Remember the days when you asked your friends for advice, and they said, “Google it”? Or when someone wanted to pay you back but didn’t have cash, they said, “Venmo me”? These are examples of how strong brand awareness can influence our everyday lives.
Google and Venmo have become such integral parts of our culture that we don’t even think twice before using them in conversation. In fact, these two phrases have become so commonplace in our daily language that they are almost a part of our collective lexicon.
This is the power of brand awareness: embedding itself into consumer lifestyles so profoundly that people use it without even thinking about it.
In this guide, we’ll explore how to increase brand awareness among your audience through strategic campaigns and tactics designed to get people talking about your business.
At a glance:
• Understanding Brand Visibility and Awareness
• Attracting the Right Kind of Traffic
• Why Brand Awareness in Marketing Matters
• How To Increase Brand Awareness
• Need Something Better? Try Building a Digital Marketing Strategy Instead
Understanding Brand Visibility and Awareness
First, let’s define two terms we’ll keep mentioning in this post: brand visibility and awareness.
Brand visibility is the degree to which a brand’s presence can be seen in physical and digital spaces. This includes things like:
• Advertisements
• Social media engagement campaigns
• Website design
“Brand awareness is like being the cool kid on the block that everyone knows and loves,” said Frank Laudo, Thrive’s Creative Director.
“It’s about how familiar and recognized a brand is among consumers.”
Brand visibility, on the other hand, “is more about a brand’s street cred in the marketplace,” said Laudo. This is achieved through various marketing tactics, such as:
• Advertising
• Social media
• Digital PR
However, Laudo explains that “you can’t have brand awareness without brand visibility because you need to be out there in the open for people to become aware of your brand.”
So, while brand visibility focuses on how often potential customers can see you, brand awareness is more concentrated on how well those customers remember and recognize your brand. It’s about creating meaningful relationships and conversations that go beyond simple recognition.
When measuring brand awareness, it’s essential to look at the quality of recognition and recall your customers have, not just quantity.
A high volume of brand recognition doesn’t necessarily equate to a successful marketing campaign. If you want to get people talking about your business, you need more than quick glances. You need lasting connections that inspire trust and positive sentiment.
Attracting the Right Kind of Traffic
Increasing direct website traffic is a primary reason why businesses invest in a brand awareness campaign, and it makes sense. After all, more website visitors means more opportunities for conversions – but not just any website visitor will do.
“When brand awareness and brand visibility join forces, they create a powerful allure that attracts those sought-after qualified leads to your website,” Laudo said.
When your target audience is familiar with your business, website visits tend to be more purposeful and engaging. People who already know about you are more likely to stick around longer and explore what your company offers since they’re interested in the first place.
The goal of any successful brand awareness campaign should be to capture these interested visitors and turn them into loyal customers.
Why Brand Awareness in Marketing Matters
It’s easy to write off brand awareness as a “nice-to-have” marketing strategy. But the reality is that this type of branding can be potent for your business. Here are some reasons identified by Laudo why brand awareness in marketing is a “must-have” for businesses.
Enhance Your Legitimacy
How do you know if a business is credible and trustworthy? Chances are, it’s because you’ve heard of them before.
Brand awareness makes your company look more legitimate in the eyes of potential customers by showing that you’re an established player in your industry. That kind of legitimacy can be invaluable when people are making purchasing decisions.
Laudo says that familiarity with a brand instills confidence and builds strong foundations for consumer loyalty and preference.
Just take a look at the success of luxury goods. Many premium brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci rely on brand awareness campaigns to create an air of exclusivity and elegance around their products. It’s something that resonates with consumers who want to be associated with these types of high-end labels.
They’re essentially using brand awareness to make their products appear more desirable and give them a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Attract More Qualified Traffic
The more people hear about you, the more they’ll know who you’re targeting and what services you provide.
Rather than just stumbling upon your website, customers already familiar with your brand will be much more likely to seek you out when they need something specific that you offer.
This type of qualified direct website traffic can result in more conversions because visitors already know what they’re looking for and how your products or services can help them.
In the long term, your brand could become a “prominent presence in the marketplace,” said Laudo, fostering a community of loyal customers. And this contributes to a cycle of opportunities and traffic creation, making it easier to:
• Score more collaborations with industry experts.
• Ink partnerships.
• Expand your business to new horizons.
Your brand awareness and visibility “serve as catalysts for customer advocacy, facilitate lasting growth and pave the way for exciting possibilities in the market,” Laudo said.
Win Over Consumer Hearts
This may sound cheesy, but it’s true. A brand awareness campaign helps you build emotional connections with customers, making them more likely to choose your products or services over competitors.
When people feel an emotional connection with a brand, they tend to trust it more and become loyal customers who keep coming back for more. It’s about building lasting relationships – something no advertisement can do alone.
For instance, Nike’s famous “Just Do It” campaign has become synonymous with overcoming obstacles and pushing yourself to be better.
This emotional messaging connects with customers personally, creating an authentic connection between the brand and its target audience.
Score More Conversions
The inevitable consequence of better relationships with customers is more conversions.
When consumers are familiar with your brand, they know what to expect, giving them the confidence to make a purchase or even become repeat buyers.
To increase brand awareness is to work on an unconscious level – people may not be aware of why certain products appeal to them more than others, but chances are it’s because they’ve heard of the brand before.
Social media marketing experts understand the power of storytelling and use this to their advantage in order to reach more potential customers.
The right kind of story can be incredibly powerful, inspiring people to take action and convert into customers.
Discover New Audiences
This is a classic word-of-mouth benefit. Your branding is like a snowball; the more people hear about it, the bigger your reach will become.
