How do you build brand awareness for your company?
Short answer: by showing up as people rather than as a logo, saying the same thing consistently, and being useful in the few channels where your buyers already are. Brand awareness is not a campaign you run once. It is the accumulated result of a mission people can repeat, stories they remember, content that helps before it sells, and a feedback loop that tells you whether any of it landed.
What brand awareness actually buys you
| What it produces | How you notice it |
|---|---|
| Revenue | Deals start warmer and close with less convincing |
| Differentiation | Buyers can say what makes you different, in their own words |
| Trust | People buy before they have spoken to sales |
| Category association | Your name comes up when the problem comes up |
| Brand equity | You compete on fit instead of on price |
The rest of this post covers what brand awareness is, why it matters, and ten ways to build it.
As a business owner, what is one of your top priorities?
It’s to increase revenue for your company, right?
So what is the best way to increase revenue for your company?
If you’ve guessed it’s brand awareness, then you are absolutely correct!
Brand awareness can be one of the most valuable assets in any business.
Just take a look at the tremendous success of some of the most famous companies such as Nike, Apple, and Starbucks. All these three brands owe a large part of their success to brand awareness.
So, how can you increase brand awareness for your company?
Well, that’s what we’re going to talk about today!
In this article, we’ll go over what brand awareness is, why it’s important, and how you can increase it.
Table of Content:
What is Brand Awareness?
Brand awareness is simply how well-known and popular a particular business or product is within its target market.
There are a lot of examples that we can use to demonstrate what brand awareness is.
Just think of the companies we’ve already mentioned. How many times a day do you see people wearing their clothes or using their products?
(Don’t answer that.) The point is that these brands are everywhere!
That’s because they managed to build up brand awareness among millions of consumers over the years.
In fact, these companies have such a strong brand awareness that it’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t know what they are.
When you think about it, that’s pretty incredible, right?
Now that you know what brand awareness is, let’s talk about why it’s so important.
Why Is Brand Awareness Important?
Brand awareness is important for a couple of reasons.
Brand awareness leads to increased revenue for your company
First, brand awareness leads to increased company revenue. This may sound like a bold claim, but it’s absolutely true!
As mentioned previously, companies like Nike, Apple, and Starbucks have built up incredible brand awareness among millions of consumers. Because of this, over time, these companies have been able to increase their revenue tremendously.
Now, you might be thinking that it takes millions of dollars to build brand awareness as these companies did. That’s not true! It may take a little bit of money upfront, but you can definitely build brand awareness without spending too much.
The key is building your brand slowly over time.
Brand awareness helps your business stand out
Another reason why brand awareness is important for your company is that it can help you stand out from the competition.
Let’s face it – there are probably a lot of companies out there doing the same thing that you do.
Because of this, consumers have a lot of choices as to where they want to spend their money.
Without brand awareness, you might not even be on your customers’ radar.
But, if you have built some brand awareness among your customers through marketing and other activities, then they might consider buying from you, as opposed to your competition.
Brand awareness helps your company build up trust
One of the most important things for any business is trust. You’ve probably heard that if people don’t trust you, then they won’t buy from you.
Well, that’s absolutely true.
When you’re trying to build up trust, one of the best things that you can do is to get your customers to know more about you. That’s where brand awareness comes in.
After all, if people know more about your company and what you do, then they are much more likely to trust you.
Brand Awareness creates the association between your company and a particular product
When you hear the name “Nike,” what comes to mind?
If you’re like most people, then “Nike” probably makes you think of shoes or athletic apparel.
That’s because Nike has created an association between their company and a particular product.
The same thing goes for Google and Apple.
When most people hear the name Google, they think about search engines and other technology products they offer. When people hear the name Apple, they think about iPhones, iPads, and other high-tech devices available on the market.
Do you see what I’m getting at?
By building brand awareness, you can form an association between your company and a particular product.
Once this association is in place, it becomes much easier for you to sell your product or service.
That’s because people will already have an idea of what you do and why it’s valuable before they even talk to you.
