13 Quick Yet Effective Ways to Build Brand Awareness

When you start a new business, the first thing you should do is build brand awareness. This helps you reach as many people as you can with your marketing and branding campaigns.

You can have the best product in the world but it won’t matter unless the right people get to know about it. That is why new and upcoming brands need to build strong brand awareness first and then focus on meeting other marketing goals.

Luckily for you, consumers today love to find new brands and products, so getting new customers is not as tough as it once was. However, competition has significantly increased nowadays.

Now the question is: How can you build brand awareness in such a dynamic and competitive environment?

Well, that’s what this post is all about. In this post, we will discuss some of the best strategies that you can use to build brand awareness.

What is Brand Awareness and Why is It Important?

Brand awareness simply means the extent to which your target audience and existing customers are familiar with your brand. It is a measure of the ease with which people can recall or recognize your brand.

For instance, when you get a minor bruise on your knee, you ask for a BAND-AID and not a plastic bandage. It is likely that you would choose BAND-AID over other brands of adhesive bandages. This is exactly what building brand awareness can help you achieve.

Developing a great product won’t help you earn any profit unless your potential customers know about it. In today’s market, your business is likely to face fierce competition, regardless of the niche in which you operate.

With total consumer expenditure projected to exceed $63 trillion by the end of 2025, you can’t afford to fall behind if you want your share of the market.

Image via Statista

Good branding helps you cut through the noise and compels potential customers to choose your products or services over others.

Building brand awareness, in a way, is more about instilling trust in consumers that your products are of high quality. People don’t think twice before buying from a brand they know and trust.

Therefore, building brand awareness is crucial for the survival of your business.

Now that you know how brand awareness can contribute immensely to the success of your business, let us discuss a few ways to increase brand awareness.

Curious to learn how to boost brand awareness?

Read the next section.

13 Effective Strategies That Can Help You Build Brand Awareness

In this section, you will learn some of the most effective ways to build brand awareness and reach more people. So, let’s get started.

1. Run Social Media Contests and Giveaways

If you want to build brand awareness, social media channels are a good place to start. And, there’s nothing like running a contest to attract social media users and increase brand awareness.

Contests and giveaways are some of the most effective tools that can help you increase your brand awareness. In addition to building brand awareness, they also boost audience engagement and help drive conversions.

In fact, Instagram accounts that run contests grow 70% faster than those that don’t.

Typically, when you announce a giveaway, you reward your followers with freebies in exchange for one or both of the following things:

• They have to like and/or share the post.
• They have to tag a few friends in the comments section.

Your task is to pick a winner from all of the entries you receive. Make sure you specify all of the rules clearly while announcing the giveaway. You should also maintain transparency and announce the winner’s name publicly. It is recommended to run the giveaway on multiple social media channels in order to get the maximum benefit.

Contests are similar to giveaways, except that they require your audience to compete for the freebies by performing certain tasks.

The task could be participating in a poll or uploading a certain type of content with your branded hashtag. Keep your hashtag short and easy to read. It will simplify the entry process and help you keep track of the entries across various social media platforms.

The biggest advantage of contests and giveaways is that they allow you to reach a wide audience and engage with them. When your followers tag others in your posts, they are indirectly connecting you with their network of friends. Using a branded hashtag further reinforces brand recognition and recall value and helps build brand awareness.

For an even bigger impact, the prize that you give to the winner should be related to your brand. It could be in the form of free product samples, loyalty points, free membership, etc.

If the winner has a positive experience with your brand, they are likely to recommend it to others. This, in turn, generates leads, drives conversions, and ultimately helps you earn more profits.

To further amplify the performance of your contests and giveaways, you can collaborate with influencers. Here’s an example of a clothing brand, Virgtify, collaborating with an influencer for giveaways of $100 gift cards and clothes.

Image via Instagram

Quick Hack: If you are losing followers on Instagram, run a giveaway to re-engage your target audience and recover immediately.