As you create and distribute content, more and more people get exposed to your brand and discover what it’s all about. And as those customers share their experiences with friends and family, you’ll have an opportunity to tap into new markets that you may not have been able to reach before.
“These authentic word-of-mouth recommendations serve as powerful endorsements, instilling confidence in potential consumers and fueling organic growth,” Laudo said.
Think of it as your invisible marketing workhorse – you’ll never know who’s talking about you and where your message is going. Still, all the while, it raises brand visibility.
How To Increase Brand Awareness
Yes, brand awareness plays a huge role in how to increase website traffic. However, it can take time to figure out where to start. In fact, even large businesses that want to reinvent their brand may need help developing creative ideas.
Fortunately, there are some tried-and-true methods that you can use to blend brand awareness in marketing.
Optimize for User-Intent Keywords
SEO content creators and marketers often focus too much on industry-specific keywords and forget user intent.
These days, Google is getting smarter at detecting users’ queries and serving up the most relevant content.
Let’s say you’re an interior design company; you may be tempted to focus on “interior design” as the main keyword. But, instead, look for phrases that indicate user intent, such as “How to decorate a living room” or “What are the latest trends in interior design.”
Content optimized for user intent not only enhances your visibility but also boosts conversions. This is because you’ll target customers actively searching for a solution and will likely purchase from a company they recognize.
Leverage Social Media
Another everyday tool you can use is social media. From creating short-form content to engaging with customers, there are many ways to make visibility for your brand.
One way is to host polls and giveaways, encouraging followers to share their experiences with the company. You could also use social media engagement as a customer service platform, responding to queries and complaints in real time.
Laudo recommends running the following activities to effectively use social media:
• Craft engaging content
• Run targeted ad campaigns
• Foster meaningful interactions with your audience
Social media experts like to talk about the importance of brand storytelling, essentially using your platform to engage with customers and build a more personal connection.
Blogging
Put your website to good use with a blog. It shows that you’re an expert in the field and serves as a platform to tell your brand story and communicate different aspects of your business.
A blog is great for sharing insights about industry trends, customer stories and company updates.
Laudo also said you can use it to demonstrate thought leadership.
For example, are you a company of social media marketing experts with brand advocacy solutions? Share your ideas on how to make the most of social media for marketing and how to increase website traffic.
Blogs increase direct website traffic since customers can easily click through after reading a post. You can even repurpose your content as social media posts or email newsletters. Your content could also increase social media engagement, email subscribers and website visits.
Craft Your Brand Voice and Image
Measuring brand awareness isn’t just about online presence but also crafting an image and brand voice. This requires knowing your target audience and understanding what resonates most with them.
It means more than logo design – it’s also about creating visuals that match your mission statement and values. You’ll need to balance artistic expression and professionalism and use it to make a consistent brand experience.
Use Native Ads
Any brand awareness strategy should never leave out native ads. This type of ad content is designed to appear as part of a website or mobile app the user is already on.
Native ads are often used for lead generation and promoting products but can also be leveraged for brand awareness. You can use them to give potential customers a taste of your offer without being too pushy and intrusive.
Creating sponsored content that seamlessly integrates with the rest of the platform allows you to “engage potential customers in a non-intrusive way, building brand awareness within the context of their interests,” said Laudo.
A full service digital marketing agency helps you create an effective native ad strategy. They can also assist with the creative process to make sure your ads are well-designed and stand out from the competition.
Earned Media and Community Involvement
If you really want to increase your credibility, then investing in earned media and community involvement campaigns is also crucial.
“Earned media refers to the organic publicity and exposure a brand receives through positive mentions, reviews or features by external outlets, influencers or satisfied customers,” Laudo said.
These two strategies are perceived to be more trustworthy since the brand itself does not directly control them.
Further to this, community involvement not only builds a strong presence but also “fosters goodwill within the community,” said Laudo. Some activities that you can take to increase your brand’s credibility and reach include:
• Sponsorships
• Charitable donations
• Participation in local events
“Supporting causes relevant to your brand’s values can create positive associations and increase brand awareness,” Laudo said.
Need Something Better? Try Building a Digital Marketing Strategy Instead
When your goal is to boost conversions and brand advocacy, more than a simple brand awareness strategy is required. You need a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that considers the different channels and platforms you’re using to reach customers.
“A thorough digital marketing plan has numerous benefits that extend beyond brand awareness,” said Laudo.
“Businesses can efficiently reach and engage their target audience at many touch points along the customer journey by diversifying their marketing efforts.”
This means taking all of the tips mentioned above (SEO, social media, blogging) and weaving them together to create an integrated approach. A complete digital marketing strategy is excellent at measuring brand awareness, as it allows you to track each part of your plan and make changes as needed.
Managing these channels and campaigns at once is challenging. Therefore, Laudo recommends using automation and customer relationship management systems to help in delivering timely, relevant and customized content to your customers.
Also, having a comprehensive strategy allows you to use different channels in tandem. For example, you can create blog posts and share them on social media or use an SEO tactic like backlinking to boost website visits.
A brand awareness strategy is just another component of a larger tapestry of marketing tools. With the right plan and resources, you can create a powerful brand that resonates with customers and boost conversions.
Raise Your Brand Visibility With Bespoke Strategies From Thrive
To increase brand awareness is to invest in worthwhile marketing strategies. Without them, your message may get lost in the noise of other brands trying to capture customer attention.
As a full service digital marketing agency, Thrive helps you design a custom strategy for your business. From SEO content creators to social media experts and everything in between, Thrive is your go-to brand advocacy partner that provides innovative solutions and personalized strategies.
Ready to get started? Contact us today, and let’s make your brand stand out from the crowd.
