You have created a great brand that represents your values and passions. You are excited about your brand, but how do you get other people on board?
Before you can think about the results you want to generate with your marketing efforts, you have to firstly think about how building awareness will help with overall business growth.
Having a social media presence to ranking high within SERPs all have some sort of awareness behind them. Here are a few stats that show the importance brand awareness when it comes to your business:
- 82% of investors believe name recognition is an important factor in helping them decide where to invest.
- 89% of marketers say that brand awareness is their top goal.
- Brands with consistent branding expect to earn 23% more annual revenue than the brands that are inconsistent.
That said, here are 7 marketing hacks that can help you increase brand awareness:
1. Leverage Micro-Influencers
By definition, micro-influencers are individuals who don’t have the huge followings of star-status celebs, but cater to a big enough audience (usually 1,000-10,000 followers) to create some buzz. These influencers are a lower barrier to entry for smaller companies and entrepreneurs who are interested in using influencers in their marketing.
The best part: they typically see 7x more engagement compared to influencers on Insta with larger followings.
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Entrepreneurs can put their products in front of different audiences via influencers. It’s a new method of leveraging word-of-mouth marketing and gives credibility to your name when someone influential is talking up your business or product.
There’s a micro-influencer for just about any niche or market. The key is finding one who shares your target audience and can represent you with authenticity, honor, and energy.
2. Offer Referral Incentives
Referrals are arguably the most effective way to earn new business without investing a ton in advertising and marketing. But it still takes some effort to get other people to send their family and friends your way.
To light a fire under them, consider rewarding anyone who refers someone that turns into a paying customer. This could be a cash incentive, discount, free product, coupon — anything valuable or important to the end-user.
You don’t have to spend a ton of money to offer an attractive incentive, either. For example, Dropbox gives users additional storage space for free for every person they get to sign up. It costs very little for Dropbox to do this, but it’s highly valuable for the end-user. As a result, Dropbox reported a 60% boost in signups.
3. Snag a Guest Blog Opportunity
If you want to expand your reach, guest blog on a site that shares your common audience. About 60% of bloggers write at least 1-5 guest posts each month to increase brand awareness and tap into new audiences. Plus, getting published on a blog other than your own speaks volumes about your expertise and authority.
To start a successful guest blogging strategy, it’s a good idea to have your own blog in place and commit to posting regularly. You can use your blog as a marketing tool when you pitch other blogs to write for. Also, keep your guest posting content non-salesy. Nearly 80% of editors think that guest blogs are overly promotional, when the ultimate goal should be to deliver insightful information to the reader. Let your content speak for your expertise and leave the sales pitch out of it.
4. Pay for Digital Ads
Paid digital ads can take many forms, but their effect on branding remains relatively the same: you gain greater control over the type of person who sees your ad.
Let’s look at a few options:
Google PPC Ads
Google pay-per-click ads let you bypass the search rankings and appear as a sponsored result at the top of the page. And given that the first page of Google receives more than 90% of all clicks, it’s essential to position yourself as close to the top of Page 1 as possible. Plus, you only pay when someone clicks on your ad (hence the pay per click).
Facebook and Insta Ads
Facebook and Instagram are giving Google ads a run for their money. Marketers love being able to dial down into specific audience segments, plus they have full control over how much they spend.
Retargeting
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When a user lands on your website and leaves without purchasing, retargeting ads can come in handy. These are ads that appear on other websites to encourage visitors to return to your site and complete the transaction. Studies show that users are 70% more likely to convert when shown retargeted ads.
5. Create and Share Infographics
If you have data worth sharing, consider transforming it into a visually appealing infographic and pitching it to like-minded blogs. You can brand your infographic and request a backlink in exchange for the content, plus the publishing blogger benefits from having quality content to share with their audience — win/win!
6. Offer Freemium Content
Content should always be created with quality at the forefront. When you offer top quality content for free, you can use it as a lead-in for premium paid content. Users have already had a taste of your expertise and know you’re the real deal, and if it’s something they’re truly interested in, they’ll be willing to pay to learn more.
Industry gurus like Amy Portfield and Pat Flynn are experts in this strategy — visit their websites to see how they put it all together.
7. Invest Time in Niche Audiences
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Find your ideal customers’ favorite watering holes, then start spending time there, too. Facebook Groups are an excellent place to start — there’s a niche for just about anything! Start building familiarity and share your expertise to position yourself as a go-to resource in the community.
Wrapping It Up
The key to getting your brand out there is to be consistent and get the word out. Research shows that it takes 5 to 7 impressions before a customer remembers a brand. Additionally, try to be consistent across the various channels. 90% of all customers expect the branding to be consistent across the board, but studies showed that only 10% of companies are achieving this.
Simple marketing hacks like guest blogging, targeted digital ads, and referrals can help get your brand recognized, and as you stay authentic and consistent, you will attract a loyal audience.
