Before a company can earn a reputation as one that consumers love to do business with, people first have to learn that it exists and recall its unique attributes. Of course, while building awareness of your brand is a necessity for growing a business, isn’t always easy to achieve. With so much competition in the marketplace today, a brand needs to find smart ways to stand out from the crowd to become recognizable.
There are many ways to expand brand awareness, and the more creative you can be, the better. Here, 15 members of Forbes Coaches Council share the go-to tactics they recommend to their clients who want to spread awareness of their brands.
Forbes Coaches Council members share effective tactics for expanding brand awareness.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Tell Compelling Stories And Be Consistent
What are the most compelling stories you can tell about who you are, what you stand for and the impact you’re making? First, be compelling and consistent in sharing that narrative in experiential settings. Second, remember that engagement is more important than reach. Third, commit to the relationships you’re building rather than any campaign. Finally, go deep rather than broad—you want evangelists, not informants. – Anne Harbison, JourneyLead Consulting
2. Create Ongoing ‘Do-Good’ Campaigns
Create ongoing do-good campaigns to give back to society. Choose a cause that is aligned with your company‘s values and what it stands for. You get to give back, make more impact, and spread awareness of your company. Your employees will also feel more engaged and proud to be a part of your company, and you will attract more amazing people who will want to work for your company. – Nida Leardprasopsuk, Nidaleard
3. Enable Employees To Talk About The Brand Authentically
Your employees are your best brand asset. They are customer No. 1, and enabling them to talk about the organization in a consistent, authentic manner across all channels is the most efficient way to increase brand awareness. In order to do so, leaders have to create a culture where employees proactively want to evangelize the organization. The process and the technology come thereafter. – Dan Swift, Empire Selling
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4. Focus On Building Social Proof By Providing Value
I would recommend focusing on social proof by providing value and collecting as many testimonials as possible. People will buy more easily what your services allow them to do and achieve than what you try to “sell.” Show them through social proof that they can trust you and that you can provide results. Communicating and sharing these testimonials is a solid way to build brand awareness. – Xavier Preterit, BIMR EDITION
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
5. Expand Awareness With New Products And Resources
Expanding brand awareness is a journey for all companies, which will change with the emergence of new technology and trends over time. With the creative revolution today, every new discovery requires a company to continue to position itself as a thought leader or expert—a go-to company of choice and quality. Brand awareness can be centered on the introduction of new products and resources. – Janet Adetu, JSK CONSULTING GROUP
6. Understand Your Target Group And Sell Your Value
Understand your target group very well. What problem are you trying to solve, and what are the benefits of your offering for the customer? Sell the value and how it will make their life better. To stand out, ensure your target group understands how you differ from others and connect it to your brand. Make it simple and consistent. Use brand ambassadors, influencers and social media and create a great SEO strategy. – John Nielsen, The Nielsen & Co Coaching and Leadership Consulting
7. Put A Robust Brand Identity And Strategy In Place
The first step is to ensure that a robust brand identity and strategy are in place to build a consistent model for stakeholders and customers to understand your business. Marketing, communication, public relations, social media, collaborations and conferences are necessary pillars and a great start. Make sure you get testimonials for your website. – Michaelene Holder-March, MHM Business Solutions
8. Use Podcasting And A LinkedIn Newsletter
I use podcasting in conjunction with a LinkedIn newsletter. We have built a strong following by consistently producing strong content and collaborating with high-quality thought leaders. We remain visible, add value to our listeners and build relationships. This approach requires a significant time investment and commitment to an editorial schedule. – Maureen Metcalf, Innovative Leadership Institute
9. Interact With Followers And Incentivize Referrals
For my clients, expanding brand awareness is all about building their community by interacting directly with their followers and encouraging or incentivizing referrals, word-of-mouth recommendations and client testimonials. Maximize your engagement on social media channels to build that follower base through trust and integrity. – Regan Hillyer, Regan Hillyer International
10. Publish Content Regularly To Get Noticed
Publish or perish. Whether you’re writing blog posts, full articles or short tips and hints, publishing gets you noticed. People gravitate toward those they see in “print” and view them as experts. However, some clients don’t want to write, so we discuss hiring a writer to help and how to find the right service. Once you establish yourself as knowledgeable via your writing, your brand will expand. – Karen Silins, A+ Career & Resume, LLC
11. Reach Out To Ten Influencers In Your Niche
Reach out to ten influencers in the niche you want to target. Offer them your services or product for free in exchange for a testimonial on video or in writing. Three to five of them will likely accept and be honored by the recognition. Use the testimonials when approaching other decision makers who consider those individuals to be successful and influential. You’ll get new clients and a bank of preeminent fans. – Jeremiah Desmarais, Advisorist.com
12. Take An Omnichannel Approach In Campaigns
Turn your brand awareness into brand influence by taking an omnichannel approach (email, digital ads, direct mail, social and telephone) in your marketing and brand awareness campaigns so that you are seen everywhere. This creates a top-of-mind and top-of-feed awareness with your market, which positions you as a trusted go-to source in your industry category. – Michela Quilici, MQ Consulting and Business Training, Inc.
13. Ask Clients To Share Their Feedback And Perspectives
We ask for feedback from our clients on how they perceive us, our brand and our work. Are these consistent? We then go to our social media platforms. LinkedIn is where the majority of our corporate clients are. We make sure that we’re consistent on all platforms. We want our brand to be communicated through our social media messages just as we communicate it when we’re one-on-one with our clients. – Stacey Hanke, Stacey Hanke Inc.
14. Repeat Positive Stories About Your Organization
Repetition is key. Repeat positive stories about your organization on social media, on television, in radio or print ads, in press conferences or even during in-person engagements or conferences. Share what’s going well, what clients choose you for, why people like to work for you and even why you’re an awesome company. It’s those repeated, positive stories that will eventually expand brand awareness. – Vinesh Sukumaran, Vinesh Sukumaran Consulting
15. Create Collaborative Alliances And Joint-Venture Partnerships
Creating collaborative alliances and joint-venture partnerships is a great go-to tactic to build brand awareness that is often overlooked. Combining forces with a noncompetitive company whose target audience is identical to yours is a good strategy for brand visibility. Both companies can promote each other’s products and services as well as any offerings they co-create or produce together. – Lori A. Manns, Quality Media Consultant Group LLC