Brand awareness builds brand equity
Another major benefit of building brand awareness is that it builds brand equity.
What’s brand equity?
Basically, it means how much value your company has in the eyes of its customers. In other words, it’s the value that your brand must have when compared to other brands.
If you’re able to build brand awareness and establish a strong association between your company and a particular product, then it means your brand will have much more value than other brands on the market.
As you can imagine, this will have a positive effect on your company’s bottom line.
You’ll be able to sell your products and services at a higher price because people will be willing to pay more for them.
You’ll also be able to spend less on marketing and advertising because your customers will already know about you.
Now that you know how important and valuable brand awareness is for your company, let’s talk about how to build it.
How to Build Brand Awareness
Before we start, it’s important to note that building brand awareness takes time and effort. It is not something that you can do overnight.
You have to be committed and you have to stick with it.
If you expect to see results right away, then you are setting yourself up for failure.
With that being said, building up brand awareness isn’t all that difficult.
It just takes some patience and know-how.
Here are a few things you can do to build brand awareness:
1. Be a person, not a company.
When you’re building brand awareness, it’s important to remember that people buy from other people.
That means that your company or product can’t be your entire brand. You also have to establish yourself as a person in order for people to trust you and buy from you.
We are now living in the relationship era. People don’t just want to work with companies.They want to work with people. So make sure that you establish yourself as a person before anything else.
Be yourself and be relatable.
Let your personality shine through in all of your marketing materials so that people can get to know you better.
Talk about your personal experiences and background.
Talk about what you’re passionate about.
Talk about your failures and your successes.
Talk about why you got into this business in the first place.
Heck, talk about your family and pets if that helps you connect with people.
The bottom line is this: You need to be yourself. Don’t be afraid to show your human side.
People will appreciate that.
As soon as you start showing your human side, it becomes much easier for people to trust you.
You’ll be able to build a connection with them and turn casual leads into loyal customers.
Remember: People buy from people they know, like, and trust.
If you want people to buy from you, then the first thing that you have to do is build a connection with them.
Don’t be a faceless corporation trying to sell them something. Be a real person they can connect with and relate to.
2. Convey your company’s mission and vision.
Your brand awareness efforts won’t be worth anything if people don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish.
That’s why it’s important to convey your company mission and vision. Your message should be clear, concise, and consistent across all of your marketing materials.
Also, your mission and vision should be something that people can get behind and support. It shouldn’t be all about selling products and services.
It should be about making the world a better place and bringing value to people’s lives.
As soon as you establish your company’s mission and vision, you have to convey it in all of your marketing materials.
Don’t assume that people will just “get” your company’s mission and vision.
You have to spell it out for them so they can fully understand what you’re trying to accomplish.
Once they know what you’re trying to achieve, your brand awareness efforts will be much more effective.
It’ll be easier for people to understand you and spread your message.
More importantly, it’ll be easier for people to understand why they should buy from you and not from your competition.
3. Use social media to your advantage.
Social media is one of the best ways to build brand awareness.
And it’s also one of the cheapest and easiest options at your disposal.
If you haven’t used social media yet, then it’s time to start.
You don’t have to be an expert at creating viral content or building a massive following. You just have to be consistent and post quality content every single day.
If you want people to buy from you, then you have to remind them that you exist.
And social media is a great way to do that.
The key here is consistency. You have to post consistently on a daily or weekly basis to stay relevant and fresh in people’s minds.
Don’t post once a month and expect people to remember you.
It’s not going to work.
So make sure that you post every single day or week, depending on what works best for your business.
Even if you only have a small following, social media is still an effective way to build brand awareness.
It’s not about the number of followers that you have. It’s about your message and how it resonates with them.
Just make sure to be consistent, post quality content, and remember to keep it personal.
Like we already said, people buy from people that they like and trust!
So, the more you connect with them on a personal level, the better.
4. Focus on the right marketing channels.
You have to know which platforms and tools are going to be best for your brand awareness efforts.
You can’t just blast your marketing messages everywhere on the web.
That’s not going to do anything except annoy people, and they’re definitely not going to be the ones to become loyal customers.