2. Ask Your Followers to Tag a Friend

When you happen to like a social media post, you often want to share it with your friends. An easy way to do this is by tagging them in the comments section of the post.

Brands can use this to their advantage and effortlessly raise brand awareness. All you have to do is upload a post encouraging your followers to tag their friends.

This is a great way to reach a new audience without resorting to overly promotional content. Such posts can also be a savior when you don’t have the time to publish a well-articulated post. It keeps your social media feed fresh while boosting brand awareness and audience engagement.

Need an example?

Check out this Mother’s Day post by Dove, where they highlight the great contributions of mothers in society and how their mental health also matters.

Image via Instagram

3. Leverage Referral Programs

Getting referrals from your existing customers is another effective way to expand your reach and build brand awareness. If your existing customers have a positive experience with your brand, they wouldn’t mind recommending you to others.

However, they won’t be tempted to do so unless you offer them an incentive in return. Therefore, developing a reward-based referral program is important for building brand awareness.

Referrals also have the power to generate new leads for your business. When your existing customers recommend your product or service, they strengthen brand credibility.

Your potential customers are more likely to give your product or service a chance if it is recommended by someone they know. This, in turn, increases your likelihood of reaching an even wider audience.

Dropbox has successfully harnessed the power of referrals to build brand awareness. The American file hosting service lets users get storage for two for each referral signup.

This greatly helped the company to get a large number of new signups without spending a fortune on advertising during its initial days.

Image via Dropbox

It is also worth noting how Dropbox makes it easy for its users to send invites using their Gmail and Facebook accounts. The ease of use further encourages them to refer the service. So, your referral program should be simple and easy for it to have the desired impact.

4. Share Memes

Although not the most obvious choice for increasing brand awareness, humorous memes have the potential to become viral and widen your social media reach.

Internet users often share popular memes with their friends and relatives on social media platforms as well as messaging apps. It is an effective way to give your followers a break from in-your-face promotional content.

However, you need to consider whether a viral meme would align with your brand image and appeal to your target audience.

If this is not the case, don’t try to force-fit memes into your brand awareness efforts. This can hurt your reputation instead of helping you build brand awareness.

One note of caution:

You should also avoid designing memes on controversial and sensitive subjects. The last thing you want is to offend your potential customers with a seemingly harmless social media post.

A good example of a brand successfully using memes to build brand awareness and social media presence is BarkBox. It relies almost exclusively on humorous content and has amassed a significant number of followers on Instagram.

Image via Instagram

5. Give Exclusive Access to Loyal Customers

When you launch a new product or update, offering exclusive access to some customers can start an immediate conversation. It creates a sense of curiosity and urgency among your potential customers.

The people who don’t have access to your product at this stage can’t wait to find out what is so special about it.

The ones who are rewarded with exclusive access perceive your brand as one that truly values its customers. Such people are more likely to recommend your new product to others, provided they like it.

This helps build brand awareness and can even generate new leads for your business

Google used this strategy to promote the launch of Gmail. In its initial days, the email service was accessible only through invites from existing users.

By restricting access, Google immediately created a sense of mystery about the platform. This, in turn, led to an increase in the number of new signups, helping Gmail grow and build brand awareness.

6. Offer Freemium Products with Credit

Several photo and video editing apps offer a free version, where they put their watermark in the final image or video. When users share pictures or videos edited using the free version, they inadvertently promote the tool or platform as well.

This helps build brand awareness and can even generate new leads for your business.

But, is this strategy only suitable for generating awareness about photo and video apps?

Not really; this brand awareness strategy is not just limited to video editing apps, but is also used by many SaaS companies. So, find a way to make sure that you get credit even if you offer a free plan to your customers.

This is a lesser-known strategy to build brand awareness that should be a part of your SaaS sales strategy.

7. Collaborate with Influencers

Collaborating with influencers is one of the most effective ways to build brand awareness. Since influencers are perceived as industry experts, an endorsement from them adds credibility to your brand image.

