9 clever ways to boost your brand awareness

Article topics

1. 1. Guest blog for publications
2. 2. Host giveaways on social media
3. 3. Partner up with another business
4. 4. Sponsor an event
5. 5. Get mentioned in press releases
6. 6. Give your website an SEO audit
7. 7. Launch a customer referral programme
8. 8. Attend networking events
9. 9. Demonstrate your values
10. How will you boost your brand awareness?

How familiar are your prospective customers with your business?

Brand awareness means people recognise your brand, your values, and what you sell. That way, even if they’re not ready to buy from you yet, you’ll be the first company they think of when they are! Looking for some fast and easy ways to increase your brand awareness? Here are nine quick wins that will get you started!

1. Guest blog for publications

A large part of brand awareness is about making your business visible to people who aren’t already aware of you. Providing guest articles and editorial content for publications like trade magazines and thought leadership blogs can expand your reach and introduce you to more people.

Not only this, but guest blogging establishes you as an expert in your industry, building trust and credibility with prospective new customers. According to LinkedIn, 63% of customers say thought leadership is essential in proving that a business can solve the challenges they experience.

Here are some ways to get started with guest blogging:

• Find a publication’s ‘forward features’ document. This is a list of topics that a publication will cover throughout the year. This means you can plan ahead and pitch something relevant, increasing the chances of the publication accepting your guest post
• Use Google to find guest posting opportunities. For example, if you work in the home décor industry, you can search for:
  • Home décor ‘submit a guest post’
  • Home décor ‘guest post guidelines’
  • Home décor ‘guest post by’
• Look at your competitor’s backlinks to see which publications they’ve guest blogged for. These publications are more likely to accept a guest post by your business

2. Host giveaways on social media

Nearly 92% of businesses now use social media to market their brand. Why not use your social media profile to your advantage and host a giveaway?

Social media promotions showcase your products and services to new customers, encouraging people to follow and engage with your brand. You can even partner with a relevant influencer to showcase your business to even more people!

If it’s your first time hosting a giveaway on social media, here are some top tips to make sure you’re prepared:

• Choose the right social media platform (or platforms). Ideally you’ll want to be where your target audience is most active
• Plan your giveaway in advance. Write the copy and generate the images beforehand, and determine when you will post. Most social media platforms have free scheduling tools so that you can load up your posts ahead of time
• Be aware of the terms and conditions of running a competition. While the rules can vary depending on the specific platform, all giveaways must be free to enter, everyone must have an equal chance of winning, and you must pick winners at random

3. Partner up with another business

As the old saying goes, ‘two heads are better than one!’

Partnering with another business and forming a strategic alliance means you can gain access to their customer base, helping you reach a wider audience.

Take Stratos, the famous collaboration between GoPro and Red Bull, when skydiver Felix Baumgartner parachuted to Earth from space, breaking the world record at the time. Eight million viewers watched the livestream, and over three million tweets were sent about the jump!

While your partnership doesn’t have to be so extreme, co-branding can be advantageous for all parties involved. Here are some ways to do it right:

• Choose a partner that has the same values as you and complements the products and services you sell. For example, if you sell cheese, a wine vendor could be a match made in heaven!
• Ensure both businesses portray a consistent and unified message; otherwise you run the risk of confusing potential customers
• Communication is critical. Regularly reach out to see how things are going and how you can drive the partnership forward. Both businesses must be equally dedicated; otherwise things can quickly go wrong

4. Sponsor an event

Have you ever got an email from an event or charity asking your business to sponsor their latest initiative? If brand awareness is your number one goal, event sponsorship can be highly beneficial. In fact, event sponsorship drives brand engagement with 98% of customers.

Event sponsorship puts your brand in front of brand-new audiences, meaning you access new markets you might not have considered before. Plus, being associated with reputable organisations and charities makes you appear more credible and trustworthy.

Here are some top tips for making the most of event sponsorship:

• Choose events that align with your brand values, the products and services you sell, and your target audience
• Make sure someone from your team is at the event on the day. Take advantage by networking (more on that later) and telling attendees more about what you do
• Monitor the results of any events you sponsor. For example, you can ask customers how they heard of you or offer a unique discount code for tracking purchases. This helps you see which events you sponsor increase brand awareness the most

5. Get mentioned in press releases

Newspapers and magazines are always looking for story ideas and sources for quotes. Being mentioned by journalists raises your brand awareness and can give you a boost in the search engine rankings too!

