Hi. I'm Amy, the Founder and Chief Marketing Person here at the Launch Box. My mission is to help entrepreneurs and small business owners achieve their dreams by learning how to think more like a marketer.
The #1 question I get from founders is always ‘how can I get more customers?’, and no matter if that company is looking for their first customer, their thousandth customer, or even their millionth, the answer is always to drive more awareness.
Now, don’t get me wrong, just because the answer is always the same, it doesn’t mean every company will succeed by doing the same things. In fact, how a brand goes about creating awareness will vary wildly from business to business as well as throughout a company’s life, so it’s as important you think about where you are on your startup journey as it is to identify who your core customers are and how you are going to move them through the decision making process once you get their attention. I will however leave those questions for another day and focus now on the topic at hand - which is to give you some stellar ideas for driving awareness for your new business!
From supercharging your marketing efforts with SMS to cultivating a unique “Brand Mythos,” here are 12 answers from fellow founders, marketing execs, and new business leaders to the question, "What are some sure-fire marketing tactics you use to boost consumer awareness?"
Use SMS With Your Other Marketing Channels
Focus on Customer Service
Produce Shareable Infographics
Guest Post on Commercial Websites
Research Powerful SEO Keywords
Keep Customers in the Loop Via Email
Ask Employees to Become Advocates
Make Use of Referrals
Become a Key Opinion Leader
Have Your Product Reviewed by Relevant Influencers
Start Collaborations to Build Authority
Investing in a Brand Mythos
Use SMS With Your Other Marketing Channels
Using SMS, alongside your other marketing channels, can be a great way to boost consumer awareness.
Recent statistics show that text messages have an astounding 90-95% open rate compared to email or other online communication channels.
By using SMS to reach consumers, you can quickly spread the word about your business and let them know about any promotions or new products you have. It's cost-effective when compared to other forms of marketing, making it a brilliant choice for businesses who want to capitalize on their marketing budget.
Michael Fischer, Founder, Elite HRT
Focus on Customer Service
When you focus on customer service, you’re not just satisfying your customers; you’re also boosting your brand’s awareness and perception.
Your customers will share their positive experiences with your company with their friends, and their friends will also check out your company. This is a great way to build a reputation as a company that cares about its customers, which will also increase your sales and boost your marketing.
Matthew Ramirez, CEO, Rephrasely
Produce Shareable Infographics
One sure-fire marketing tactic to boost consumer awareness is to create and share well-designed and valuable infographics.
People today love visual content, and infographics are a great way to reach a new audience and boost your brand awareness. Infographics are visually engaging and easy to read and remember. Moreover, they are a source of value, not just a way to make sales.
Natalia Brzezinska, Marketing & Outreach Manager, US Visa Photo
Guest Post on Commercial Websites
One of the best ways to appear in front of consumer audiences is to guest post on “commercial” websites. For example, provide a guest post or advice-lead article on the website of an influencer or blogger who is positioned with an audience that aligns directly with your business. Guest posting works incredibly well in this way because it not only positions you as an authority in your space but also allows you to use the work of the website owner to be front and center with an audience that is highly likely to resonate with your content and trust your brand.
Gary Warner, Marketing Manager, Joloda Hydaroll
Research Powerful SEO Keywords
Whether you're launching a new product or service, or are announcing a rebrand, this tactic is definitely worth trying the next time you want to actively increase consumer awareness. It might sound simple, or boring, but SEO keyword research is vitally important to raise brand awareness and boost your marketing efforts. When done correctly, it's a sure-fire way to get more eyes, and more customers, on your brand or offer.
The first step in this process is to understand what keywords people are searching for. When you know this information, you can use it to get your brand in front of the right potential customers at the right time.
Nicholas Robb, Founder, Design Hero
Keep Customers in the Loop Via Email
Use email campaigns to update customers and keep your brand on top of mind. For example, during a product launch, you want to make as many customers as possible aware of your new items and their unique features. Marketing email is a direct path to your customer's eyes—and has incredible potential to boost consumer awareness.
Susan Shaffer, President, Pneuma Nitric Oxide
Ask Employees to Become Advocates
There’s no point in creating incredible content if no one reads it. Asking your colleagues to share content with their LinkedIn networks will drastically increase brand visibility, but it also helps position your employees as industry experts. You’ve put the effort into creating marketing content, so get some eyes on it with an employee advocacy program! People trust people more than brands, so they're more likely to engage with content if it comes from an employee than a brand account.
Emily Neal, SEO & Content Specialist, DSMN8
Make Use of Referrals
Customer referral programs are a sure-fire marketing tactic that offers great value. We use referrals by giving discounts and other rewards per customer referred.
Referral bonuses help to spread brand awareness through word of mouth, which saves on the advertising budget. It also helps to improve brand memorability as more and more existing customers refer their friends to get rewards.
When a brand is recommended to others by friends and family, they are highly likely to try the products and services. Consumer awareness increases with more effective referral programs.
Become a Key Opinion Leader
My business partner and I are quoted a lot. When there is a development in the cryptocurrency space, we’re often called upon by large- and medium-sized business news outlets to provide context.
We’re authorities on the subject, and we’ve built up a lot of excellence equity and journalists across the spectrum have noticed. That’s why we’re such trusted sources for them. When people want to invest in something but are intimidated because they know so little about it, they will turn to those who have deep-seated knowledge about it.
So having our names in print and on the Web, and knowing that we just published a book on cryptocurrency and its history, gives many potential investors a sense of comfort knowing that they can turn to us. That has not only boosted customer awareness, but it has boosted customer confidence.
Have Your Product Reviewed by Relevant Influencers
Having your product or service reviewed by credible and relevant influencers will boost your awareness and sales like no other.
Our company works hard to partner with influencers who actually use and believe in our products so that their reviews are genuine and believable. This helps us quickly spread the word about our business and build credibility among potential customers.
Additionally, having influencers promote our products gives people an extra boost of confidence when deciding whether to purchase from us.
Start Collaborations to Build Brand Authority
Engaging with authority personalities, respected influencers, specialists, or other well-known people is one of the fastest ways to boost consumer awareness.
I assume thousands of your potential customers have never heard of your brand. With their reach and authority, famous figures are the key to growing your new audience. And becoming familiar with your brand is the first step to creating lasting relationships. Co-created content, webinars, conferences, live on social media, or other video materials can increase your brand awareness when working with someone famous.
Remember that not only influencers are there to support you. Depending on your activity profile, they can be doctors, lawyers, or other specialists. If you have the chance, collaborate with at least two people. This way, you will double or triple the results. The goal is always to reach more customers and build brand authority.
Nina Paczka, Community Manager, LiveCareer
Invest in a Brand Mythos
Investing in a brand’s story is critical to boosting consumer awareness through marketing. Every brand has a story to tell about how it came into being.
Customers love a good story and appreciate companies that are transparent about how they started. Developing and investing in an effective narrative format, be it video, narrated pictures, etc. is crucial to conveying the story in as detailed a form as possible for them.
Annu Daniel, CEO, Elohim Company