Instead, focus on the right marketing channels and find out where your target audience spends their time.
It’s up to you to figure out where they’re hanging out, what kind of content they like, and which platforms are the best for your brand awareness efforts.
Once you figure that out it’ll be much easier to build brand awareness for your company and engage with more people.
5. Learn how to tell a story.
Stories are one of the most powerful ways to connect with people and build up trust.
Think about it. Storytelling has been used for centuries to inspire people and change the world.
Why?
Because people love stories.
We all love hearing them, we enjoy experiencing them, and we all like relating to them.
That’s why storytelling is one of the most powerful tools that you can use to build brand awareness for your company. And that’s why a lot of brands are using storytelling to increase their brand awareness.
Take Apple for example. They’re a massive, multinational corporation that’s worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
But they don’t sell their products by throwing a bunch of numbers and specs at their customers.
Instead, they tell a story about how technology can make people’s lives better. And it’s a story that people can relate to.
It’s not just Apple though. Every successful company uses stories to connect with its customers.
It’s the foundation of every great brand.
Whether you realize it or not, your brand has a story.
And if you don’t know what that is yet, then now’s the time to figure it out.
Once you know your brand’s story, then you can start building a narrative around it and telling that story in all of your marketing materials.
It’ll make it easier to build brand awareness for your company because people will be able to relate to you more easily.
6. Don’t overwhelm people with your marketing.
You have to be mindful of how you’re building brand awareness for your company if you want it to be effective.
One of the biggest mistakes that people make is overwhelming their existing and potential customers with marketing materials.
Like we’ve already said, it’s about being relevant.
That means you have to be subtle with your marketing if you want people to trust your brand and buy from you.
If you’re constantly pushing your marketing messages and promotions on people, then they’ll be more likely to develop a negative association with your brand.
And that’s something that you definitely don’t want to happen.
On the flip side, if you’re not doing enough marketing for your brand or using it too subtly, then people won’t know who you are or what your brand is about.
You have to find a balance between being subtle and overwhelming with marketing materials.
Take Starbucks for example.
People adore their coffee and love their brand.
But Starbucks doesn’t go around spamming everyone on social media with marketing messages.
They know that they have a good thing going, so they use social media to engage with their customers.
They’ll post pictures of their drinks and stores to give people a look at what they’re doing, but it’s never in an overwhelming way.
It all comes down to knowing your audience and building brand awareness for your company in a way that doesn’t alienate them.
So don’t be heavy-handed with your marketing materials, but make sure that people know what your brand is about.
7. Use the power of Content Marketing.
Content marketing is the most powerful way that you can use to build brand awareness for your company.
It’s a way of marketing that doesn’t seem like marketing.
Instead, it feels more organic and relatable to your audience because you’re giving them valuable, educational information.
“The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing”
People love this approach because it’s a win-win situation for both parties involved.
Your customers get something for free that will help them, and you get brand awareness.
Think about it this way: if someone reads your blog post or signs up for your email list because they’re interested in what you have to say, they are most likely potential new customers.
And you get them by giving away something of value.
That’s the beauty of content marketing.
You’re building brand awareness for your company while creating leads at the same time.
It’s a win-win situation and you should take advantage of it as much as possible.
But what content should you be creating?
You have to give your audience something that they’ll find useful and educational.
It could be a blog post, an ebook, a cheat sheet, a video, or anything else that you think will help be relevant to your customers.
Just remember that people are buying from the companies that they trust (I know I’ve already said this many times before, but it is of great importance).
So, if you can provide valuable content to your audience on a regular basis, then you’re certainly going to build up trust with them.
And once they trust you, there’s a good chance that they’ll buy from your company.
8. Create a feedback loop.
One of the most effective ways to build brand awareness for your company is by creating a feedback loop.
A feedback loop is a type of system that you set up to get customer feedback on your brand.
Whether it’s through social media, email, or something else, you want to ask your customers what they think about your brand.
That way, if there’s something that you’re doing wrong or an opinion that you have goes against your customers’ opinion, then you’ll know about it.
