There are millions of businesses that want to sell something to your target audience every day. Each of them has something great to offer. There\u2019s no more a problem to find the right product or service for customers\u2014there\u2019s a problem to choose one from the number of similar offers within one price range. But when there\u2019s one company that a customer has already heard of on the list, it\u2019s no doubt they\u2019ll pick it. After all, it\u2019s called having good PR. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how do you build brand awareness for your small business and ensure your prospects choose you? This is what you\u2019ll find out if you read on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few words about brand awareness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In case you aren\u2019t proficient with terminology yet, let me explain what brand awareness is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brand awareness is simply a marketing concept that describes how well prospective customers recognize a product or service. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, if you succeed in establishing brand awareness, you\u2019re sure that your target audience knows about your company and what it does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brand awareness is your competitive advantage over other businesses. What are the other benefits of established brand awareness<\/strong> for a small business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n All these benefits won\u2019t appear overnight, but if you manage to build a consistent strategy and stick to it, you can expect great results in the next few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n P.S. Here's a dedicated article offering an overview of the best brand awareness strategies (with examples)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, it\u2019s time to tell you about our favorite strategies for boosting brand recognition<\/a>. There are six of them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the following techniques are free or don\u2019t require spending a fortune, which I know is important for small businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the digital era, the best way to increase your brand awareness is by building an online presence<\/a>. And how do you achieve that? Content is the answer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Content is everywhere. When you want to cook something fancy for dinner, you\u2019ll most likely be searching for recipes on Google. Or you might have already bookmarked a few ideas from your favorite food blog. Whatever option works best for you, it\u2019s all about online content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And what\u2019s exactly content marketing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Content marketing is an approach focused on creating and distributing content (text-based, video, image, etc.) to attract and retain your target audience.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike revenue-driven strategies, the key idea of content marketing that\u2019s focused on building brand awareness is delivering content created with your target audience in mind. Your texts, videos, or other assets should address your prospects\u2019 pain points in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s quickly go through major tactics that involve content.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s an example of \u201cbrand awareness 101<\/a>\u201d: Say you offer meal kit delivery, as HelloFresh does. By starting a blog<\/a> where you\u2019ll share free recipes, you\u2019ll catch the attention of people who cook at home and might be happy to get rid of this routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Blogging isn\u2019t the only form of content marketing. You might also want to run a channel on YouTube or host podcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It might seem that these options work only for influencers with a crazy number of followers. On YouTube, you can find lots of tutorials in various categories. Do you offer roofing services? Videos with the best roofing practices will help you build brand awareness<\/a> among the most relevant audiences. Another great example of a brand awareness campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Press releases and newsrooms wouldn\u2019t exist without content, right? With this in mind, it turns out that content marketing and PR are inseparable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PR is a powerful strategy for getting your brand noticed. Brands pay for getting mentions by reputable media outlets, and with a well-thought-out PR strategy, every penny spent on this initiative will pay off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you own or work for a local business, you might want to partner with smaller publishers popular in your area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With Prowly, you don\u2019t need to search for the relevant PR contacts for months. The tool gives you access to over a million media contacts filtered by topics, job roles, outlets, and location. And that\u2019s not the only feature<\/a> that you can use for your PR efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although content marketing and PR imply content distribution, we think the latter deserves a dedicated section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The world\u2019s best content makes no sense if nobody sees it. You can expect that your blog posts will get picked up in Google's organic rankings, but chances that it happens without you building links<\/a> and distributing your content are little. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are top techniques that proved successful for us at Joinative and our clients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As has been said, blog content doesn\u2019t start ranking on the first page just because it\u2019s good. If you want your posts to get traffic from search engines, you\u2019ll need to spend some time optimizing it and building links. