Brand awareness is the level of familiarity that people have with a brand. It refers to how people recognize and remember a brand, its products or services, and its unique qualities and characteristics. Brand awareness is important, as it builds trust and credibility, increases customer loyalty, differentiates from the competition, and improves marketing effectiveness.
In this article, we discuss the 3 most successful digital marketing strategies to build brand awareness for small businesses.
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What challenges do small business face in building brand awareness?
Small businesses face incredible challenges when it comes to building brand awareness. From working with a limited budget and lack of resources to limited reach and visibility to new customers, small businesses struggle with making their company seen and understood.
Limited Budget
Small businesses often have limited marketing budgets, which can make it challenging to invest in advertising and other promotional activities that can help build brand awareness. Fortunately, there are strategies that small businesses can use to promote their company, even when there isn’t a big budget. Most younger companies will face this issue, but it’s important to know that building brand awareness is a vital piece of growing a company.
Lack of Resources
Small businesses typically have limited staff and resources available for marketing. This can make it difficult to devote the time and energy to develop brand awareness. An excellent way to bridge this gap is to hire a marketing expert for a fraction of the cost of a new unskilled employee. A marketing company can provide expertise from past clients who have successfully grown their businesses.
Hiring a new employee, on the other hand, can be expensive. In addition to salary and benefits, there are investments in training, software, and equipment. Marketing companies, on the other hand, offer a cost-effective solution that allows access to a range of marketing services without incurring the cost of a full-time employee.
Limited Reach
Small businesses don’t have the same reach and distribution channels as larger companies. This makes it harder for small businesses to get their brand in front of a wide audience. Television ads and highway billboards are cost-prohibitive to most small businesses. But a more targeted approach with digital marketing allows small businesses to build an online presence and scale as they find marketing avenues that work.
Lack of Visibility
Small businesses struggle to get their brand in front of potential customers, especially compared to larger, established brands. Big brands have large marketing budgets and teams of marketing experts working on their behalf to build brand awareness. Does that mean small businesses don’t have a chance and should avoid marketing altogether? No, it means that small businesses need to fine-tune their message and choose their approach wisely. As a company grows, it can reinvest more revenue and profit toward larger marketing efforts.
What digital marketing strategy works for small businesses?
With the objective of reaching a target audience and driving more leads, my three (3) favorite ways to build brand awareness through digital marketing are 1) content marketing, 2) social media marketing, and 3) email marketing.
Content Marketing
Content marketing involves creating high-quality content like blog posts, infographics, and videos to attract and engage target audiences. By providing valuable information and insights, a small business can establish itself as a thought leader in its industry and build brand awareness over time.
Content marketing and SEO are closely related, and content marketing can have a significant impact on search engine rankings. By creating high-quality content that includes relevant keywords, search engines can better understand the focus and purpose of a website. This can help a site rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords and phrases. As well, creating valuable, shareable content can help attract more inbound links to a website from other high-quality websites. Inbound links are an important factor in SEO, and having more links pointing to a site can improve its search engine rankings. Both lead to more website traffic. And if that content is engaging and informative, small business owners can establish themselves as a leader in their industry and drive more sales.
Content can be used and re-used in multiple marketing channels. Website content like a service page or blog article can be rewritten for use in a social media post or email campaign. Video content can be embedded into a blog article. Infographics can have follow-up videos and articles written about the details of the information provided within. Each piece of content can be used in multiple ways, and it’s important not to handcuff content into one channel.
Social Media Marketing
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can be powerful tools for small businesses to reach a wider audience. By creating engaging content and interacting with followers, a small business can build a strong social media presence and drive more traffic to a website.
Posting to a Google Business Profile (formally Google My Business) has its own unique advantages. By optimizing a Google Business Profile and regularly posting updates, a small business can improve its visibility in local search results. This can be particularly beneficial for small businesses that rely on local customers. An active Google Business Profile can demonstrate that a business is engaged and trustworthy. This can help build credibility and authority, indirectly improving search engine rankings.
As mentioned above in Content Marketing, once content is created, it can be reused in multiple channels. Don’t handcuff content to one channel.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is an effective digital marketing strategy to stay in touch with customers and nurture leads. By creating targeted email campaigns, customers and leads can receive personalized messages and promotions that drive more sales and build brand loyalty.
The beauty of email marketing is that no single corporation owns email. Meta owns Facebook and Instagram. Alphabet owns Google. Microsoft owns Bing. And each of these corporations has the objective of creating a revenue stream from their product. Email, on the other hand, does not have a corporation limiting its use. As long as a small business creates content that recipients want to read, they will have success getting their message delivered.
Email marketing tends to have higher engagement rates than social media marketing. This is because social media platforms limit who can see a post. With email marketing, a sender has direct access to an audience’s inbox. This means personalized messages and promotions are directly sent to subscribers without relying on social media algorithms restricting visibility.
Conclusion
Building brand awareness is crucial for small businesses looking to stand out in a crowded marketplace and attract new customers. By leveraging the power of digital marketing, businesses can increase their visibility, build trust and credibility, and differentiate themselves from competitors. The digital marketing strategies outlined above – including content marketing, social media marketing, and email marketing – provide a roadmap for small businesses looking to build brand awareness and drive growth. With the right digital marketing approach, businesses can create a strong, recognizable brand identity that resonates with their target audience and sets them up for long-term success.
Have an Expert Help You
Are you interested in having an expert help your small business build brand awareness using the digital marketing strategies mentioned above? If so, contact us for a free consultation. We would love to learn more about your small business and see if we are a good fit to help you grow.