Why Brand Awareness Is Especially Important For Small Businesses
Brand awareness and word-of-mouth are super crucial for small businesses.
Unfortunately, brand awareness is not something that just happens, you have to build it.
When you are first starting out, brand awareness should be your priority. And even as you grow, you should allocate 30% of your profits towards growing awareness.
Because without new customers, your business will die slowly.
If you’re starting a new business, or want to grow the brand awareness of an existing business, here is everything you need to know to get started.
What is a brand?
A brand is a way a product, company, or individual is perceived by those who experience it.
A brand is the recognizable feeling, brands live in our minds.
We know that 75% of shoppers say they are more likely to purchase from a familiar company.
So the logic is simple:
When people recognize your brand, they are more likely to seek your product or service to fill their needs.
A brand helps companies to be recognizable, stand out, and as result – make more money.
You can contact small business web design services that can help you make a beautifully branded website and e-commerce sites.
What is brand awareness?
Brand awareness is a marketing term that describes the degree of consumer recognition of a product and service.
The goal of brand awareness is for consumers to associate your business with the relevant needs. For example, if they think of a cold drink, you want them to think of your brand 1st etc.
Brand awareness creates the foundation for your business to create and launch new products or services. You want your brand to be embedded into consumers’ minds, so they don’t think twice about who they want to go to when they have a problem.
Establishing brand awareness of your product after researching your target market, can be powerful, and getting your message across on social media is affordable for small businesses, too.
Why is brand awareness important for small businesses
Awareness is where the decision to buy begins. Before people have a need to buy, they have a problem. As a business, you want to be at the forefront of people’s minds when they have a need, so they think of you first.
If they don’t think of you, they won’t buy from you. It’s that simple.
Brand awareness is especially important for small businesses that need to compete with bigger brands for attention. Thankfully social media and PR can help with getting your mission out there without having to spend lots of money.
How to build brand awareness as a small business
Brand awareness is crucial if you are a small business competing for customer attention.
And thankfully thanks to new tech, it is affordable.
Below are some not-so-expensive ways to build brand awareness:
1. Social media marketing (both organic and paid)
Social media can effectively connect you with existing customers while also reaching new prospective customers.
Your social presence allows them to learn more about your business and become familiar with it.
Building a social media presence includes posting creative and engaging content that encourages followers to interact with your business.
You can also buy ads on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok to reach even more people.
Social media is a great way to maintain existing customers while also entering into new markets, with people who might not have heard of the product in any other way.
2. Incentivise existing customers to spread the word about your brand
You can ask customers to take a photo of themselves with their product, which qualifies them for free merchandise, for example.
If they have a large following, more people like them will be exposed to your brand.
Or you can create a referral incentive, where existing customers can be incentivised to invite their friends to try your brand.
3. Collaborate with influencers to promote your brand
You can also collaborate with social media influencers. These are individuals who influence lots of people online. They usually have a large following of at least 10,000 people. Read more about the difference between influence and popularity here.
You can establish an agreement with them (typically supply them with some free product or a fee) in return for a story or post about your company. This is a great way to market your business to a new audience quickly and effectively.
Make sure you find influencers who have an audience relevant to your niche.
4. Collaborate with other brands
Brand collaborations have become an extremely popular method of creating brand awareness.
Fenty x Savage, Adidas x Gucci, FILA x Chupa Chups.
Research other businesses in your industry with a similar vibe, but who are not a direct competitor, and ask if you can do something together to cross-pollinate audiences.
This will benefit both businesses, as you will be able to extend your reach into a new, relevant market.
5. Offer valuable advice and tutorials
One of the best ways to create brand awareness is to offer value to people.
This can come in many forms, for example, through free tips and tutorials in blogs, YouTube videos or a podcast.
This enables you to build trust and a loyal following of potential customers.
Free content provides you with the opportunity to show customers what you are about, and an insight into the value you can offer them.
This is a great way to be authentic, connect with your audience and get your brand in front of more people.
Customers are more likely to share your content on their social media accounts, and with their friends and family, which will snowball your brand awareness.
