People often have a misguided definition of branding. What does a “brand” really encompass? The first few things people think of when they hear the word brand are logos, names, slogans, and other marketing tools that help a company promote the goods and services they offer. But that’s only a part of it.
A brand is essentially an intangible business/marketing concept. According to Detroit Internet Marketing, a brand creates a unique identity for a company and helps people identify that company through that unique identity. A brand is not limited to a company only; a brand can also be a product or an individual.
Brand awareness plays a huge role in a business’s success. There are many ways a business can increase its brand awareness. Some of the most common methods include:
- Social media
- Earned and paid media
- Programs and live events
- Strategic partnerships
- Blogging
- Email marketing
- Sponsoring events
While all of these digital marketing methods are excellent, social media is one tool that’s the most favorite among businesses. With almost 51% of the world’s population using social networks, it’s easy to understand why. Social media is an easy, fun, and result-oriented way to reach your customers. Read below to know how you can benefit from this amazing tool to reach your target audience and gain more organic traffic and customers.
In This Article
Use Social Listening Tools
Social listening tools let brands analyze, track, and reply to conversations that mention them on social media. It’s an excellent tool for researching your audience and keeping track of what people are saying about your brand, competitors and product, etc. Moreover, it also lets you reply to people on different platforms from within a single dashboard.
It’s fairly simple to use a social listening tool. You simply type in a keyword that you want search results for and all the relevant content will show up. You can then engage with that content in whatever way you want. Mostly, these keywords are your brand’s name or something your business is known for (CEO, product, etc.)
Host Contests
Adding social media contests can boost your sales quite a lot. A company named BHU Foods increased its sales by a whopping 35% by hosting online contests. Social media contests are not only a great way to increase your following and sales, but also to build excitement. Furthermore, if you’re offering something really special to the winners, the word can spread quickly, allowing you to gain even more followers and potential customers.
You can shape your online contests in whatever way you want. For example, companies ask their followers to mention their friends in the comment section or share their posts to win exciting prizes. These strategies help create brand awareness and increase organic following.
Humanize Your Social Channels
Another great tip is to humanize your social channels. Relax the atmosphere a bit by using fun and casual captions, posts, comments, etc. People feel more connected with a brand that they can relate to. Make sure you know your target audience well so you can humanize your brand in a way that’s most receptive to them. There are many ways you can adopt to humanize your brand’s social media presence. Here are a few ideas:
- Talk like a real person: The more you engage with your audience like a real person, the more you will gain their trust. And trust is essential to gain loyal customers.
- Show emotions and humor: One great way to be relatable to your audience is to be more empathetic and show real emotions where possible. Also, try to use sarcasm and humor on your social media to gain more reach and engagement.
- Participate: Answer as many questions and comments on your posts as possible. People are likely to engage more if they feel their comments are being valued.
Don’t Forget to Use Hashtags
Posts with hashtags receive better engagement. Therefore, it’s essential that you use hashtags to their fullest potential. Using relevant hashtags not only increases your reach but also makes it easier for people and communities to find you. You can use already famous hashtags to reach a greater audience or make your own hashtag to create an identity. Using niche hashtags is another great way to reach communities with similar interests.
Comment on Other Posts
Commenting on complementary businesses posts is also a great way to increase brand awareness. Followers of complementary businesses are more likely to purchase from you if they like your offerings.
For example, let’s say you sell custom pencils. From here, you might comment on a notebook brand’s post to increase your reach. This way, viewers of your comment might check out your account and potentially buy from you. More often than not, the needs and wants of complementary businesses are similar. Hence, the results of these tactics are often fruitful.
