Quick question: what do Kleenex, Windex, and Xerox all have in common? If you said each has at least one “X” to their name, you’re not wrong. BUT ALSO… each brand’s moniker is so well-known it’s synonymous with the products it sells.
So how does brand awareness become etched in the collective consciousness? Better yet, how can your business’s platform aspire to the same heights? Well, you need to have the “X” factor too. Okay, not literally! That’s a metaphor, friends.
Most household names have simply prioritized brand awareness—making their name recognizable to their target market. We’re here to help you do the same, and we have a special ingredient up our sleeve. Because while social media marketing didn’t establish the above-mentioned hitmakers, it’s the gateway for global recognition today.
Brand Awareness 101
Essentially, brand awareness is a gauge of how “aware” consumers are that your brand exists. Living in the minds of customers is tantamount to all other marketing efforts. Observe this marketing funnel, a description of the buyer’s journey:
Image courtesy of Sprout Social
Before people think about buying your products—let alone become loyal customers and advocates—they must break into the funnel. Which begs the question: how can you broadcast your brand effectively?
That’s where social media marketing comes in.
Today, an estimated 4.9 billion people are active on social media. And many have accounts on six or seven platforms. That’s a HUGE customer base, even when narrowed to your target audience. Additionally, 75 percent of internet users researched products on social platforms over the past year. Further proof that people look to social media marketing to find and touting brands they love.
If you play your cards right, your brand could be one of them.
Brand Awareness + Social Media Marketing = Success!
Social content boasts many benefits. Here are the top five:
- Spend Less for More Reach: It’s free to create a business profile on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Any one of them connects you with millions of potential consumers. Even if you spend dollars on digital ads, the returns infinitely outweigh the costs.
- Connect Directly with Consumers: From posts to videos to comment sections, social media provides outlets to converse. Business owners and entrepreneurs promote products, foster genuine connections, and address customer questions and complaints. Adopting these checks and balances further inspires people to trust your brand.
- Stay In Sight, In Mind: With people spending at least 2.5 hours per day on socials, maintaining a presence catapults visibility. Posting 3-5 times per week (or what’s recommended for your preferred platform) keeps brands top-of-mind, denoting reliability and consistency.
- Gain Authority in Your Field: Social media marketing is a differentiator, widening the field for cross-promotion. Is your wagon hitched to industry titans and influencers? Engaging in industry-specific conversations and admirable causes positions you as a leader, thereby launching the next stage of the funnel–loyalty.
- Generate Traffic and Leads: Social media serves as a hub for your brand’s website, online shop, and beyond. Remember the marketing funnel: once you’ve made someone “aware” of your brand, they’re at the consideration stage. Use social media marketing to “warm up” leads, drive home repetition, and eventual conversions (i.e., subscribers, buyers, etc.).
Are you convinced—can social media skyrocket brand awareness? Y-E-S! Now, one caveat: your campaign is only as good as your brand’s strategy. Before launching online, explore these three questions:
What’s Your Look?
Recognizable brands are eye-catching. After all, what’s Nike without the swoosh or McDonald’s without its signature golden arches?
To make your brand pop on social, be intentional about how you present it. Maintain a consistent brand style across all platforms—colors, fonts, and logos. Craft posts with a high contrast ratio between text and background so the message stands out. Mix up your content by adding graphics and videos.
Need inspiration? Check out these visually appealing brands:
Starbucks on Instagram: Established brand colors, a simple message, building on prior customer knowledge.
Headspace: Cohesive, inspiring, light and fun.
High-quality imagery can be made on a budget. For instance, choose royalty-free stock photos or better yet use your own. Try out Canva for all-things-design.
What’s Your Story?
The content you put out on social media is at least as important as how it looks.
Evaluate your brand’s voice:
- Are you composing content in a way that reflects your brand’s personality?
- Are you pushing your products and services… and nothing else?
- How much do you share about your company’s mission, values, and milestones?
- Do you post positive customer testimonials to back your claims?
All in all, make sure your brand has a story worth telling—one that customers will love spreading. That’s the advocacy portion of the marketing funnel. This means you’ve penetrated a corner of the market… congrats! Now keep repeating the process at scale.
What’s Your Value?
To maximize your brand’s reach, make sure you’re posting what matters.
Essentially:
- Address pain points or meet a need
- Answer questions or extend resources
- Solve a problem or remedy the status quo
- Tackle emotional gaps (inspire hope or quell fears)
- Provide success stories or proven breakthroughs
How-to and Q&A videos are great tools for capitalizing on mentorship (like the above). Giveaways and contests also engage people if you’re publicizing more lighthearted offerings.
Finally, don’t forget other audiences—collaborators, and algorithms:
- Follow industry news and trends and tag your business partners
- End your posts with calls-to-action that prompt a reaction, question, or reshare
- React to and reshare the content of others too (reciprocity is key)
- Learn how the algorithms work and test out a platform’s ad campaigns
Tracking Brand Awareness Efforts
How do you know if brand awareness is working? The short answer: metrics. We’ve got all the details on social media metrics in this post. But ultimately, you should pay special attention to reach, engagement, and click-through rate. You can also track brand awareness via surveys, website traffic, and social mentions (comparing the market share of similar brands).
Need a “branding bestie”? How about a whole team? One Part Social will help you get started!