For a business to succeed, people have to know it exists. Brand awareness can be the difference between trudging along and taking off. One of the biggest mistakes a new business owner can make is assuming that brand awareness will happen organically. The reality is, it takes effort to make an impression on consumers. Here are five ways you can bring your brand to the public's eye:
1. Use Promotional Materials
Promotional materials are elements of advertising 101, yet a lot of new business owners overlook them. Don't underestimate the power of catching someone's attention. Car magnets and other outdoor ads are great ways to get people looking at your business's name, logo and information. Even a short glance at a passing ad can help cement your company in someone's mind. If you're focusing on advertising locally, you can hang up flyers at local coffee shops or restaurants. Try to consider your audience and where they would go, and place your promotional materials accordingly.
2. Be Consistent
One way to sabotage your own branding efforts is to lack consistency. All of your advertising efforts, whether they're online or offline, should use the same logo, style and phrasing. If your company has a slogan, make sure there's a set way of phrasing it. Any changes matter, even if the meaning is still the same. Keeping your image consistent not only prevents confusion, but it triggers the repetition that makes you stick in your customers' minds.
3. Get Online
If you don't already have Facebook and Twitter, make your company profiles and use them. If you have them, but you post once every month or so when you remember they're there, begin posting regularly. You can use social media management sites like Hootsuite to schedule posts so that you don't have to constantly remember to update. However, it's best to regularly check in on your social media sites, even if you schedule ahead of time. The best thing a company can do with social media is engage with its customers: If you're putting the site up and forgetting about it, you're doing yourself and your customers a disservice.
4. Tell a Story
People like to feel like they're a part of something. If you use your promotional materials and online presence to tell a story, you will catch people's attention. If your company is working toward sustainability and clean energy, let your customers know that. Use social media or start a blog that tells the story of where your product comes from, or that focuses on workers and how they fit into your vision. If people remember your story, they'll remember you.
5. Hold a Contest
Another great way to make people aware of your company is to get them involved. Having contests encourages customers to engage with you, rather than trying to reach out to them. You can have simple random giveaways, or more complicated contests where participants have to enter in something to be judged. Small businesses may think they don't have anything to offer yet in contests, but even simple discounts or small gift cards can encourage people to look your way.