Bluesky Strategy Group is a proud member of the Global Communications Alliance (GCA). As part of the GCA’s peer mentorship programme, Communications Consultant Alyson Fair and Bijl PR Consultant & Partner Sophia Weavers explored the top four ways that companies can increase their #brand awareness.
Depending on the field you are in and whether you work in Ottawa or Rotterdam, everyone understands the importance of brand awareness. Every company wants consumers to be familiar with its brand or products. That is why making a brand recognizable and memorable is at the heart of most strategies. As a result, companies with a high degree of brand awareness enjoy increased trust, credibility, loyalty, and much more from their target audiences.
As we all know, there are many different tactics that a company can use to increase its brand awareness. Here are four that we consider to be the top tactics in building brand awareness:
1. Be relevant
No matter what kind of business you have, no matter what kind of services or products you offer, and no matter where you operate, a good message is rule number one. What do you do, why do you do it and who do you do it for? Raising brand awareness is more than implementing a great campaign. It is a combination of strategic considerations with well-thought-out activities that focus on the target group. First consider why you are doing it, what is the ultimate goal and which target groups do you want to reach? Be relevant, be honest and focus.
2. Put some thought into your brand
One way to create great content is to establish oneself as a thought leader where you use your expertise, passion, and experience to educate and nurture your ideal audience. In other words, create a conversation where you become the authoritative voice in the industry championing innovative ideas and helping provide insightful guidance. And don’t forget to distribute your thought content across a few channels. For example, if a major media outlet posts your opinion article, don’t forget to share it on your social media channels.
How does one become a thought leader? One doesn’t need to exclusively write articles. The best thought leaders create content in the medium that they are comfortable with, that provides values, and that he or she is proud to put a name on. One thing to think of is if you prefer the written word, how can you turn that into a video or podcast.
3. Be Social Media Savvy
There is no getting around the fact that social media is here to stay and the power the various platforms have in reaching, nurturing, and engaging with your audience. As of April 2022, there are 4.65 billion social media users around the world, and 326 million new users joining social media since this time last year. That is to say, the use of social media has become a necessary daily activity and a valuable communications tool.
While there are many social media platforms, it is important to find a site that fits the brand and is a site that the target audience is using. Another consideration is how many sites can be managed.
Once the site selection is finalized, planning the content is key. What the brand posts should be of high quality, triggers an emotional response, and adds value to the follower’s life enough that they want to like and share with others.
4. Move with the time
As a brand or organization, it is important to stick to your identity, your values, and your vision. But, move with the time as well, when communicating your story to your target audience. Depending on who you aim your communication at, make use of current developments and innovations. Partly due to the pandemic, digital media use has exploded as hybrid working becomes the new norm and online activities continue an upward trend.
Video is an example that has also developed rapidly in recent years. Of course, video has been used for a long time, but it is becoming increasingly indispensable. From e-learning to webinars, from instructional videos to augmented/viral reality videos. There is a lot of experimentation going on. Social videos are still one of the most popular. Visual content is effective because not everyone absorbs plain text well enough.
But even for video, think about what you want to say and to whom. Then you can make a specific plan and decide whether a video is suitable.
Our conclusion: time, effort, and commitment
The key to building brand awareness is a good and sincere story, insight into your target group, and consistency. The activities you choose to comprise your brand awareness campaign should be as strategic as possible, meaning that they get you maximum exposure among your target audience with the minimum outlay. Brand success doesn’t happen overnight but with time and effort, a strong brand can be achieved.
