15 Jun What Is Brand Awareness And How Do You Use It For Your Small Business?

Although you might not achieve the brand awareness of a global brand like Nike or Coca-Cola with your small business, there’s still a lot you can do to amplify public awareness of your brand. 

In this article we will look at what brand awareness is, why it is important, and some simple things you can do to boost brand awareness for your small business. 

What is brand awareness? 

Brand awareness is the extent to which a brand is recognized by consumers and associated with the products and services they provide to the market. 

While brand recognition is simply how consumers recognize your brand colors, logo, and other visual brand elements, brand awareness is more involved. 

Brand awareness means consumers can recall your business name and logo, but also know the brand experience and feel of the company, and information about what products and services you offer. Brand awareness means consumers can have a connection of feelings and emotions towards the brand. 

Why is brand awareness important? 

When your target customers are more familiar with your brand and what it stands for and the products and services you offer, it is easier to find and retain customers who will remain loyal to your brand over the long term. 

Brand awareness gives you an advantage when: 

• Promoting your business across multiple channels and increasing recognition, because consumers already know you from another channel  
• Launching new products or services, as customers are already aware of you and have built trust
• Reaching out to build partnerships with other companies, or influencers, or seeking funding and investor support as you already have a strong business reputation

5 highly effective and low cost ways of building brand awareness

1. Create a custom hashtag for Instagram

Custom business hashtags can help to promote your unique brand voice so customers get to know the characteristics that make you different from competitors in the same space. You could also use location based hashtags to boost brand awareness locally, or industry hashtags to boost your credibility. 

2. Car wraps 

Customized car wraps that can cover your entire vehicle can attract attention and help customers learn what your brand offers as well as increase recall when customers see you in other marketing channels. It’s a relatively cheap way to build brand awareness if you already own a vehicle. 

3. Run display ads on the Google Display Network

Google Ads is most famous for its Pay Per Click (PPC)  network, but there is also the option to run display ads that will appear on relevant websites over the internet. Display Ads are a great way to build brand awareness and promote your brand personality to your target market. 

4. Sponsor local events

Brand awareness is stronger when consumers connect it to experiences. Local events let you partner with other organizations or popular events in the local community and help consumers gain greater awareness of your brand. 

5. Give away freebies

Everyone loves free stuff! The benefit of this tactic is there is a low cost barrier to entry and you can use items that people use daily – water bottles, pens, keyrings, or fun items like frisbees and beach balls. Every time a consumer uses the item they reinforce their awareness of your brand, and introduce it to others they work or socialize with. 

If you would like help with your brand messaging, advertising, and digital marketing in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Seattle, Washington, and everywhere in between, get in touch with Visual Caffeine to learn how we can help you.