And you get access to their loyal and engaged follower community. With creative and user-centric content, such a partnership can help you strike the right chord with your target audience.

There are several forms of influencer marketing campaigns you can leverage to build brand awareness. You can get them to share a review of your products or services on their social media profiles.

Or you can even collaborate with influencers to host a giveaway or contest. In this case, the influencer hosts the giveaway on their own social media profiles and offers your products or services as the prize.

Guest posting is another efficient way of using influencers to build brand awareness and should be a part of your influencer marketing strategy.

Daniel Wellington harnessed the power of influencer marketing to become one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe. The company gifted DW watches to social media influencers during its initial years and asked them to share pictures.

It continues to collaborate with influencers and asks them to share a picture of their watches on their Instagram accounts with the branded hashtag “#DanielWellington.”

This strategy has helped Daniel Wellington build brand awareness by attracting over 4 million followers on Instagram. It helped generate new leads for the company and gave them access to a rich pool of high-quality user-generated content.

Image via Instagram

Contrary to popular belief, influencer marketing is not just good for B2C brands but also for B2B ones. So, invest in B2B influencer marketing, if you’re not already doing that.

8. Use Social Media Hashtags

You can increase the visibility of your social media posts by using the right hashtags in the image description or caption. It helps you reach a wide audience that is not part of your social media following.

With Instagram now allowing users to follow popular hashtags, it is almost imperative that you tap into the potential of hashtags.

The key to using hashtags for building brand awareness is to choose your hashtags carefully. Identify the most popular and relevant hashtags for your brand. Rule out the ones that are either too generic or too specific.

Make sure you don’t flood your image description with a list of irrelevant hashtags. This can act as a huge put-off for your audience.

In addition to using trending hashtags, you should also create one that is unique to your brand. Then promote it using social media contests and by encouraging your customers to use it in their own posts.

You can even encourage your customers to share a review of your product or service and add your branded hashtag to their review posts. This helps popularize it even if it’s a new hashtag.

For instance, Adobe gives Instagram users a chance to get featured on the brand’s own Instagram page. You just have to post your creation using the hashtag, “#Adobe_Dreambig.”

Such posts from Adobe loyalists often act as effortless endorsements for the brand. This helps build brand awareness without the brand directly reaching out to its target audience.

Image via Instagram

Using hashtags is one of the best social media marketing tactics for increasing brand awareness. So, make sure that you include it in your branding strategy.

9. Leverage Video Marketing

Videos help communicate crucial information about your brand. Much like memes, videos garner widespread attention that can help build brand awareness.

They are also more engaging than text-based posts.

From product unboxing videos to interviews with industry experts, you can use videos to showcase different aspects of your brand. Another effective strategy is to craft an interesting story and integrate your brand into the narrative in a seamless manner.

Such videos often tug at the heartstrings of viewers and help build brand awareness. You can also increase the visibility of your videos by collaborating with influencers.

Don’t restrict your video marketing efforts to just one social media platform. If you upload a long video on your YouTube channel, share a trailer or snippet on Instagram, Facebook, and X, and then include a link to the main video in the description.

This helps build brand awareness by driving traffic from your social media profiles to your YouTube channel.

10. Participate in Industry Events

Participating in industry events is another excellent way to build brand awareness. You get to meet potential customers, connect with industry leaders, and show people what your brand stands for.

Representing your brand in person at such events makes a huge difference. Consumers remember real conversations more than ads. It allows consumers to see the people behind the brand, which is good for sales conversions.

Another big reason events help build brand awareness is media exposure. Many events attract journalists, bloggers, and influencers. If they notice your brand, they might talk about it online or in the news. Even small mentions can bring more eyes to your business.

For example, Salesforce usually participates in an annual event called Dreamforce. It showcases new products and services, which helps spread Salesforce’s brand to new audiences.

