential customers who may not have heard of your brand before.
It builds trust. When people see that their friends, peers or family members have shared your content they are more likely to trust your brand and engage with your content themselves.
It can improve your website's search engine optimization (SEO). When your content is shared, it generates backlinks to your website, which signals to search engines that your content is valuable and relevant. This can improve your website's ranking in search engine results pages, making it easier for potential customers to find you.
What kind of content is best for sharing?
Naturally, you want to ensure the content you produce is optimized for sharing on your social media channels. Here are some tips to get you started.
Make your content visually appealing. People are more likely to share engaging content that catches the eye, such as infographics, videos, and high-quality images.
Keep it short and sweet. You only have a few seconds to capture their attention, so keep your content and messaging concise and to the point.
Think about what is useful to your community. People are more likely to share content that is helpful or informative. How-to guides or videos are great for this, as are new research findings or industry insights.
Make it entertaining. When it comes down to it, we all want to be amused and entertained. Where appropriate add some funny memes or heartwarming stories into your content mix.
Choose timely and up-to-date content. Sharing is all about the Now. Try to always share content that is new and relevant to current events or trends.
Tell an authentic brand story
Telling an authentic brand story is a powerful way to build brand awareness and make a meaningful, enduring connection with your target audience. In today's crowded marketplace, consumers are bombarded with sales and advertising messages so it can be a challenge to stand out from the competition. By telling an authentic brand story, you can differentiate your business, show your unique character and resonate with your audience.
Here are some reasons why telling an authentic brand story is important for building brand awareness:
It creates an emotional connection. People don't just buy products or services; they buy into a brand's story and values. When you tell an authentic brand story, you can create an emotional connection with your audience that goes beyond the functional benefits of your product or service.
It sets you apart from the competition. There may be a number of other businesses that offer similar products or services, but there is only one you. By telling your unique brand story, you can differentiate yourself from the competition and create a distinct identity that will stick in the minds of your audience for all the right reasons.
It builds trust and credibility. Consumers are becoming increasingly skeptical of traditional advertising messages. By telling an authentic brand story, you can build trust, credibility and advocacy with your audience by showing them who you are, what you stand for, and why you are the right company to help them.
It creates brand ambassadors. When people connect with your brand story, they are more likely to become loyal customers and advocates for your brand. They will be encouraged to share your story with their peer group, helping to build brand awareness and grow your reputation.
Top tips on how to tell an authentic brand story
Communicating the unique story of your brand and people can be a challenge. Here are some tips to help you get it right the first time.
- Be true to your brand values - Your brand story should be firmly rooted in your values and beliefs.
- Be honest and transparent - Consumers are savvy and can detect when a brand is being disingenuous.
- Be human - Your brand story should be relatable and connect with people on an emotional level.
- Be consistent - Your brand story should be consistent across all your marketing channels and touchpoints.
Discover the role Bynder can play in brand management for your organization.
