It’s a common misconception that the role of marketing is only to create content for sales. Most companies work on creating a sales team first and only then do they start building a marketing team and think about ways to increase brand awareness on social media, which is absolutely wrong.
Marketing is there to create demand. The sales team is there to take that demand and translate it into sales, that is, revenue.
So, first comes the marketing that drives growth, and then the sales that take that growth and take it to the next level.
But when marketing has the role of just creating assets for the sales team, it doesn’t fulfill its main function, which is to create awareness, demand, and brand over time, and thus affect earnings growth and easier sales.
How does marketing drive growth?
When sales people go to the companies, they already know about you – who you are, what you do, and what you want to achieve. This makes the job of sales people much easier because they aren’t talking to completely cold targets, but to those who know who they are.
As we said, a marketing job is to create awareness, demand, and brand over time, and today we’re going to talk about brand and awareness. They are closely connected, but brand awareness is a lot easier to do than creating a brand.
That’s why we’ll first cover brand awareness.
“Just as a light bulb won’t stay lit without the consistent burn, your brand will die if you don’t consistently promote it!
The question is: what does it take to turn your brand into the new light bulb?”
Today we are going to answer that question!
But before we get into that let’s see what increased awareness actually does for you and your business.
What increase Brand Awareness on Social Media actually does for you and your business?
There are a couple of good reasons why you should even bother with building your brand awareness.
- The more people know about your brand the easier it becomes to convert them into customers and thus increase your revenue stream.
- Increased brand awareness also means that you get more exposure for your business and products.
- It’s pretty much impossible to become a leader in your industry without gaining as much market recognition as possible.
- Having good brand awareness is important because once you establish yourself as an authority figure in your field then people will naturally start gravitating towards you.
- It makes your brand sustainable as it generates more sales and revenue for the continued development of the business.
Building and promoting your brand may seem like an unnecessary added burden especially when you already have enough on your plate with running the rest of your business, but trust me when I say: doing so will pay its dividends in the long run!
I hope that those reasons are enough to convince you why increased awareness actually matters. Now let’s see how we can achieve just that with 6 specific tips!
6 Tips For Lighting Up Your Brand Awareness on Social Media
1. Create quality content that your audience wants to read (not just what you want them to read)
Don’t post anything onto social media unless it is something that people actually want to see and read. If there was a single factor in creating an exciting brand it is this.
Be sure that your content is something that your audience is interested in and will share with their friends. Lots of brands often forget this important point, which results in their posts getting less attention than they deserve.
Now you’ll ask: “How can I tell if the content we’re about to post is actually interesting to others?”
Here are a few questions to ask yourself before you hit the “post” button:
1) Does this post add value to my audience? If you’re not posting anything that adds value to someone’s life, then why should they care about you?
2) Is this something that my followers will benefit from seeing in their feed? It is important to remember who your audience is and try your best to tailor your content so it appeals specifically to them.
3) How can I improve this? Before publishing, re-read your post one more time and see if you can improve it and if you can, do so!
4) Is this something I would want to see in my feed?
5) Does this pass the “Mother Test”? Imagine if your mother or even wife saw this post and asked what it was all about. Would they understand without further explanation?
6) Is this post consistent with the direction I want to take my brand or business?
If the answer is “Yes” to all of these questions, then go for it!
If not, take the time to re-work it until you’re satisfied with your post and then hit publish.
Just remember: You won’t grow your brand by posting content just because you think it’s good. You need to make sure others actually enjoy seeing and reading what you are posting.
Sometimes, it means posting, seeing reactions, and then optimizing.
2. Consistently promote and distribute your content to build a following
Promoting and distributing content is crucial to maintaining momentum with your brand because there must be an audience in place for the light bulb! To keep it lit, there need to be more people who know about your brand than those who simply stumble upon it by accident.
That means that you need to share your content more often – at least once per day. Ideally, you should push your content two times per day, no matter what size of following you have built up. We wrote a great article about distribution, you can check it out by clicking here.
The reason for this is because when content has more exposure, it will be seen by more and more people who like what they see — which leads to greater brand awareness and social media growth.
Of course, this may not be possible if you are starting, but the goal is to consistently work towards getting the word out as often as possible. It could take a month or more to really see the fruit of your labor, so be patient and consistent!
3. Develop a posting schedule
Commit to making your brand the light bulb that stays on day and night.
This means you need to develop a posting schedule.
Posting schedules are not set in stone, but they are essential for building and maintaining momentum with your brand’s social media presence.
If your brand doesn’t have a substantial following yet, start small! Don’t overwhelm yourself when first starting.
If you’re committing to posting at least once per day, aim for three times a week. It’s also important that your posting schedule is consistent no matter how small or large of an account you own.
Consistent posting schedules will show your followers that you are dedicated to growing and maintaining your brand’s social media presence.
Don’t worry if you can only commit to two days a week initially, just start somewhere!
Remember, consistency wins every time, so even just one post per week is better than nothing!
4. Reply & engage with comments and messages
Social media is about communicating with other people.
If people are taking the time to comment on one of your posts or send you a message, they clearly want to communicate with you. If you ignore them or don’t reply promptly, it tells them that your brand is uninterested in maintaining communication with their audience.
Even if you don’t have enough time to respond right away, at least quickly follow up so other people see that you’re honest and interested in what they have said!
If someone writes something helpful, thank them. If someone has a problem with your post or topic, make sure to address their concerns before moving forward. You may even find yourself turning potential customers into long-term supporters and advocates for your brand without even trying.
Being consistently visible, responding promptly, and staying engaged helps build trust between you and your audience.
5. Encourage conversation about your brand or business by replying & directing the conversation back to you when relevant.
In addition to being visible, responsive, and engaged, you should also be encouraging conversation about your brand. Whenever people are positively talking about you or sharing things that you can join into the conversation with, make sure to do so!
If you notice that people are talking about other brands or topics in your industry, try to redirect the conversation back to your brand and products whenever appropriate. This often occurs when you share something inspirational, motivational, or otherwise interesting that others want to talk about.
Learning how to tactfully insert yourself into a conversation can be tricky at first but with practice, it becomes second nature!
The key things to remember are: Don’t spam their feed with all of your posts – only share content that’s relevant and meaningful.
If they mention another business’ name in their post, don’t over-promote yourself – instead engage with them by sharing some information on why they should consider buying from you instead.
Finally, forget about being the center of attention all the time – be helpful and generous.
6. Repeat Steps 1-5 every day!
As the old saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day!” nor will your brand.
Social media is not something you can do for just one day and expect it to work magic on your business.
It takes time for relationships to build, people to notice you, and for the buzz about your business to spread.
The real key is in consistently growing your social media presence daily by repeating these steps every single day.
Conclusion
Social media is about building relationships, and if you want people to acknowledge your company or your product, or even you as a brand, you must be consistently visible on social media.
It takes time and consistency for these efforts to work their magic so don’t give up too quickly!
Doing all of this daily will pay off in the long run as you build your brand’s overall awareness that leads to more sales!
Don’t worry – it doesn’t cost much money or time to start spreading the word. Start today and watch as social media marketing lights your way to success!
If this is something you need help with, we are always here for you!
We specialize in helping companies increase their awareness, maximize their growth and revenue potential aka create demand generation strategies that work. If you’d like a free consultation to discuss how we can help your brand and revenue growth, contact us today.
