9 Steps to Strong Brand Awareness Strategy [2024]

When you see a bitten apple, a simple checkmark, or a colorful ‘G,’ you instantly think of Apple, Nike, and Google. That instant recognition is the power of brand awareness. Want to make sure your brand leaves a lasting impression, too? You’re about to discover how.

Brand awareness describes the extent to which consumers recognize and remember a brand, including its products, logo, and values. It is a key marketing element, helping companies build customer loyalty and stand out in a competitive market.

Brand awareness is like planting a seed in people’s minds. 

It’s the foundation of how customers recognize and recall your brand when they’re ready to purchase. Without strong brand awareness, even the best products can go unnoticed. 

The more familiar people are with your brand, the more likely they will choose it over competitors. 

Building brand awareness means making your brand stick in customers’ minds. 

This can be done through consistent messaging, memorable visuals, or positive experiences, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. 

In this article, we’ll explore effective strategies to build your brand’s presence and ensure it stands out in today’s competitive market.

What is brand awareness? Definition

Brand awareness is the level of recognition a brand has among its target audience. It answers the question, ” How familiar is your target market with your brand?“

To make the concept more practical, consider Coca-Cola. No matter the producer, coke is often a synonym for a soft drink.

This shows that the consumers’ level of brand recognition is higher for Coca-Cola than other fizzy drink brands competing with them.

Brand awareness is one of the major assets your brand can build. High levels of brand recognition can even increase the value of your product or service and give your company a competitive advantage.

It is also one of the key components of brand equity, which refers to the perceived value a consumer derives from a particular product or service. 

A company with high brand equity will have loyal customers willing to pay a premium for its products or services.

At the same time, a company with low brand equity may find it challenging to compete in its industry. 

What are the key elements of brand awareness?

The key elements of brand awareness include:

1. Brand Recall: The ability of consumers to remember a brand when thinking of a product category.

2. Brand Recognition: The ability of consumers to identify a brand when presented with its logo, packaging, or name.

3. Top-of-Mind Awareness: The brand that comes to mind first when thinking about a product category. 
Example? When you want to say that you’re going to look something up on the internet you never say that you’re going to Internet Explore it, or Edge it, or Firefox it; you always Google it.

4. Brand Association: Consumers’ emotional, cognitive, or sensory connections with a brand. For instance, think of the Haribo slogan: “Kids and grown-ups love it so – the happy world of Haribo.”

5. Perceived Quality: Consumers’ perception of the quality of a brand compared to others in the market.

6. Brand Loyalty: The tendency of consumers to consistently choose a brand over others.

7. Brand Identity: A brand’s unique characteristics and features that differentiate it from competitors.

8. Brand Communication: How a brand message is conveyed and received through marketing efforts.

9. Brand Visibility: How often and where a brand is seen in the market (advertisements, sponsorships, etc.).

10. Brand Experience: Customers’ overall experience with a brand shapes their perceptions and awareness. For example, Coca-Cola’s ads promote joy and time spent with friends and family.

9 steps to brand awareness strategy

A brand awareness strategy builds familiarity and brand recognition among potential customers. It creates a connection between the brand and its product or service.

Just like in the slogan: Hotel? Trivago. 

This practice aims to make potential customers think about your brand when they are ready to purchase your product or use your service.

That’s precisely what Trivago tries to do. When you’re going on holiday, you are not supposed to search for hotel booking websites; the choice should be logical: Hotel? Trivago.

Although this example is obvious, you don’t have to create this kind of trivial slogan to create brand awareness. 

I prepared some simple yet more sophisticated tactics on how to build brand awareness from scratch. Use a mix of them to reach the broadest audience possible.

01 Create a consistent brand image

Strong branding is essential if you want to stick in the memory of potential clients.

By developing a clear and recognizable brand identity, businesses can ensure that their target audience knows who they are and what they stand for.

One of the best ways to create a strong brand image is to use consistent visuals across all channels.

This means using the same colors, fonts, and logo on everything from your website to your business cards.

Consistency will help create a cohesive look that will be easily recognizable to your target audience.

Example?

Google, with its consistent color palette and logo style that visibly unite all of its products.

Developing a brand book to establish your unique style and visual identity is a great idea.

02 Get to know your audience

Knowing what your customers expect from your brand is critical to increasing brand awareness. Building long-lasting relationships will help your brand thrive in an extremely competitive world.