Image via Salesforce

To build brand awareness through industry event participation, consider the following tips:

• Set Up a Standout Booth: If you’re setting up a booth, make sure it grabs attention. Use bold colors, great visuals, and clear messaging.
• Engage with People: Don’t just wait for people to come to you. Start conversations, ask questions, and show interest in what people need.
• Use Giveaways: People love free things, so consider using giveaways to grab their attention. It doesn’t have to be something big. Things like branded pens, stickers, notebooks, or tote bags are good options.
• Follow Up After the Event: Meeting people is great, but keeping in touch is what builds brand awareness over time. A thoughtful email or quick message can turn a one-time interaction into a lasting relationship.

11. Use Email Marketing Campaigns

Email marketing involves sending commercial and marketing messages to a specific group of people through email to drive customer engagement and turn that into sales.

When it comes to building brand awareness, email marketing can help keep your brand top of mind among consumers. Every email you send re-engages your customers and reminds them of your brand.

Marketing emails also allow you to share your brand’s voice and personality. You can tell stories, show customer success, and talk about what makes your business special. This helps people connect with your brand on a personal level.

Another advantage of using emails to build brand awareness is that you have full control over the messaging. Unlike social media, where algorithms can limit visibility, emails go directly to your subscribers. As long as they’re on your list, they’ll receive your message.

Some tips you can use to build brand awareness with email marketing campaigns include the following:

• Use short, catchy subject lines that will make your subscribers want to open the email and read the message.
• Schedule your emails. Here, you can test different days to see when people open and click your emails the most. This requires email tracking tools like Omnisend.
• Use compelling CTAs to inspire action from your target audience. Be clear on what you want them to do next.
• Be consistent but avoid spamming your audience. You want your brand to stay on people’s minds without annoying them.

12. Leverage SEO for Brand Awareness

Almost every aspect of search engine optimization can be used to build brand awareness — from blog content and videos to voice searches. You just have to figure out what works best for your brand.

The higher you rank on search results, the more exposure your brand gets. According to a recent study, most B2B marketers use SEO to expand their reach. Social media leads the pack with 89% usage, followed by corporate blogs (84%) and email newsletters (71%).

Image via Content Marketing Institute

What these tactics have in common is the use of search engine optimization.

SEO also helps build brand awareness by encouraging you to create purposeful content. When users find answers to common questions on your site, they start to trust you. They might not buy right away, but they’ll remember your brand.

So, how do you best use SEO to build brand awareness? Here are some tips you can try:

• Write blog posts that help people by providing useful information and answers to commonly asked questions.
• Optimize your website by making it easy to navigate and improving load times. These are all important aspects that help it rank higher on search engines, which increases your brand’s visibility.
• Gain high-quality backlinks, as this can increase your website’s credibility and expose your brand to new audiences.

While SEO strategies take time compared to most tactics we’ve discussed so far, it’s an effective solution if you want to build brand awareness.

13. Partner With Other Brands for Cross-Promotion

Partnering with other brands for cross-promotion is a smart way to build brand awareness. It puts your business in front of a new audience without spending a fortune on ads.

Cross-promotion also helps you grow faster. You get to share marketing efforts, which means less work for both brands. Instead of reaching one group, you reach two. That’s a faster way to build brand awareness and grow your following.

Another major advantage of this strategy is that it helps build credibility for your brand. When trusted brands recommend you, people also see you as trustworthy. This will help you become a go-to solution for their needs.

A good example of effective cross-promotion is when Apple and Nike partnered up in 2016 to create an Apple Watch Nike+ for people who love to run. This move helped build brand awareness for both companies at a fraction of their usual marketing cost.

Image via Nike

FAQ

Q1. How do you increase brand awareness?

A. Use the strategies mentioned above for your brand awareness campaign, which include:

• Run social media contests and giveaways.
• Ask your followers to tag a friend.
• Leverage referral programs.
• Share memes.
• Give exclusive access to loyal customers.
• Offer freemium products with credit.
• Collaborate with influencers.
• Use social media hashtags.
• Leverage video marketing.
• Participate in industry events.
• Use email marketing campaigns.
• Leverage SEO for brand awareness.
• Partner with other brands for cross-promotion.

