Building Brand Awareness Across Social Media Channels

Are you using social media to boost brand awareness? Channels like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn allow companies to connect with their audience and increase brand recognition. A Hootsuite survey of over 9,000 organizations finds, “90% of brands want to build brand awareness through social media.”

It’s not easy to stand out and create consistent, memorable content. But, finding the right mix is crucial to gaining trust and improving user experiences with your brand.  Explore the top ways to increase brand awareness on social media.

What is brand awareness?

Brand awareness is when people recognize and recall your brand name, logo, colors, products, and services. It helps potential customers feel comfortable with your company and increases trust. Two elements make up brand awareness:

1. Brand recognition. Consumers recognize your logo and style. They may not have researched your brand or products, but they’re familiar with your brand identity.
2. Brand recall. Potential customers know what types of products you offer, and when they need to buy something, your brand name pops into mind as one of their choices.

Why develop brand awareness campaigns on social media?

Business owners use social media marketing to reach many goals. But, brand awareness is a top objective. That’s because social media is often the first place where consumers interact with your brand.

Social media tactics nurture people until they’re ready to take the next step. Successful brand awareness campaigns give you insights into your market and help you develop relationships with followers.

Top Ways to Build Brand Awareness on Social Media

A key component of brand awareness is consistency. Your images and brand presentation should look familiar to fans regardless if they click on your Twitter or Instagram account. So it’s essential to create a social media style guide for use across all channels. With guidelines in place, select your platforms, and use these ideas to build brand awareness on your social media channels.

1. Create Platform-Specific Marketing Strategies

People use social media platforms differently. For example, folks turn to Facebook for entertainment, product information, and conversations. But, they head to LinkedIn for thought leadership content and company information. Both platforms offer social groups where like-minded people interact.

Assess your budget, then pick social media channels where your target market hangs out. If you can’t put your full effort into five channels, choose one or two to see the most significant impact. Develop a social media marketing plan that takes advantage of platform-specific tools, like Instagram Stories or LinkedIn articles. Don’t forget to create measurable and time-bound goals for each channel as well.

2. Use Email Signature Marketing

Inboxes are flooded, but folks still sort through their emails many times a day. And once they’ve opened your email (thanks to a strong subject line and content summary), they can easily click on your social buttons to learn more about you. Use email signature marketing successfully by:

• Ensuring your email signature and buttons are mobile-friendly.
• Keeping your font, colors, and logo the same as what you use on social media.
• Including a call to action that directs readers to click and see your latest tweet or post.

3. Use Paid Social Advertising

Sponsored ads on platforms like Facebook don’t look like your standard display ad. Instead, these advertisements come up in someone’s feed and look similar to non-promotional posts. Although the ad may show the term “sponsored” or “promoted,” when done correctly, it doesn’t feel like a hard sell to social media users. A consistent campaign of varied ad formats increases brand awareness by keeping your brand in their feed.

4. Get Employees Involved

Trust in brands and influencers continues to decline. However, consumers rely on peer-to-peer recommendations. They notice when people, as opposed to companies, share a post. An excellent way to increase brand awareness on social media is by sharing your posts with team members. For example:

• Send out a weekly staff update with links to top posts on each social media channel.
• Ask employees to share content with their friends and give them the okay to do it on company time.
• Create campaign data sheets with examples of social media messages, hashtags, and images so staff can create their own posts.

5. Optimize Social Media Profiles

Go through each of your social media profiles and fill them out completely. Start by using the same cover image on all channels. Doing so improves the user experience with a seamless transition between platforms.

Next, clearly state what your brand does and how your services or products benefit customers. Add keywords related to your target market, as folks use the search bar on social media to find new content and products. Plus, list links for your website and other social channels.

6. Share Interactive Content

Although people love scrolling, they’re spending so much time online that they want something to do. An excellent way to get started with interactive content is by adding contests, polls, or quizzes. These are simple to create, and free tools exist to help you pick winners. For instance:

• A quiz may be fun and entertaining or help your audience discover a problem.
• Polls give you market research while encouraging fans to share and get their friends to vote.
• A contest is a fun way to get fans to comment with their entry or share user-generated content.

7. Engage Fans on Social Media

Above all, it’s important to remember that social media is a social platform first. The best way to build brand awareness across your social media channels is by getting involved. Engage with your audience by:

• Tagging a friend or co-worker in the comments while asking a question.
• Responding to comments on your post.
• Encouraging conversations by providing a safe and monitored space.

Building Brand Awareness on Social Media: Take the Next Step

Are you ready to create a memorable brand? Use social media to connect with fans, generate loyalty, and improve brand recognition.  Start with a strategy and clear goals. Then, get involved by interacting with your audience. With the right mix of paid ads, memorable content, and steady engagement, you’ll satisfy customers and attract new leads.