Here are some ways to get featured in the news:

• Connect with local and national journalists on social media – LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) are great networks to get started on
• Sign up to platforms like Qwoted, Connectively (formerly known as Help a Reporter Out), and Help a B2B Writer. These platforms connect you with journalists and writers looking for sources. Alternatively, follow the #JournoRequest hashtag on social media
• Regularly post content on your blog and social media – this builds your online presence and makes it easier for journalists to find out about you

6. Give your website an SEO audit

Optimising your website for SEO increases the chances of your web pages appearing on the first page of Google for the words and phrases your target audience use.

Why is this helpful when it comes to brand awareness? The top three results in Google capture nearly 55% of all clicks, so the higher you rank, the more likely people will become aware of you!

When auditing your website for SEO, here are some of the things you need to consider:

• Keywords – you want to target words and phrases that get a lot of traffic but are low competition
• Page titles and meta descriptions
• Page formatting – the use of headings, bullet points, and images to make your content clear and easy to understand
• Page speed
• External and internal links

Alternatively, why not get started with a free SEO audit from our team today?

7. Launch a customer referral programme

Using your marketing channels to raise brand awareness and find new customers is hard. However, what if your existing customers could do the hard work for you?

A referral programme encourages customers to recommend you to prospective customers. By offering a reward to both customers, you’re acquiring new customers and building loyalty among your current customers.

According to Adweek, there are 3.3 billion brand mentions in 2.4 billion brand-related conversations every day. A referral programme means your brand is likelier to be among those talked about!

Here are some of our recommendations for making your customer referral programme a success:

• Don’t forget to promote your referral programme. In our experience, email marketing is a fantastic way to publicise your referral scheme
• Determine who your top referrers are and offer them additional incentives. For example, you can give them discount codes to share with family and friends, or provide early access to new product launches and sales
• Consider sending referrers a handwritten thank you letter. Studies have shown that recipients of handwritten notes are more likely to get involved with you again

8. Attend networking events

Digital marketing is fantastic for boosting your brand awareness. However, networking events, whether real-life or virtual, can help expand your reach too!

65% of trade show attendees say events provide them with a greater understanding of a product or service and help them learn more about the brands behind them.

Want to use networking events to your advantage? Here are our top tips:

• Find the right type of networking event for you. For example, if you’re an early riser, a working breakfast means you can do your networking first thing. Shy around other people? A workshop or webinar might be more up your street
• Can’t find the right networking event? Why not host your own? Hosting events, whether on Zoom or at your local coffee shop, are easier to do than ever before!
• Don’t forget to follow up! If you meet someone at an in-person event, send a connection request to them on LinkedIn with a personalised message

9. Demonstrate your values

Authenticity is everything when it comes to brand awareness. According to Stackla, nearly 90% of customers say authenticity is the top factor when determining which brands to buy from and support.

Showcasing your values makes it easier for prospective customers to understand what you do and why you do it.

Here are some of our top tips for showing your value to potential shoppers:

• Create a value statement that shows what you stand for and display it prominently on your website. Here are a few value statements from companies that strive to make a difference in the world:
  • Allbirds
  • Ben & Jerry’s
  • Patagonia
• Don’t just tell customers your values; show them. For example, if you engage in community outreach or charity volunteering, promote this to prospective customers
• Consider a certification that highlights your values and commitments, like B Corp, 1% for the Planet, or B1G1

How will you boost your brand awareness?

According to Semrush’s State of Content Marketing report for 2023, 45% of businesses say their key aim is to increase brand awareness amongst potential customers. This means that if your goal for the year ahead is to demonstrate your worth to your target audience, you’re in good company!

Brand awareness is an ongoing process. Even making small changes to how you market your business can pay big dividends over time.

Need a little extra support nurturing potential customers and showcasing your brand? Our team of digital marketing specialists are here to help. Get in touch today, and let’s see how we can get people talking about your eCommerce store.