Brand awareness is the term used to describe when a target audience is familiar with or recognizes a particular brand. It is a crucial aspect of branding and marketing efforts as it represents the degree to which consumers can recall or recognize a brand in different situations. The overall goal of brand awareness is to reach potential customers and new audiences, convey brand values and sway purchasing decisions.
There are various levels of brand awareness:
Recognition: Consumers can identify the brand when presented with its name, logo, or other visual cues.
Recall: Consumers can remember the brand without visual cues. For example, if they are given a product category, they can recall the leading brand associated with it.
A few real-world examples include:
- Nike
- Coca-Cola
- McDonald’s
When reading these company names, it’s likely that you imagine associated logos, colors, slogans, ads, or overall brand identity and aesthetic. This happens because these brands have developed unique creative assets, content marketing and digital materials, and established a personal connection with their target audience in a memorable way.
Let’s dive into the benefits of brand awareness, how to build and improve it, and ways to measure the success.
Benefits of Strong Brand Recognition
Builds Brand Equity
Brand awareness is directly correlated to building brand equity. As consumers associate a brand name with positive feelings and connections, it increases the brand’s value and strength in the market, ultimately leading to higher brand equity. As brand equity builds, a brand may also see:
- Increased prices to meet market value and demand
- Product expansion
- Shifted purchasing behavior
- Improved competitive position
- Stronger market share
Builds Brand Loyalty
Strong brand awareness often leads to increased consumer loyalty. When consumers consistently choose and trust a particular brand, it instills loyalty to a brand. Loyal customers are more likely to stick with the brand over time and speak positively to influence others, contributing to the long-term sustainability and value of the brand.
Improves Brand Recall
Brand recall is when a consumer picks out one brand within a category of competition like hotel chains. This is different from brand recognition, when a consumer remembers a brand based on a prompt like a logo. Brand recall is one of the strongest levels of brand awareness.
What brand is top of mind when considering athletic wear? Soft drinks? Fast food?
→ Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s
Ways to Build and Improve Brand Awareness
Partnerships
Oftentimes brand recall can be attributed to external partnerships that target audiences can recognize or relate to – like well-known influencers or celebrities. The most important thing to consider is selecting an influencer or celebrity whose values and overall character align with your brand’s.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO ranking can significantly increase sales and buying behavior. First, identify a list of keywords that competitors are using, then develop content and marketing materials that incorporate those same keywords. Your brand will appear alongside competition when customers or prospects are searching products or keywords. Good SEO standing will increase website traffic, click-throughs, and social media engagement.
Content Marketing
Brand consistency leads to brand awareness. The more information and content out there that mirrors a brand’s image and conveys primary messaging and values, the more likely customers are to remember a brand name. This includes blogs, infographics, social media content or more engaging content like a podcast or webinar series.
Mascots and Jingles
Mascots and jingles are creative ways to enhance brand recall and awareness. Mascots are memorable characters that can personify the values and personality of a brand. Jingles are short, catchy musical tunes or slogans often used in advertising to promote a brand or product.
Mascot: Geico gecko
Jingle: Subway’s ‘Eat Fresh’
Word-of-mouth Marketing
A well-known brand is more likely to benefit from positive word-of-mouth marketing. Consistently-satisfied customers are more likely to recommend it to others, becoming brand advocates. This positive buzz expands the brand’s reach and influences potential customers.
Sponsorships
This is where brands pay to endorse something for exposure in return. These sponsorships are typically in environments with large audience exposure like sporting events, music festivals, and TV programs. But more importantly, these sponsorships are where the brand expects their target audience to spend their time.
Social Media
Social media marketing isn’t for every brand, but can increase brand recall. Social media posts leverage the expansive reach of social platforms (LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.) to connect with a diverse audience. Through engaging content, targeted advertising, and interactions with followers, brands create a memorable online presence. Sharing user-generated content and collaborating with influencers further amplifies brand visibility and credibility on social media.
How to Measure Brand Awareness
There isn’t a standard way to measure brand awareness like there is measuring viewership or engagement on a blog post. But there are a few tactics to indicate success:
Site Traffic
Website traffic reveals how many people visit your site and how long they stay on each page, revealing any spikes in what’s driving them there.
Social Listening
Evaluating social metrics indicates who is following, engaging, and overall aware of your brand. Social listening tools reveal who is tagging your brand, what they’re tagging, if they’re using hashtags, etc. Other important metrics include followers, likes, comments, and shares.
Creating a Brand Awareness Strategy
Implementing a brand awareness campaign is a crucial piece within a brand’s overarching marketing strategy. It takes time to instill brand recall among a target audience, but can be done through creative marketing materials, consistent customer touchpoints, and proper measurement tools.
Ready to build a brand strategy that grows awareness of your brand? Get started today with PhotoShelter.