When you hear the name “Nike,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Is it their “Just Do It” slogan or their iconic swoosh logo? That’s because Nike has done an excellent job of building brand awareness over the years through advertising, sponsorships, and social media.
According to Consumer Survey conducted by Edelman, brand awareness is one of the most important factors in consumer decision-making, with 59% of consumers preferring to buy products from brands they know well. That’s why companies invest millions of dollars annually in building their brand awareness, hoping to increase their market share and customer loyalty.
But it’s not just big corporations that benefit from brand awareness. Small businesses and startups can also use this concept to their advantage. By creating a memorable brand identity and consistently delivering high-quality products or services, they can build a loyal customer base that will help them grow over time.
In this piece, we’ll discuss brand awareness, how to measure it, and 15 effective strategies for increasing brand awareness.
What is Brand Awareness?
Have you ever heard of a brand but couldn’t quite put your finger on what they do or sell? That’s brand awareness! In simple terms, brand awareness refers to people’s familiarity with a particular brand.
When a business is starting out, it’s essential to get its name out there and make sure people know who they are and what they offer. And that’s where brand awareness comes in. By increasing brand awareness, a company can ensure that more people are familiar with their brand and its offer.
But why is brand awareness so important, you might ask?
Well, think about it this way. Let’s say you’re in the market for a new pair of shoes. You have two options: a brand you’ve never heard of before and a brand that you know and trust. Which one are you more likely to choose? You’ll probably go with the brand you know because you have confidence in their products and services.
That’s the power of brand awareness. Businesses can build customer trust and loyalty by creating a recognizable brand and increasing its visibility. And the more people know about a brand, the more likely they will choose it over its competitors.
How To Measure Brand Awareness?
Brand awareness is one of businesses’ most important metrics for success. It tells you how well your target audience recognizes your brand and how well it stands out from the competition. But how do you measure brand awareness? Read on to find out
- Surveys: Surveys are a great way to gather information about consumers’ awareness of your brand. You can ask questions such as “Have you heard of our brand?” or “What comes to mind when you think of our brand?” Surveys can be conducted through various channels like email, social media, or even phone calls.
- Social Media Analytics: Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram provide analytics tools that can help you measure your brand awareness. You can track metrics such as reach, impressions, and engagement to see how many people see and interact with your brand on social media.
- Website Analytics: Website analytics tools such as Google Analytics can provide insights into how many people visit your website, how long they stay, and which pages they visit. By tracking these metrics, you can better understand how much traffic your website generates and how much of that traffic comes from people already familiar with your brand.
- Brand Awareness Lift Studies: Brand awareness lift studies are a type of market research that measures the impact of your marketing campaigns on brand awareness. These studies divide your target audience into two groups – one exposed to your marketing campaign and one not. You can then compare the results of the two groups to see if your campaign positively impacted brand awareness.
- Customer Feedback: Another way to measure brand awareness is to ask your existing customers for feedback. You can ask questions such as “How did you first hear about our brand?” or “What made you choose our brand over competitors?” By gathering feedback from your customers, you can better understand their awareness of your brand and what factors influenced their decision to choose your brand over others.
Remember, measuring brand awareness is not a one-time task; it’s an ongoing process. Regularly tracking and analyzing these metrics will help you understand how your brand is performing and what you can do to improve it.
15 Fool-Proof Strategies To Build Brand Awareness
Building brand awareness is crucial to the success of any business. It’s the first step in establishing a relationship with potential customers and setting yourself apart from competitors. However, building brand awareness can be challenging, especially for new businesses or those operating in crowded markets.
Fortunately, there are many strategies you can use to build your brand and increase your visibility.
1. Infographics
Infographics have proven to be an effective way of building brand awareness. These visual representations of information can convey complex ideas quickly and clearly to a wide audience. It is important to consider the target audience, the infographic’s purpose, and the visual design to create effective infographics.
First, understand your audience and what information they will find valuable. Use this knowledge to craft a message that will resonate with them. Next, decide on the purpose of the infographic. Are you trying to explain a process or concept? Showcase data? Or provide a how-to guide?
Finally, pay close attention to the visual design of the infographic. Use bold colors, clear fonts, and high-quality graphics to make your message stand out. Following these fool-proof strategies, you can create infographics that grab your target audience’s attention and effectively communicate your brand message.
2. Social Media Marketing
Building brand awareness is crucial for any business to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. Social media marketing has proven to be one of the most effective ways to build brand awareness. With the right strategy, businesses can reach a large audience, increase their visibility, and engage with their target market.
The first step in creating a foolproof social media strategy is to identify the target audience and the social media platforms they use the most. This can be done through market research and customer analysis. Once the target audience and platforms are identified, businesses can create a content strategy that aligns with their brand’s voice and tone.
