When I started my first business, brand awareness was not something I thought too much about. Like many of us, I was excited and started out by building my website (no small feat back in the early days of the internet) and got my social media pages all ready to go. I was nervous to launch because I thought that meant that I would get really busy and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep up. (Ah yes, I was a bit naive.)
In reality, building awareness for my product was much more difficult than I could have ever thought. And that was in 2007 when there were just 121 million out there (compared to 1.9 billion today).
Brand awareness is key for any business. It doesn’t matter if you are a small business or a big business, you need to make sure that people know who you are and what you stand for. In this post, we will share with you a few tips on how to make a big brand for your small business. And it’s the first step on the Trail to the Sale™.
What is Brand Awareness?
First, what is brand awareness? Brand awareness is simply how well potential customers recognize your product or service and connect it to your brand. It’s getting the word out to people who might be interested in what your product is and does. But just getting the word out is not enough. It needs to build credibility and authority for those who potentially will buy it.
But this doesn’t happen overnight, so a bit of strategy is required to start this process.
Step 1: Define Your Brand
When it comes to defining your brand, it’s important to be clear about what you stand for and who you are. This will help people understand what to expect from your product or service. Think about what makes you unique and what makes your business stand out. What are the things that you do better than anyone else? Once you have a good idea of what makes your business special, it’s time to start marketing yourself in a way that reflects this.
Step 2: Identify your Target Market
How does your target market help your brand? First, they can be your customers. When people buy from you, they’re supporting your business and telling others about it. They’re also ambassadors for your brand. If someone is impressed with what you’ve done, they’re more likely to recommend your product or service to others.
Secondly, your target market can help you mold and shape your brand. Younger people are often interested in brands that offer social responsibility. They want to know that the products they’re using are helping people in need and not just making money for the company behind them.
Or your target market might care about the arts. In that case, donations to an orchestra or museum might be something to promote on your site.
Step 3: Create A Message That Resonates With Your Customers
Once you have a good understanding of who your target market is and what your brand is about, you need to develop a message that resonates with them. This might mean going beyond the basics of your product or service and telling a story that connects with them. It might also mean appealing to their values. For example, if your target market is environmentally conscious, you might highlight on your website and in your advertising that you use sustainable materials in your products.
Creating a message that resonates with your customers is a crucial part of marketing your business in the awareness phase. It’s the thing that makes people want to come back and buy from you again and tell their friends about you.
Step 4: Create a Strategy
Think about the patterns of your target market. What do they read? What podcasts do they listen to? Where do they shop? What are they Googling? The more detailed your ideal customer profile is, the easier this step will be. Walk away from trying to be all things to all people. Your message will not resonate with your best customer and you will end up exhausted and broke trying to be all things to all people.
This is the brainstorming part of the process. Getting creative really helps you out here. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Networking online and offline (let your friends know you’re in business)
- Personal connections and emails
- Host a trunk show (for E-Commerce)
- Get a booth at a trade show or conference
- Offer to speak at a conference, networking group, Chambers of Commerce, etc
- Join the local Chamber of Commerce (b2b)
- Guest blogging on high profile blogs
- Reach out to reporters on HARO.com
- Publish an ebook on Amazon
- Sponsor a charity event
- Create and distribute flyers
- Direct mail a postcard to specific lists or zip codes
- Promote your business on association websites
- Co-market with a business that has a similar audience
- Give others affiliate marketing opportunities
- Jump on trends (such as Instagram Reels)
- Use PPC Google ads (which pull in people already looking for your product/service)
- Car magnets and bumper stickers
- Create a cool t-shirt
- SWAG items related to your product
- Create a free tool with Google Sheets
- Make an artsy phone screen saver
- Sponsor a giveaway
- Participate in a group giveaway (with other businesses)
- Find niche social media sites
- Open an Etsy shop
- Create YouTube videos that set you apart
- Reddit- share what you know with others by answering questions
- Add a URL to Your email signature
- Produce a call-to-action to Your website’s 404 Page
- Send merchandise samples in the packages you mail to customers (for E-Commerce)
- Include closely related keywords to Your website content
- Add Social Share Buttons to your website
- Assign a unique target keyword for each blog post and page
- Build partnerships with companies who target similar audiences
- Create a challenge on social media
- Host a workshop
- Create a Facebook group for your target audience
- Produce a free tool that drives traffic to your site
- Create an infographic that’s sharable
- Generate branded keywords
- Develop a quiz
- Use Facebook Live
- Create awareness ads on social media
- Host a webinar
- Sell products on Amazon (for E-Commerce)
- Create a virtual summit and invite other speakers
- Host an in-person conference
- Get featured on podcasts
- Host a podcast
- Start a LinkedIn group
- Reach out to others on social media to build relationships (but not to sell)
- Newsjack a current event and reach out to the local (or national) media with relevant stories
- Send free product samples to influencers (for E-Commerce)
- Write for other websites
Step 5: Implement Your Strategy
Now that the planning is done, it’s time to put your plan into action! Start with one or two of the list above (or your own great ideas) and set the plan in action. Warning: start small–all of these take time.
Step 6: Monitor and Evaluate How it’s Going
One important thing about marketing is this: you don’t know how well it’s working unless you monitor the results. So checking Google analytics for website traffic, email open and click rates, or other indicators will help you determine what is most successful for you.
Brand awareness is essential for any business. Follow these tips to make a big brand for your small business! To learn more, contact me for a free 30-minute strategy session to get your business in front of the right audience.
