Consumers are being bombarded with marketing messages at an unprecedented rate; as a result, your business needs to stand out from this noise.
“But how can I get my business noticed by my ideal customers?” we hear you ask.
Here are 10 ways to increase your brand awareness so you can get more of your ideal customers to know, like and trust your brand. This leads to more sales, better clients/customers and increased authority for your brand in your industry.
1. Be Consistent With Your Branding
Make sure your logo, business cards, website, social media and any other assets have a consistent look and feel.
Branding is not limited to just your logo; it also includes all your media assets online and even the overall message you portray to your target audience.
Think long and hard about this, what message do you want to communicate about your brand to your target market? Will you have a corporate persona or a casual approach? Whatever you decide –stick to it, and weave it throughout your branding.
2. Hold An Event
This is a great way to connect with your peers, current customers, and future prospects.
Most of all it allows you to showcase your expertise by holding your own events such as a workshop or seminar. When you add value to your target market they see you as the expert and will most likely do business with you in the future.
3. Use Referral Marketing
Word of mouth marketing has the highest return on investment. Actively encourage and reward your current customers for referrals.
You can do this by creating a referral program with monetary rewards or free services depending on your business type and incentivising both new and current customers for their referral.
This creates goodwill but also encourages customers to take that extra step to recommend your business. Everyone loves to get a discount or reward so use this in your marketing efforts.
4. Build A Loyal & Engaged Social Media Following
Use social media to build, trust and create a relationship with your target market, make sure to master one platform and only move on to the next when you have this up and running.
With social media, make sure you give it time and not expect immediate ROI. The success of your social media marketing attempts will largely depend on your mindset, approach it with a relationship-building mindset and not as a way to sell, sell, sell!
Social media is a place where your target market goes to be social so join in, be fun and authentic, share your expertise freely and build trust with them through this.
5. Launch A PR Campaign
If your target market doesn’t know about you, they’re not likely to buy from you. Create a PR strategy that will get you noticed, and bring the customers in. This could include submitting a written opinion piece on a market relevant subject close to your heart to industry publications, which could link in well with point no. 2.
A great tip is to follow the hashtag “#JournoRequest” on Twitter – journalists use this to find people who are willing to be featured in their articles. Shout up if you see a request you could help with!
6. Impressive Guest Content
Create valuable content and syndicate it to other blogs and platforms in your industry. This can be an interview, written content, visual content or audio.
Reaching out to other bloggers, platforms, and influencers in a similar niche to yours can help you build relationships with key players. It also allows you to share your expertise with their audience and widen your network of contacts.
Building your online presence in an organic way (through content) like this can create a great foundation for your business, so making a conscious effort to regularly do this is time well spent.
7. Optimise Your Website
Make sure your website is mobile responsive and optimised for search engines. This increases the time your visitors are on your website and creates a good user experience for your visitors.
You’ll also rank higher in search engines like Google, which makes it much easier for people to find you!
8. Create a Paid Social Media Strategy
Although using social media is free of charge and can get you some great results, paid or sponsored ads will significantly increase your reach – you’ll be putting your business in front of thousands more users than you will be if you just post organic content.
You control the budget with your social media advertising, so you can spend as much or as little as you like!
9. Follow Up
Out of sight, out of mind runs true for businesses. Follow up and be consistent with your online efforts so that your audience is in contact with you and your content regularly.
This can be done through email marketing, regular communication through social media, phone calling and various other mediums. Use what works for your business and clients.
10. Use Content Effectively
Create content that resonates with your target market, builds trust and moves them along the buyer’s journey. Create a company blog and use it as an opportunity to answer frequently asked questions, common issues that your audience may be having, or updates about your company and product.
Make sure whatever content you create resonates with your audience and is focussed toward them and their needs. Address their issues, provide valid solutions and add as much value as you can- they will love you for it!
To learn more about any of these 10 tips, get in touch, we’d love to help!