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By simply researching queries that your target audience might be typing in the search box and building your content around these keywords, you\u2019ll be doing better than most of your competitors on the web. But to reach the first page of search results, you\u2019ll need to get links to your domain and blog pages on other websites so that Google sees your content is valuable and can be trusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This approach is the most time-consuming, but it also delivers the best long-term results. Unlike other distribution methods, where you get traffic only when you invest your time and money into growing it, SEO doesn\u2019t require your permanent commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Growing traffic organically isn\u2019t for everyone. Although it\u2019s considered a \u2018free\u2019 technique, you still need to spend your own time or hire an expert who\u2019ll help you reach your goals there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In case you don\u2019t want to invest in SEO but need to get eyes on your content, paid advertising is right for you. However, building brand awareness with paid social might be too costly. When it comes to advertising on Facebook, you should also be experienced enough to avoid account bans<\/a>, which is a serious issue for your brand awareness campaign\u2019s success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily, there\u2019s an alternative. Native advertising is a more affordable and less restrictive advertising method. You can run your campaigns through one of the native ad platforms and have your ads displayed within the editorial content of news websites and online magazines, like Business Insider and The Atlantic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you know your audience isn\u2019t only on Facebook and Instagram? Depending on your niche, you can reach your prospects in Slack communities, on Quora, Reddit, Pinterest, or any other network based on people\u2019s interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By answering questions on Quora or hosting AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions on Reddit, you\u2019ll increase brand exposure for free. Mind that audiences on these channels will recognize hard-sell easily, so to avoid creating negative brand perception<\/a>, you\u2019d better focus on providing value rather than promoting your brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collaborative branding is an extremely productive technique for small businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cross-promotion allows you to reach your partner\u2019s audience, explore new market opportunities<\/a>, and grow your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are there any companies that you could mutually benefit from partnering together? If you establish a win-win partnership, you can promote your business for free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When someone joins our local gym, they also get a bunch of gift cards for beauty salons, cafes, and coffee shops. It\u2019s not something that boosts sales overnight, but such a partnership is the best way to increase brand awareness for local businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Haven\u2019t you considered influencer marketing yet? You should. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This collaboration will not only help you build brand awareness but also boost trust and conversions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You might have already had an idea of what kind of influencers or niche experts you could partner with, so it\u2019s the right time to reach out to them. If you aren\u2019t sure how to find reliable contacts, you can go with an influencer marketing platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To build a strong awareness of your brand, you\u2019ve got to socialize. And what\u2019s a better way to do so than being active on social media? <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
6 techniques to increase your brand awareness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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1. Combine content marketing with PR.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Blogging<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n![\"Brand](\"http:\/\/prowly.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image6-1-1024x576.png\")
Videos or podcasts <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Public relations<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
2. Distribute your content.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
SEO<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Native advertising <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Due to their form and feel, native ads are widely used for content promotion<\/a>. As your content appears next to articles on the world\u2019s best websites, it looks more credible and gets more attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Explore \u201cniche\u201d channels<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Some of these communities also allow advertising, which is the golden mean for businesses that want to reach exclusive audiences without taking extra effort to blend in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n3. Collaborate.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Establish co-branding partnerships<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Work with local influencers <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
4. Build a strong social media presence.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Brand](\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/yfgsz92HHQYyfCgM3HLf_UV0scSKfEMvTWucxtumL-nQbPeF4XlULB1ZroivODIZiRFwUDR00n_XoTyyE3rhrQbSnqylOdGvL2ojHdq1-7rJSBJ47jMUvVAkLVrQDf4rRaLMvu4S\")
![\"Brand](\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/37II4w8vq2vblIBd-nR1g-tP2y-O2YLFC-nypdJmlKkxvMZTBB-G2uWEFavGTyjq1yipOv9AJ-OsGbQyaKhXP5kfbVrjOntha9EHsFVARIndKt3o99XXNfi9JuIP3a0O9uZC8T74\")
![\"Increase](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/xhvW6E9-Kjd9qPx9IrLJ_u2ExQ-QiBAjvA8HAHWPDQjcxjdYKy5DpQDDpIhOkaWtynqrr7XtyiEcp4ARRIcj2g9Y7aR5uR9q6Yn99fyTysWHhqts4NMs2FVmKP0qQt6Um8OsWTv3\")
![\"Increase](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/RtD_Iur_HRPMgpJDlIetycOfTfzlMu50hox8GJgG4KgW7tahUpoMnkWd-O083HK9fXjBbT9tr-1Sx7LEGpjiZCcvT2LeKqaQTkGQqdszPYajvf3Vjf36t0rbVl52mfx6OZPSKnGc\")