Consistency is key in social media marketing. Posting regularly and engaging with followers is important to maintain visibility and build customer relationships. Hashtags can also be used to increase reach and attract new followers.
Finally, tracking and analyzing the success of social media campaigns is essential to refine and improve the strategy. Businesses can adjust their approach to ensure maximum impact by monitoring metrics such as engagement and reach.
In summary, social media marketing is powerful for building brand awareness. By identifying the target audience, creating a content strategy, being consistent, and tracking success, businesses can create a fool-proof strategy to increase their visibility and engage with customers.
Read More: How To Build A Solid Social Media Presence For Your Brand?
3. Contests on Multiple Platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok & Youtube)
Building brand awareness is crucial to success in today’s competitive business landscape. One effective strategy to achieve this is by organizing contests across multiple platforms. This approach can help increase engagement, grow your audience, and enhance brand recognition.
One way to achieve success with a contest is by hosting it on various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This allows you to reach a wider audience and increase your brand’s visibility. Additionally, partnering with other companies or influencers can help expand your reach and increase the contest’s credibility.
Another approach is to create a user-generated content contest. This encourages customers to create and share content that promotes your brand, which can significantly boost your visibility and drive engagement.
Finally, incorporating prizes or incentives greatly increases participation and builds a positive brand image. You can incentivize customers to engage with your brand and build lasting loyalty by offering desirable rewards.
In conclusion, utilizing contests on multiple platforms is an effective strategy to build brand awareness. By incorporating these techniques, businesses can increase engagement, reach a wider audience, and improve brand recognition.
4. Story-telling To Make Your Brand Memorable
By crafting a compelling narrative around your brand, you can create an emotional connection with your audience and differentiate yourself from competitors.
To effectively use storytelling, it’s important to identify the unique aspects of your brand that set you apart from others. Use these qualities to create a story that resonates with your target audience. This story should be consistent across all marketing channels to create a unified brand image.
To enhance the effectiveness of your storytelling strategy, consider incorporating user-generated content, such as testimonials and social media posts. This can help build trust and credibility with your audience and further reinforce your brand’s narrative.
Overall, storytelling is a powerful tool for building brand awareness and making your brand memorable. With a well-crafted narrative, you can create a lasting impression on your audience and establish a strong brand identity.
5. Podcasts
Podcasts offer businesses an opportunity to build brand awareness. Creating a branded podcast or collaborating with existing ones can help increase reach and establish a thought leadership position. American Express created “Open for Business,” a podcast for small business owners, while Adobe collaborated with Gimlet Creative to create “Wireframe,” a podcast discussing design and technology.
According to Edison Research, 78% of Americans are familiar with podcasts, making it a valuable tool for businesses to reach a larger audience. By providing valuable content, businesses can increase their brand reputation and awareness through podcasts.
6. PPC Ads
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is an effective strategy to build brand awareness as it puts your brand in front of potential customers actively searching for related products or services. According to a study by WordStream, businesses that use PPC advertising increase their brand awareness by up to 80%.
PPC advertising allows you to target specific keywords, demographics, and geographic locations, ensuring that the right people see your brand. Additionally, with PPC advertising, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, which makes it a cost-effective way to reach potential customers.
Real-life examples of successful PPC advertising campaigns include Airbnb’s “Live Anywhere” campaign that targeted remote workers and Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign which went viral and increased the brand’s awareness by over 100%.
In conclusion, PPC advertising is essential to increase brand awareness and drive relevant traffic to your website. By investing in PPC advertising, you can reach potential customers at the right time and place, helping your brand stand out from the competition.
7. Paid Social Media Ads
One effective strategy to build brand awareness is through paid social media ads. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn allow businesses to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, making it easier to reach potential customers.
In addition to targeting capabilities, social media ads also allow businesses to use a variety of ad formats, such as video, carousel, and story ads, to showcase their brand message. Paid social media ads can promote new products, drive traffic to a website or landing page, and increase engagement.
Real-life examples of successful paid social media campaigns include Airbnb’s #LiveThere campaign, which showcased unique travel experiences on Instagram, and Taco Bell’s “Taco Bell Xbox,” which generated over 2.5 billion impressions on social media. Overall, paid social media ads are valuable for building brand awareness and driving business growth.
Read More: What is Brand Strategy and How To Create One?
8. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is an effective strategy to build brand awareness by partnering with individuals with a significant social media following.
To successfully implement influencer marketing, brands should identify influencers whose audience aligns with their target market, establish clear communication and goals, and provide authentic and valuable content. Also, brands can leverage micro-influencers with a smaller but more engaged audience, increasing conversion rates.
A notable example of successful influencer marketing is the collaboration between Nike and Colin Kaepernick. The campaign generated controversy but resulted in a significant increase in brand awareness and sales. However, it is crucial to carefully choose influencers who align with a brand’s values and image to avoid potential backlash.
