There’s no doubt that establishing brand awareness and recognition has enormous value for a successful business. Every business aims at gathering more leads and establishing bigger revenues, and in the sea of activities that they undertake, brand strategy is the foundation upon which their businesses, products, or services are built. However, this process is a continuum and it is of great importance to do it well and to know where to start. The mission is to constantly expand the number of people who know who you are, what you do, and see you as the obvious choice.
To achieve this goal, here are six ideas about how to build your brand awareness strategy:
Know yourself
You need to start from yourself, so make sure you truly understand who you are and what you stand for and organize your actions and environment accordingly. A deeper understanding of your own values, mission, and vision will contribute to your authenticity, which is one of the imperatives of business success. Your uniqueness will give you an advantage and a competitive edge.
Create prominent events
You need to get out there and make yourself known – plan events that involve a number of people interested in your brand, e.g. food and wine festivals, gaming conventions, expos, music festivals, or activist campaigns, where you can also take an active part. This increases your visibility and influence and also gives you fantastic resources for your video and writing material.
Own the media
Modern media provides fantastic opportunities to build and expand brands – suddenly, everything is bigger, better and faster. You can literally just use your phone – you are the source and you own the brand. Become the media – share information, tips, ideas, podcasts, interviews, or videos via blogs. It is essential to cut through the media noise and make your name and offer to stand out. You must live and breathe social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Be proactive – rummage through blogs, visit fairs, investigate the streetscapes for inspiration. Do all this in order to push your ideas forward as the ones that are a “one-of-a-kind experience”.
Leverage the power of SEO
Search engine optimization plays an important role in building a brand, but for many companies, it’s just an afterthought. However, it is something that shouldn’t be dismissed, mainly because of its primary role of improving user experience which should definitely be prioritized when launching a brand and a site. Learning a thing or two about search engine optimization is essential regardless of what business you are in, and there are a lot of useful tips you can pick up from amazing The Good Book of SEO and leverage that knowledge to accomplish your business vision. By employing an effective SEO strategy, you will optimize UX and ensure useful content, enhanced web traffic as well as improved brand reputation.
Be friendly
Spread your tentacles and make friends. Share your ideas and knowledge, help and give advice whenever you can. Educate and teach, so people can look up to you as a leader and mentor. Kindness and generosity go a long way and appeal to human hearts much faster than anything else. The same goes for the idea of giving before getting – this is something that will create a large base of fans and fans are the ones who build brands. Word-of-mouth recommendation is the best your brand can get.
Pick your niche
The pressure is unbearable when you try to do everything yourself. You can’t be everything to everyone. Delegate the work and choose your target market, narrow it down by specializing in one product or service, or aiming at a specific demographic (e.g. young working parents trying to balance life and work). Address this target market on their own turf – write your message in a way they want to see it, using the methods and mediums they like. Once your brand represents your identity, you can get really creative.
Marketing and branding strategy is like a battlefield – you constantly fight to be found, recognized, and eventually chosen. It is a constant and conscious effort and persistence to promote your brand and your values in a way that gives you not just an advantage over others, but also a human face that will stick in people’s minds and be remembered as unique and worthwhile.