Q2. What is a brand awareness example?

A. When you see the iconic tick mark brand logo, you immediately recognize the brand as Nike, right? That’s a great example of generating brand awareness.

Other popular examples of brands who have done the job right include Apple Inc., Coca-Cola, Audi, etc.

Q3. How long does it take to build brand awareness?

A. Building brand awareness takes time, and there’s no magic formula. Some brands take months, others take years.

Depending on your strategy, a new brand usually needs at least six months to a year to build brand awareness. If you’re consistent with marketing, you’ll see faster results. So, use the strategies we’ve outlined above — and be consistent — to build brand awareness brick by brick.

Q4. What is a brand awareness strategy?

A. A brand awareness strategy is a a set of marketing strategies that can help you build brand awareness. It includes finding ways to help your potential customers recognize your brand and learn about your products and services.

Q5. What are some branding strategies?

A. Social media marketing, influencer marketing, content marketing, and video marketing are four popular branding strategies.

Q6. What are the four steps of branding?

A. The four steps of branding are:

• Determine Brand Positioning and Values: First, figure out what makes your brand different. What do you stand for? Why should people care? Clear messaging helps build brand awareness faster.

• Design and Run Marketing Campaigns: Marketing helps build brand awareness by getting your name in front of the right people. The more they see you, the more they trust you.

• Measure and Analyze Performance: Look at what’s working. Are people engaging with your posts? Are your ads bringing in traffic? Measuring brand awareness success is vital.

• Grow and Maintain Brand Equity: A strong brand stays active. Keep posting, sending emails, and running campaigns. Loyal customers help build brand awareness by spreading the word about your brand.

Q7. Why is brand awareness so important?

A. It is important to build brand awareness to help people learn about your brand and products/services and get them to trust your brand.

When you build brand awareness, you stand out from the competition because customers tend to pick brands that are already familiar to them. If people see your name often, they’ll think of you first when they need something.

Building brand awareness also helps marketing work better. Ads, emails, and social media posts get more clicks when people already know you. This could translate to more sales without extra effort.

Q8. What makes a brand successful?

A. Consistently delivering high-quality products and services and providing exceptional customer experiences is what makes a brand successful. You can create positive brand awareness, but to maintain it, you will need to be exceptional at satisfying your customers’ needs.

Successful brands have a clear message. They know what they stand for and stick to it. If people can’t tell what you’re about, there’s a good chance they won’t remember you. Keep your message simple, clear, and easy to recognize.

So, consistency is everything if you want to build brand awareness that lasts. Big brands don’t stop showing up. They keep posting, running ads, and connecting with customers.

Q9. What are the most successful brands?

A. The most successful brands are those that have built a loyal customer base of people who make repeat purchases and also act as brand ambassadors. Some examples of successful brands include Apple, Mercedes-Benz, Amazon, etc.

Q10. How do you create brand awareness before launch?

A. Start by softly launching your brand on social media through behind-the-scenes content and countdown posts. Get people talking with polls, Q & As, and giveaways. Engage with comments and build connections. A strong online presence helps build brand awareness before launch.

Partner with influencers or other brands in your industry. Their audience can help spread the word. Use email lists to send exclusive updates. Create a landing page with a signup form to collect leads.

You can even host a pre-launch event. The more people hear about you, the easier it is to build brand awareness before launching.

Ready to Build Brand Awareness?

Building brand awareness is not a choice for marketers and business owners. It is a necessity. You can’t expect your product or service to reach potential customers without actively expanding your reach through smart brand-building strategies.

While traditional methods of advertising are still useful, stiff competition in today’s market demands some sneaky brand-building strategies.

Social media offers immense possibilities in terms of expanding your reach and exposing your brand to new audiences through effective content marketing strategies. Sometimes, even unconventional strategies such as meme marketing can help you build brand awareness and expand your reach overnight.

Do you know of any other effective ways to build brand awareness? Share your tips in the comments section below.