9. Freebies
Brand awareness is crucial for businesses to succeed. One effective strategy to increase brand awareness is offering potential customers freebies. According to a Promotional Products Association International study, 83% of consumers are more likely to do business with a brand after receiving a promotional product. Companies can offer free samples, stickers, or other small items with their brand logo to increase their visibility and create a positive association with their brand.
For instance, when makeup brand Sephora launched a new perfume, they offered free samples to customers. The samples were so popular that Sephora had to limit the number of samples per customer due to high demand. This strategy increased brand awareness and allowed potential customers to try the product before making a purchase.
In conclusion, offering freebies can effectively build brand awareness, increase customer loyalty, and ultimately drive sales.
10. Referral Programs
One of the most effective ways to build brand awareness is through referral programs. Referral marketing relies on word-of-mouth recommendations to generate new customers. It can help businesses reach a wider audience and build trust through personal recommendations. According to a study by Nielsen, 92% of consumers trust referrals from people they know.
Referral programs work by incentivizing existing customers to refer friends and family to a business. This could be through discounts, free products, or other rewards. For example, in just over a year, Dropbox famously grew from 100,000 to 4 million users using a referral program that rewarded users with extra storage for each person they referred.
To create a successful referral program, businesses should make it easy for customers to refer others and provide a valuable incentive. By doing this, businesses can leverage the power of word-of-mouth marketing to reach new customers and increase brand awareness.
11. Sports Sponsorships
Sports sponsorships have been an effective tool for building brand awareness for decades. The strategy involves a company providing financial support to a sports team or athlete in exchange for exposure to their brand to a large audience. According to a report by Nielsen, 84% of sports fans feel positive about brands that sponsor their favorite sports teams.
Nike’s partnership with Michael Jordan is a relevant example of successful sports sponsorship. The company sponsored Jordan’s basketball career and created the iconic “Air Jordan” brand, which has since become a cultural phenomenon. Today, Nike is one of the world’s leading sportswear brands, largely due to the success of their sports sponsorships.
To build brand awareness through sports sponsorships, companies should first identify sports that align with their brand values and target audience. They should also consider sponsoring events or teams with high media exposure to reach a wider audience. Finally, creating engaging content and activations that connect the brand with the sport or athlete meaningfully is important.
12. Co-Marketing
Co-marketing is a strategy businesses use to build brand awareness and increase sales by collaborating with complementary brands to promote each other’s products or services. This type of partnership enables companies to reach a wider audience and tap into their partner’s existing customer base.
According to a study by HubSpot, 84% of marketers found co-marketing to be an effective way to generate leads and build brand awareness. For instance, in 2018, McDonald’s partnered with UberEats to offer free delivery services to its customers, which boosted both companies’ sales and brand awareness.
Co-marketing can also help companies save marketing costs by sharing expenses with their partners. However, finding partners with similar target audiences and brand values is essential to ensure a successful co-marketing campaign. Businesses can leverage their partner’s audience to increase brand awareness and drive sales by building a strong relationship with complementary brands.
Read More: Partnership Marketing: How To Launch A Profitable Partnership?
13. Catchy Slogans
Brand awareness is crucial for any business to stand out in a crowded market. One effective way to build brand awareness is by using catchy slogans that are memorable, easy to repeat, and capture the brand’s essence. A good slogan can connect emotionally with consumers, increase brand recognition, and boost brand loyalty.
A well-crafted slogan can help businesses achieve this familiarity by creating a consistent message that resonates with their target audience. For example, Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan has become synonymous with the brand’s image of empowerment and athleticism, helping it become one of the world’s most recognizable and successful brands.
To create an effective slogan, businesses should thoroughly research their target audience, competitors, and brand values. The slogan should be unique, simple, and relevant to the brand’s identity. By utilizing catchy slogans, businesses can improve their brand awareness and gain a competitive edge.
14. Brand Personality (Logo, Brand Ambassador)
Building brand awareness is a crucial aspect of any successful marketing strategy. One effective way to achieve this is by developing a unique brand personality. A brand personality refers to the human characteristics and traits associated with a brand, which helps create an emotional connection with consumers. To develop a strong brand personality, companies must consider their target audience and the values they want to communicate.
Research has shown that a strong personality can increase brand loyalty and advocacy. For example, Apple’s brand personality is known for being innovative, creative, and forward-thinking, which has helped them establish a loyal following among tech-savvy consumers. Similarly, Coca-Cola’s brand personality is centered around happiness and positivity, contributing to its continued success as a popular beverage brand.
Companies can use various strategies to build a brand personality, including developing a brand voice, visual identity, and consistent messaging across all channels. They can also incorporate storytelling and create a brand narrative that resonates with their audience. By building a strong brand personality, companies can differentiate themselves from competitors and create a deeper connection with their consumers.
