A Guide to Increasing Brand Awareness for Small Businesses
Introduction
It is an overarching goal for all businesses to increase their brand visibility to new and potential customers. Every marketing funnel begins with awareness of the brand and the product or service they provide.
For a business to grow, especially a small/new business, it is essential to develop a strategy for increasing awareness among potential clients. In this blog, we will review 5 ways a small business can increase its brand visibility to local and national audiences.
1. Social Media Marketing
Over 70% of Americans have social media profiles. When small businesses post content on social media, they increase their reach to potential customers, ultimately increasing their brand awareness.
Creating content for social media is an off-board SEO strategy. Although it might not lead to direct conversions, it allows the businesses to stay relevant in the consumer’s mind while increasing brand familiarity. Staying top-of-mind is highly valuable in today’s over-saturated market.
2. PPC Ads
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are a type of digital marketing strategy where advertisers pay Google each time someone clicks on their ad. Essentially, businesses only pay when a user has interacted with their ad.
Search engine marketing is a form of PPC ads where businesses bid for keywords they want to rank for. The highest bid for that keyword will have their ad shown at the top of the search results.
PPC ads help drive traffic to your website directly, as well as being visible and increasing awareness for the brand from potential customers.
3. Billboards
Billboards became widely popular in the 1860s, and have been used as a traditional marketing tactic ever since. It has been debated whether billboards are still relevant and worth the cost, but with the right strategy, it can be well worth the price.
People notice billboards, even subconsciously. They attract attention and have high visibility with the potential to be seen by thousands or even hundreds of thousands of eyes per day. It is a great strategy for garnering attention in the local community as well.
4. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a fairly new digital marketing strategy that involves partnering with social media, celebrity, or professional influencers to promote a company’s product or service.
There are numerous benefits to this tactic of marketing. Influencers that have a following of like-minded individuals and fans, tend to be more trusted when they endorse a business. Also, each influencer has a different niche and follower demographic, so brands can increase their awareness to new and larger audiences.
5. Local Sponsorships
Sponsoring local events is a great way for small businesses to increase their relevancy in their local community. By sponsoring a local sports game, festival, or restaurant, a business can gain better support from a local audience.
If you are interested in developing a better brand awareness strategy, give Vortex Digital a call at 319.621.0191 for a free, no-obligation, consultation.