How to Build Brand Awareness Online

Did you know that the real term for Band-Aids is actually plastic bandages? Band-Aid is a brand that distributes this type of product. And as you already know, the brand was so popular that its name became the generic term for adhesive bandages. 

If you’re British, you likely call any vacuum cleaner a Hoover. Again, Hoover is a brand that eventually turned into a household name. These are just a few examples of how brand awareness can influence our perception of specific products. 

Given that 59% of consumers would purchase from a brand they already know, raising brand awareness should be at the top of your list. After all, you’ll probably buy a plastic bandage from Band-Aid rather than from one of its competitors, like Dettol Plasters, for example. 

But raising brand awareness isn’t just a matter of plastering a few billboards in town. It can get quite expensive, and it might not be that effective either. The answer lies within the online medium, where most people spend the majority of their day. 

That said, let’s take a look at how you can raise brand awareness online.

1. Focus on Content Marketing

Content marketing can play a significant role in raising brand awareness. That’s because, in contrast to other marketing strategies, content emphasizes offering valuable information to the audience without necessarily asking for anything in return. 

What’s more, 70% of consumers prefer to learn about products or services by reading blogs rather than viewing ads.  

Consequently, content can earn your audience’s trust and make your brand more memorable.

Moreover, content marketing allows you to establish yourself as an expert within your niche. The more you demonstrate your knowledge, the more noticeable your content will be, and the more people will share your blogs with their friends. 

Lastly, companies that blog regularly typically experience a 55% boost web traffic in web traffic. Blogs can also notice a staggering 434% increase in indexed pages and a 97% growth in inbound links. 

In other words, content marketing can also help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In short, this is the process of improving your website to rank higher in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). 

The higher you rank, the more people will see you in the SERP, thus helping you improve brand awareness. 

But to make content marketing successful, you’ll need to understand your audience thoroughly. That said, take the time to identify your audience’s needs, wants, pain points and create content based on solving their issues. 

After that, make sure to publish your blogs on your website, social media accounts, etc. Also, give guest blogging a shot. This is a great way to put your brand in front of a new audience.

2. Get Involved in Social Media 

Social media marketing is more than just promoting your products now and again. To unlock its full potential, you’ll need to hold a two-way conversation with your audience. 

In other words, you’ll need to continuously engage with your followers and encourage your followers to get involved with you as well. That said, try to use social media to humanize your brand. 

You need to show the face behind your brand so that people can treat you more like a friend rather than any other faceless company. One way to do this is by posting behind-the-scenes content. 

Share photos of what your teams’ daily routine looks like, and go live from time to time so that you can address your followers’ questions in real-time. This allows your audience to foster a more meaningful relationship with your company, thus making your brand more memorable. 

Moreover, consider hosting polls where you’d ask your followers for their feedback or opinions on specific topics. 

This will not only show them that you’re genuinely interested in their thoughts, but this is also a great source of information that can help you create a more effective marketing strategy further down the road. 

Also, consider encouraging your followers to post their own content, where they display your products, also known as User-Generated-Content (UGC) 

That’s because 86% of consumers decide on what brands they should support based on authenticity. UGC shows off your products from a customer’s point of view. 

Consequently, UGC can play an essential role in earning potential customers’ trust. What’s more, 92% of consumers trust product recommendations from people they know over advertisements. 

Given that their friends will likely see content posted by your followers, UGC may also bring new people to your business. 

Note that you’ll need to have plenty of tools to make social media marketing effective, like social media management tools, social listening tools, and perhaps use graphic design platforms as well. 

Although it may set you back a little, keep in mind you don’t always need to pay the full price. For example, you can find discounts on platforms like Hootsuite or Revive Social with DontPayFull.

3. Leverage Influencer Marketing 

While we are on the topic of social media, let’s talk about influencers. These are generally regarded as experts within their niche and have a steady, engaged following behind them.

Given that 49% of consumers rely on influencer recommendations, it’s pretty safe to say that this form of marketing can effectively place your brand in front of a larger audience, improve credibility, increase brand awareness, and ultimately generate more sales. 

Let’s look at a few ways you can use influencer marketing to your advantage. 

For starters, you can let influencers handle content creation for you. Given that they typically have a highly-engaged follower base, influencers likely have a more thorough understanding of your target audience. 

They know what makes them tick and create content that has a more powerful emotional impact. Moreover, they are likely capable of adding more authenticity to your posts, making your content appear less salesy. 

That said, you can ask influencers to post promotional content on their social media page and then repurpose that content for your company’s network. 

Secondly, you can use influencers to create unboxing videos. 

Unboxing videos are popular and usually experience high engagement levels. But more importantly, unboxing videos show off your products from the influencer’s perspective, with most marketing buzz left aside. 

Consequently, this type of content will improve your brand’s authenticity and credibility. 

Third, influencers are great for promoting contests with giveaways. After all, everybody likes free stuff, and if you manage to get an influencer to spread the word about your contests to their audience, the chances are that everyone will talk about it in no time. 

4. Implement a Referral Program 

As mentioned earlier, 92% of consumers trust recommendations from their peers over advertisements. If customers are already happy with your product, they’re likely to share it with their friends. 

But sometimes, they require a little extra push. That’s where a referral program comes in. With this strategy, you’ll get to feed two birds with one seed. 

On the one hand, referral programs allow you to increase brand awareness by encouraging customers to share your business with their friends. 

On the other hand, given that personal recommendations are so powerful, you’ll likely acquire new customers as well. 

But when implementing this strategy, make sure to give your customers a little incentive. For instance, you could provide users with a 10% discount for every new customer they manage to bring in.

Also, make sure to let people know about your referral program by promoting it on social media and other marketing channels. 

Final Words 

All in all, building brand awareness should be one of your top priorities, especially if your business is new on the market. 

First off, make sure to emphasize content marketing. Providing valuable content to your audience and showing off your knowledge can go a long way in earning people’s trust and bringing your brand into the spotlight. Not to mention that it helps with SEO as well. 

Secondly, social media is crucial here. You need to continuously engage with your audience and get them involved in your business. Also, influencers can help expand your reach and bring new people to your business.

Lastly, make sure to capitalize on the power of word-of-mouth marketing through referral programs.