How do you accomplish that, though, when you’re facing a truly globalized marketplace – one in which the competition is fiercer than ever before? The answer lies in brand awareness. If you want to differentiate yourself from your chief competitors, if you want to attract customers and keep them coming back for more, then you need to prioritize brand awareness.
The good news is that it’s not all that difficult if you know what to do. This article describes some unique marketing initiatives that your business can undertake today to help boost your brand awareness for months and even years to come.
1. Get a move on with the merch
By far one of the best things you can do to boost your company’s brand awareness is to up your merchandising game. Branded merchandise is the perfect way to not only get your name and logo out into the world, but also ideal for drawing prospects to your company website and social media pages.
It’s important to remember, though, that not all merchandise is created equal. You need to be cautious, deliberate and strategic with your merch. Don’t waste money on branded products that either aren’t going to be used or noticed by your target audience.
You’ll also want to ensure that your promotional products align with your brand identity and corporate ethos. A branded silver flask, for example, probably isn’t going to be a sound merchandising strategy if your company caters to children and teens!
When you’re creating your promotional merchandise, attention to detail is also going to be critical. Your promotional products aren’t going to serve their purpose effectively if you don’t have a cohesive and easily recognizable design. So make sure that you stick with your company’s principal color palette and that your aesthetic always riffs on your brand logo.
You want your merchandise to create an immediate impression without your target audience having to rack their brains to figure out where they’ve seen that design before. In all likelihood, if it takes more than a few seconds for your target audience to identify your brand on a promo product, they’re going to forget about it entirely and move on.
2. Focus on ecommerce and digital marketing
If you want to boost your brand awareness into overdrive, then optimizing your digital presence is essential. In fact, as social media continues to dominate our daily lives, there’s probably no better way to raise your company profile than by harnessing the power of ecommerce and social media.
Research shows, for instance, that those who use blogging as a marketing tool are 13 times more likely to get a positive return on their investment. Similarly, if you invest in online advertising, such as Google Ads, you can expect to generate $2 for every dollar spent.
In other words, if you want your target customers to know who you are, what you’re about and why they need your products and services in their lives, then you must go digital.
The key is to be comprehensive but also targeted. If your principal market is Generation Z, for example, then center your marketing initiatives on the platforms this demographic frequents most, such as YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.
Additionally, though social media engagement is essential to your digital marketing success, it’s not sufficient for maximum results. Rather, take things a step further by capitalizing on the influencer trend.
Market research has shown that the majority of digital marketers spend the preponderance of their budget on influencer marketing, with Instagram being the most popular channel for influencer marketing by far.
3. Provide an experience and share the story
Another highly effective technique for boosting brand awareness is to tell compelling stories. This means, first and foremost, that you need to construct an engaging, relatable and attractive narrative for your business, from its origins to its current mission to its future orientation.
It shouldn’t end there, however. If you want to boost brand awareness, then you need to provide both the forums and the opportunities for your audience to share their stories, particularly as they connect with your company, product or service.
At a very minimum, you’ll want to create, maintain and participate in online community forums and social media pages multiple times each day, both soliciting and responding to the narratives your customers and prospects provide on these sites.
Ideally, however, you’ll combine this online engagement with in-person engagement, such as popup events, from outdoor concerts to art exhibits to carnivals and food fairs. Guests at these events can then be encouraged to post their videos and photos across your social media pages, where they’ll tell the tale of their experience. Meanwhile, your company proudly serves as the host and sponsor of this memorable event, your brand and promotional merchandise front and center at the happening and throughout the myriad posts it inspires.
The takeaway
In the age of globalization, driving brand awareness for your company is more difficult than ever. However, by harnessing the power of digital marketing, building a compelling brand narrative and optimizing your branded merchandising strategy, you can give your company the competitive advantage it deserves.
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