5 Easy Ways To Build Online Awareness For Your Brand

January 11, 2022


Online Awareness For Your Brand, branding on coffee cup.

Most brands spend millions on TV ads, billboards, and other traditional media to build awareness. But you don’t need this expensive, standard marketing model. You already have the channel of social media to create online awareness easily.

Social media isn’t just about posting pictures of your weekend. It’s also about sharing content that is engaging, relevant, and of interest to the public. Many brands have amazing stories to tell but lack the resources to tell that story online.

That’s where social media comes in. Social media is a cheap, fast, and effective way for businesses to build online awareness. 

By sharing great content and interacting with people, brands can build a community of followers who trust their brand and want to interact with it. 

This article will explain the benefit and importance of brand online awareness and the five most straightforward ways to build your online brand awareness through digital marketing.

What is Online Awareness?

Brand awareness, also known as name recognition or brand recall, is the degree to which the public recognizes a product by its name and can identify the product among its competitors. While traditional advertising can increase brand awareness through brand-related messages, it alone is insufficient to achieve this goal in today’s age.

Online awareness is brand awareness, just without the traditional ads of the past; just done through the internet. You create awareness through a website, social media, or online advertising, all forms of digital marketing campaigns and initiatives.

Benefits of Digital Marketing For Online Awareness

Digital media is the fastest developing and easiest to access platform for delivering marketing messages. Digital marketing is the best-suited strategy to reach, engage, and convert customers. Digital media provides marketers with unparalleled reach, scale, and personalization.

Consumers now expect companies to have online accounts to interact with them and, of course, expect those accounts to reciprocate. Consumers and other businesses also hope to engage with companies on multiple platforms, not just websites, and they expect those platforms to be integrated. This means that brands need not only a website but also a presence on social media platforms. 

Digital marketing is an umbrella term for marketing using digital technologies, such as the internet, mobile phones, social media, and email. Innovation has become indispensable in today’s business environment, as digital marketing is cost-effective and scalable. Digital marketing is also highly measurable, allowing you to identify what works and what doesn’t.

Digital marketing has several key benefits, including:

  • You learn more about your customers by interacting with them
  • Being able to reach anyone from any location since digital is not geographically bound 
  • Digital marketing simplifies personalization
  • Brands can communicate with every stage of your prospect’s buying process
  • Increase your customer base and save money at the same time 
  • You can engage with your audience to build brand loyalty. 
  • Easy and instant tracking and monitoring of marketing efforts

Top 5 Easiest Ways To Grow Brand Awareness 

Increasing your online awareness can be done in several ways. With so many social media channels available, it’s easier than ever to jump in and start promoting your business. However, it’s important to remember that you have to carefully choose where to spend your time and effort. 

Here are the top five easiest methods to get started.

1. Write Guest Blogs And Articles In Your Niche

Guest posting can be a great way to get your brand noticed. However, it does take work. First, identify influencers and online publications who would be interested in your content. Then reach out to them to see if they would be open to having you guest blog for them. 

Blog posts featuring your brand offer a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on the content already being enjoyed on a blog that is receiving a steady flow of traffic. By making your brand visible on this content, you’re providing opportunities for a new audience to learn more about your brand, purchase products or services, or connect with your social media.

Seeing your brand next to content people enjoy brings us another benefit of trust on different websites and blogs. Bloggers have built up a strong reputation among their readers, so readers will assume that your brand is trustworthy when they present your content. This trust can go a long way toward helping increase your audience and traffic.   

Be The Expert!

By becoming an authority in your field, you’re also helping to build your target audience – they are interested in your content, so there’s a real chance they will buy your products or services. Being an MVP in your niche also helps others in the community feel that they know you and are more likely to work with you. Sharing information about problems your product or service solves through case studies, testimonials, blog posts, or articles for trade publications will demonstrate your industry expertise. This builds brand recognition as an industry leader and positions your product or service as a credible solution to customers’ challenges.

Guest blogging is an excellent way to share your knowledge with others, and it’s also a great way to attract visitors to your website. By writing content that people find helpful, you’ll attract visitors and attract the attention of search engines. However, if you’re not confident with writing, consider hiring a freelancer to create your content.

2. Start a Referal Program

Ask your customers to refer you to their network of family and friends. Many businesses now use referral programs to grow awareness. And there’s no question that they’re highly effective. Referral programs help companies to develop and maintain strong customer relationships. By rewarding loyal customers for telling others about your business, you’re showing them that you value their opinions.

The power of word-of-mouth marketing lies in its ability to tap into the trust that already exists between a customer and their network. Customers turn to their network for recommendations because word-of-mouth is trusted over other forms of advertising and because referrals are considered more personal. 

Rewards and Gift Cards

Another way you can incentivize customers is to offer rewards as part of the program. Many companies offer gift vouchers or in-platform perks like extra loyalty points or exclusive discounts shared on social media to followers and email subscribers. These are great ways to reward customers who actively engage with your brand while also providing an element of gamification that helps to get them to engage with your brand even more.   

3. Build Awareness With Activism

In today’s world, brands have the opportunity to take a stand on issues that resonate and align with their core values. By translating your values into regional or global causes, you have the chance to build awareness for not only the cause itself but online awareness for your brand and expose your brand to new audiences. 

By translating the values and goals of your brand into support for important causes, you can apply your resources to a meaningful purpose. Your company can help provide solutions, whether finding clean water for Africans or ending violence against women.

Building your brand around activism can make your business stand out, and consumers are more likely to engage with your company and brand if they know why your company is doing something.

4. Provide Exclusive Access

Exclusive access can also be a powerful tool. Creating a buzz around a new product launch, for example, can help create excitement among your target audience. By offering an opportunity to preregister or beta-test your product, you’ll gain valuable insight into how your product will be used and the kind of customers it will appeal to and create brand awareness in the process.

Your loyal customers are your best advocates. They already trust your brand and are willing to try new things. Offering them exclusive access is a great way to incentivize them to help you out and further brand recognition

5. Create a Branded YouTube Channel

Another proven method of reaching consumers is by inviting them to watch your content on YouTube. By capitalizing on YouTube’s popularity, you can initiate a community around your brand, showcase your expertise, and drive further engagement.

YouTube, the second largest search engine in the world, has one of the largest audiences on the internet, with more than two billion monthly active users. By sharing videos, you can tap into the YouTube ecosystem, where consumers watch hundreds of millions of hours every day. For brands looking to reach consumers, YouTube offers valuable opportunities for content promotion.

Capitalize on consumer demand by creating short videos that tell your brand story – whether it’s unboxing a new product, showcasing a new service, or giving a behind-the-scenes look at your company. This content also works well on other platforms, such as your website or social media channels. 

Consult With a Digital Marketing Agency

While these are the easiest ways to increase your brand awareness, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Contact Punch Drunk Digital today to see how our experts, Steve and Marcy, can help your business.