Timing is everything. One of the best times for a customer to become aware of your brand is before they need your product and service. From seeing your business on social media to showing up in their first Google research, being on your customers’ minds before they start comparing options is a huge advantage and a marketing coup. It’s one of the topics covered in the enVisioning Success podcast episode, Perfect Timing: Knowing When to Share Your Message with co-host Julia and Laura, and the topic for today’s companion blog: how to improve your brand awareness so you can reach customers at this critical time.
Getting Customers Aware Before Purchasing Decisions
Before we get into the options to increase brand awareness, it’s essential to start by talking more about the steps in a customer’s buying process. This is best represented in the customer journey, how customers find, interact with, and buy from your brand. While these journeys can be broken into many steps, they all start the same: with awareness of your brand.
As Laura and Julia go over in the podcast above, making it to the customer before they are in the buying decision stage is critical. Ideally, you want the customer to become aware of your brand in the initial stages, either when they are identifying their need for your product or starting research. Being in their mind at those early stages dramatically increases their chance of reaching out to you.
For more about understanding and utilizing customer journeys, see our blog, The Marketing Analytics Behind Your Customer Journey.
5 Ways to Increase Your Brand Awareness
Okay, now that we’ve discussed how critical it is to get in front of customers with your brand, how do you do it? Below are five key areas that apply to all industries that operate online and the first steps (and helpful links) to get started on them.
- Better Website SEO: Your website is your most powerful tool for getting noticed, especially on Google. Make sure it’s not only optimized but think about pursuing SEO marketing such as blogs and overhauling your metadata.
- Improving Online Presence: How online is your company? From your Google Business profile to listing and reputation websites (like Yelp), ensure you own the accounts, that the information is accurate, and that you’re monitoring them for leads and engagement.
- Social Media Posting: Being active on the social media platforms your ideal clients use can be a great way of not only entering their awareness but also engaging with them. This can be everything from useful tips and announcements from you to comments and messages from readers.
- Search & Social Media Ads: When it comes to getting in front of potential clients, advertising really is pay to win. This can be Google Ads to use keywords your customer is interested in or social media ads to extend your reach on those platforms.
- Public Relations & Articles: Never underestimate good publicity, especially if you’re focused on servicing a specific location. Know when to issue a press release and contact local publications (including online-only) about an interview or running an article written by you.
About the enVisioning Success Podcast
This article is based on topics discussed in enVisioning Success, our weekly podcast hosted by Vision CEO Laura DiBenedetto and COO Julia Becker Collins. In it, they discuss all things business and marketing, from lead generation to leadership. Find us on PodBean to download from your platform of choice, or subscribe to our mailing list to get new episodes and other news delivered directly to your inbox.
Many businesses, even large ones with years of experience as an established brand, can overlook brand awareness as a key part of their marketing and sales. Your online brand performance might just be too low to reach those online clients you know are there. It’s time to talk to Vision and get a consultation on your business’s strengths and weaknesses. Contact us today and learn how investing in online marketing can get you in front of more customers and get your brand on the digital map.
