by Jerry Mooney

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Why is it that some brands launch and become an overnight success, while others plod on for years barely making a dent in the collective conscious?

Are their products simply better? Not always. Do they have famous people endorsing them? Sometimes, but it’s rare. Do they have million dollar marketing budgets? Unlikely!

So what is it then? The most likely reason why one business does much better than another, even if they are similar and they’re launched at the same time, is the difference in the level of brand awareness they are able to achieve.

If you can build brand awareness to the point that your target market, at least, are familiar with your company, you are much more likely to do well than that other company that no one has heard of - it’s pretty obvious really!

So, how do you improve your brand awareness sufficiently? Here are some things that have worked for many companies over the years:

Corporate Gifts

Pretty much everyone from the average person on the street to the CEO of that successful business you'd love to get to know, love getting free stuff. So, it stands to reason that you can have a lot of success building brand awareness by giving away free gifts emblazoned with your business logo or slogan (you should absolutely have these). The key is to choose a level of gift that will actually impress, the kind of things you’ll find at Fancy Inc corporate gifts, rather than the usual cheap, tacky bits of plastic. Sure, it might blow a lot of your marketing budget, but if it works, it’s worth it.

Sponsor a Local Event

Sponsoring an event, such as a fun run or children’s learning fair in your local community will build your reputation as being a good person, and since you’ll be able to talk to the local media and put up sponsorship banners, your business will benefit from the good publicity too. Just be careful to choose events and causes that match your brand’s values and which are likely to attract the attention of your target market.

Post on Social Media

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This one almost goes without saying, but you’d be surprised how many companies, new and old, aren’t yet utilizing the power of social media to build up their brand. Basically, all you need to do is set up profiles on all of the most popular social media platforms, like Instagram, and post engaging, relevant content regularly.If you do this, you will pick up followers, and you’ll have a captive audience. You have to put in the effort though.

Competitions

Going back to the people liking stuff for free theme, holding a competition is a great way to get your brand out there. The key is to run a competition that is easy enough and interesting enough for your target market to enter, and for you to choose a price that is sufficiently motivating for people to enter and share. Ideally, this would be a package of your own products and services, but if you think an all expenses cruise around the Bahamas would be a bigger draw, and you have the budget for it, well why not?

Time to start building some awareness!