15. Freemium
Freemium is a business model where a company provides basic services or products for free while charging for additional features or services. It is an effective strategy for building brand awareness and gaining new customers.
To successfully implement a freemium strategy, a company must provide users with a valuable and engaging experience.
The free version should be useful enough to attract users, while the premium version should offer significant additional value. Advertising and word-of-mouth marketing can also promote the freemium product.
Successful freemium models include Spotify, Dropbox, and LinkedIn. Freemium is a viable strategy for building brand awareness and acquiring new customers. Still, creating a clear distinction between the free and premium versions and offering a valuable experience is essential.
In conclusion, building brand awareness takes time, effort, and a strategic approach. By implementing the 15 strategies outlined, you can increase your brand’s visibility and establish a relationship with your target audience.
Now that we have explored 15 fool-proof strategies to build brand awareness let’s look at some real-life brand awareness examples to see how these strategies can be applied in practice.
Brand Awareness Examples
Brand awareness is the foundation of any successful marketing strategy. Brand awareness aims to create a lasting impression in the minds of potential customers and make them more likely to choose your product or service over those of your competitors.
Example 1: Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is an outstanding example of how to create lasting brand awareness. Its iconic red logo with a distinctive font is recognizable worldwide. The “Share a Coke” campaign replaced the logo with popular names, generating a huge buzz on social media. Coca-Cola’s classic Christmas ads featuring Santa Claus have been around since the 1930s and are still just as popular today.
As a sponsor of major events, the brand’s presence is everywhere, from billboards around the stadium to TV commercial breaks and even on the players’ jerseys. Coca-Cola has built a strong brand identity, and it’s clear that the company knows how to create a lasting impression on consumers.
Example 2: Apple
Another example of successful brand awareness is Apple. Apple has achieved unparalleled brand awareness through its innovative advertising campaigns, unique retail stores, iconic product design, and strong digital presence. Apple’s memorable and impactful ads, such as the “1984” commercial, have become part of pop culture, and its stores are known for delivering a unique and immersive shopping experience.
Apple’s products are also known for their sleek design, high-quality construction, and unparalleled user experience. The company’s social media presence has also helped to build a strong community and a loyal following. Through these strategies, Apple has created a brand identity that resonates with consumers and has helped cement its position as one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands.
Example 3: Nike
Nike is a prime example of a company that has successfully built brand awareness through innovative marketing campaigns, partnerships with high-profile athletes and celebrities, and a commitment to producing high-quality products.
From their iconic “swoosh” logo to their famous tagline “Just Do It,” Nike has become synonymous with high-quality athletic gear and a commitment to inspiring people to pursue their passions. Nike has become a household name and a company people trust and admire by creating a strong and recognizable brand identity.
Example 4: Amazon
Amazon is an excellent example of a brand with strong brand awareness. According to a report by Brand Finance, Amazon has a brand value of over $200 billion, making it the world’s most valuable retail brand. Amazon’s success is partly due to its exceptional customer service, fast and reliable shipping, and user-friendly website.
Additionally, Amazon has built a strong brand identity through its ubiquitous logo, recognizable packaging, and clever marketing campaigns like “Prime Day” and “Black Friday Deals Week.” Amazon’s branding and marketing efforts have helped it become a household name and establish itself as a leader in e-commerce.
Example 5: Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand that has built its awareness through creative and unconventional marketing tactics. According to a report by Statista, Red Bull’s brand value is over $10 billion. Red Bull’s success is partly due to its sponsorship of extreme sports and high-profile events like the Red Bull Air Race and Red Bull Rampage.
Additionally, Red Bull has built a strong brand identity through its distinctive can design; catchy slogan “Red Bull Gives You Wings,” and its creation of the energy drink category. Red Bull’s unique branding and marketing efforts have helped it stand out from its competitors and build a loyal following of customers.
In conclusion, brand awareness is crucial for any brand’s success. These examples demonstrate how successful brands have built awareness through innovative marketing tactics, a strong brand identity, and exceptional customer service.
Wrapping Up
Building and maintaining brand awareness in today’s highly competitive marketplace is more important than ever. By investing in brand awareness, businesses can reach a wider audience, establish themselves as industry leaders, and drive sales and revenue.
Building brand awareness is to make your brand top-of-mind when people think of a particular product or service.
By identifying the most effective strategies for their specific industry and target audience, businesses can build brand awareness over time and create lasting success.
So if you’re looking to take your business to the next level, prioritize brand awareness and invest in strategies to help you achieve your goals.
Further Reads:
What is Brand Strategy and How To Create One?
What is Product Branding? 8 Product Branding Examples!
Brand Voice: What is it & How to Define it for your Business!
8 Different Types of Branding Strategies (With Examples)
Market Research 101: How To Conduct Research Like A Pro!
What is ChatGPT & How Can You Use It? (Benefits & Limitations)