It gives you a chance to change and grow as a company.
You can also use it to find out what your customers like about you and the products or services that you offer.
Once you have that information, you can use it to build brand awareness for your company.
You’ll also be able to create more content that your customers would love to see.
That way, you’re constantly creating new content that they’ll love and be interested in.
And when you do this on a regular basis, you will increase brand awareness for your company.
The main thing that you should keep in mind is that the customers’ feedback matters.
If you ignore it or don’t do anything about the problems that they bring up, then they won’t trust you as a brand.
This is something you want to avoid at all costs.
You have to be someone they can trust and who is actively listening to their feedback because only then will you be able to build quality brand awareness for your company.
But what if you don’t have a big customer base yet?
That’s okay, too!
You can still use this strategy to find out the opinions of people who are interested in your brand.
Just remember: it’s customer feedback that matters.
So get creative and find a way to ask them about their opinion on your brand.
9. Don’t forget about your current customers.
Building brand awareness for your company doesn’t just apply to potential customers and leads.
You also have to take care of your current customers as well.
Your existing customer base is one of the most valuable assets that you have.
They’re loyal to your brand and they want you to succeed.
But what do loyal customers really mean?
Well, it means that they will keep buying from you, keep telling their friends about your brand, and they’re going to be much more forgiving if there’s a mistake with an order or something like that.
That’s why it’s important to take care of your existing customers and make sure that they’re happy with what you’re doing.
You have to go above and beyond for them so that they know how much you appreciate and value the fact that they do business with your company.
That way, if a competitor comes along and tries to steal them away, they will not leave.
So don’t forget about your current customers when you’re trying to drive brand awareness for your company.
You will need them if you want to succeed in the long run.
10. Be consistent.
One of the main reasons why a lot of companies fail to build brand awareness is because they don’t stick with it.
Building brand awareness is a long-term strategy and it takes time to see the results.
You can’t expect people to remember your company after seeing it once.
You have to be consistent and keep creating new content on a regular basis in order to drive and grow brand awareness for your company.
Just remember that it’s a marathon and not a sprint.
Try not to get frustrated if you don’t see immediate results because it will only make things worse.
Be consistent and keep going even if you don’t see the results right away.
Surely it’s a slow process but building brand awareness for your company doesn’t happen overnight.
It takes time, effort, and patience but if you keep at it then you’re going to see success.
So don’t give up and keep going until you see the results.
And as long as you stick with it, there’s a good chance that you’ll build brand awareness for your company.
Conclusion
This is all you need to know to start building brand awareness for your company!
Now that you have this information, it’s time to put it into action.
Make a plan and figure out what steps you’re going to take in order to start growing brand awareness for your business.
And as long as you stick with the process then nothing can stop you from achieving success.
So get out there and start building brand awareness for your company!
FAQ: building brand awareness
How long does it take to build brand awareness?
Months, not weeks. The first signals show up early though: people quoting your phrases back to you, inbound questions that reference something you published, the right profiles visiting yours. Those come before the revenue does.
Can a small company build brand awareness without a big budget?
Yes, and small companies often have the advantage. A founder with an opinion beats a corporate account with a content calendar, because people follow people. What it costs is consistency rather than media spend.
How do you measure brand awareness?
Branded search volume, direct traffic, how often prospects say they already knew you, and what share of new deals arrive inbound. Ask every new lead where they heard about you and write the answer down. That log is more useful than most dashboards.
Is brand awareness the same as demand generation?
No. Awareness makes people know you exist. Demand generation makes them want what you sell. You need both, and awareness usually has to come first, otherwise demand generation spends its budget introducing you.
Related reading: How to increase brand awareness, B2B storytelling: create a new demand, How personal branding creates differentiation.
This article is from the Funky Marketing blog archive. The work continues at Funky Enterprises: positioning, demand generation and commercial systems for B2B companies.
If you want to look at your own commercial system, book a 30-minute needs assessment. New conversations with people who build revenue are on the Funky Enterprises Show.
