Obviously the best way to increase brand awareness is to hire an Ad agency that does this sort of thing for a living, kick back, and watch them work. But we get it; not every business has the revenue to afford an Ad agency. So assuming that you are your own Ad agency, here are a few quick and easy marketing tactics to help move things along.
1. Get on every single social media site you have heard of (and even some you haven’t).
Three quarters of consumers encounter products and product labels before arriving in person at the store front, and this is all thanks to the internet. Making sure you’re wired into Facebook and Twitter should be the first step in every single marketing plan, as this makes a consumer over 70% more likely to give your service or product a try. We actually recommend taking this one step further and saturating the internet with your brand. We’re talking apps, Pinterest, blog spots, SEO marketing; the works. If you don’t know what half of those things are, get your nephew to explain. If you’re skeptical that your small credit union really has a marketable Pinterest product–we don’t want to hear it. Get your creative advertising hat on and make it happen, because at the end of the day, it’s all about brand awareness.
2. Create incentives for repeat–shopping.
Brand awareness is very closely associated with brand loyalty. Not only do repeat customers spend over 50% more than first time customers, they also provide a lot of free advertising in their off hours that you’re not even aware of, especially in industries with a lot of competition, such as banks. People don’t choose a bank because they read about all the great interest rates in the fine print. They choose a bank because their neighbor has been with so–and–so outfit for years and never had any problem. So start small; set the goal of increasing customer loyalty by 5% this year. 5% may seem little, but this number could yield you increased profits of 25% or even higher!
3. Get weird.
No, you didn’t read that wrong. Awareness and loyalty all relate back to one basic function of the human brain: memory. There’s a colloquial subset of Game Theory informally titled “Peacock Theory,” which basically holds that the loudest, most ridiculous looking guy at the bar will get the most female attention. And you know what? The data holds up. So think of your business as a guy trying to get a date, and get a little weird. Hold an event with a dunk tank, do a funny spot on the radio, or shoot a really loud, rambunctious TV commercial and see what happens.
You can do this. You can brand yourself and get more attention for your business. After all, who knows your business better than you? Make sure to share any other tips we failed to mention in the comments.
