Have you ever thought of ways to build brand awareness for your small business? Regardless of whether you own a brick and mortar business or an online based business, you need to promote your brand.

When your target audience recognizes your brand and acknowledges your brand as the go to for their specific need then you have been able to create brand awareness.  Brand awareness is what will make your business name stand out from the rest.

If you’ve been struggling to get your brand recognized by your target audience, you will find these 6 ways to build your brand awareness tips useful.

 

Build brand awareness with a unique personality

This to me is the first thing that you need to get straight. Most small business owners think that if they “copy” their competitors they will be able to leverage on the existing market. The truth is that people get tired of seeing the same thing over and over.

What will make your business stand out is when you do something unique and when you have a distinct personality that people can relate with. Decide on how you want your target audience to remember you. Once you’re clear on this, all the activities that you do to channel your brand awareness will be very powerful.

 

Put your story out there

Sharing your story and brand message is an effective way to put your brand out there. People relate with stories easily and at an emotional level. The aim behind sharing your story is to create a connection with your target audience.

You can tell the story about how you started your business or your client experiences. The best place to share your story is on social media or to guest post in industry related blogs.

 

 

You can also put your name and your story out there by taking it everywhere you go. A good way to do this is to have your brand name/message printed on T-shirts. The great thing about this strategy is that there are now companies like Printsome, who offer quality bulk T-shirt printing services. This is fab way to raise brand awareness.

 

Set up a referral programme

Referral programme is an effective way to use word-of-mouth to spread the awareness of your brand. It works by creating an incentive for your clients for referring your product or service to their friends. When their friends/readers pay for the product or service you offer, they are immediately given a gift which may be in form of a discount.

 

Engaging in local partnership

Partnering with a parallel or complimentary local business is another good way to increase your brand awareness. You can leverage on the existing brand awareness of a local business to build your own brand awareness. Find out how your product can be used as a way to compliment another local business. For example, if all you sell is lipstick you can partner with a local business that specializes in selling eyeliners to create a combined package that people can buy.

 

Influencer marketing

Influencers with a large and engaged follower base can help increase your brand awareness. You can reach out to influencers to help you put in a good word for your business and the products or services that you offer.

When it comes to making use of influencers, make sure that they have good engagement rate and that they are targeting almost the same audience you are appealing to. I offer blogger outreach services alongside blogging, so do check out my portfolio page for more information.

 

Invest in ads

To get the word out quickly, investing in ads is the best option. With a little investment you can have your brand name out there. You need to make sure that the copy on the ad is compelling enough to get your target audience’s attention.

Facebook ads are quite effective as almost everyone is on Facebook. The Facebook ad targeting is so sophisticated that you can easily laser in to your ideal clients. I would be writing a post on my experience with Facebook ads in a few weeks, so do watch this space.

 

How do you build brand awareness for your business?

 

*Collaborative post.