How to listen to your clients when there are so many platforms you should keep an eye on?

That’s a task for your social listening tool.

Social listening is incredibly valuable for brand awareness, as it lets you hear what people say about you in real time.

You can use this information to adjust your marketing strategy and ensure your brand is seen positively.

When it comes to media monitoring for brand awareness, you should set up at least two projects:

• One for monitoring the mentions regarding your brand, products, and services.
• The second project to monitor topics concerning your industry niche.

How does it increase brand awareness, though?

It helps you find relevant conversations you can jump into.

That way, you can sway undecided customers towards your brand or even get your competitors’ clients to buy your product.

Just take a look at this tweet:

If I owned a Mexican restaurant in San Antonio, I would certainly invite Kimiya to visit my establishment.

Another aspect of media monitoring for brand awareness is that people appreciate brands that respond to all mentions, even those without a branded hashtag or a @mention.

Take a look at this tweet:

Chobani is doing a great job building brand awareness via social media listening, and as you can see, it doesn’t go unnoticed.

Pro tip: Social listening can also help you identify online influencers and trending hashtags, conduct sentiment analysis, track reach, and many other marketing metrics.

03 Establish a tone of voice

A consistent tone of voice will help customers quickly recognize and differentiate your brand from others in the marketplace.

When choosing a brand voice, consider the personality you want to convey and what will resonate with your target audience.

Once you’ve settled on a tone, maintain it across all channels.

Example?

Old Spice, with its exaggerated masculine tone, that creates a humorous effect. You can’t mistake its ads for any other product.

04 Create a Unique Selling Proposition

Make your distinguishing feature your USP. Think about how your company stands out compared to your competitors.

Maybe your products are the most durable, maybe they meet the needs of a specific group of people, maybe you sell a unique experience that nobody else can create.

A USP should be clear, concise, and memorable. Most importantly, it should be relevant to your target market and aligned with your brand messaging.

Creating a catchy slogan that will resonate with your audience is a great idea.

At Brand24, we say: Get instant access to brand mentions across social media, news, blogs, videos, forums, podcasts, reviews, and more.

That’s because you can sign up and discover all mentions of your brand within a few minutes.

Unlike competitors, we do not require your phone number, company name, or demo calls to give you access to social listening. 

Our clients appreciate it.

05 Do your SEO research

SEO stands for search engine optimization. A well-optimized website will rank high on Google, attracting many users.

According to Search Engine Watch, the top listing on Google’s organic search receives 33% of the traffic, the second position gets 18%, and it only degrades from there.

To build brand awareness via SEO, you need to know what people are looking for. Tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs will help you find the right keywords for which to rank your website.

By understanding what keywords people are searching for, you can ensure that your brand appears in front of potential clients when they’re looking for products or services like yours. 

Pick your strategic keywords and start content marketing. Another helpful tool here is Surfer SEO, which helps you write a well-optimized article for a particular keyword.

Pro tip: SEO is not only about keyword research for your website or blog. You should also consider the technical aspects of your website, such as loading speed. The faster, the better. It also impacts your position in Google or any other search engine.

06 Use social media wisely

Claiming that almost everyone is now on social media is not an exaggeration. 

Instagram alone has more than two billion active users, and that number is still growing. That’s a target market you can’t miss.

On the one hand, social media’s popularity is a blessing because you can get your message to new audiences relatively easily and at little cost.

Social media channels make sharing content easy, meaning people can show your content to their friends and family. You are reaching a new audience almost effortlessly.

But on the other hand, it means your competitors can do the same. 

Your message needs to stand out from the crowd to get recognition from your potential and existing customers.

What’s the right approach to increasing brand awareness on social media?

Choose the right social media platform

The great thing about social media is that they give you a well-functioning platform to broadcast your message. All you have to do is send the right message to the right people at the right time.

Let’s start with identifying the right social media platform for your brand awareness campaign.

The right platform for your business is where your customers are active. You don’t have to spend time figuring out Instagram Stories if no one is watching them.

Think about the content you can offer. 

As to the rule, a B2B company is usually most active on LinkedIn and X (Twitter). Brands that produce engaging visual content, such as jewelry producers or cosmetics brands, have a loyal following on Instagram and TikTok. For others, building an active group on Facebook is the best option.

But you don’t have to guess. With a media monitoring project, you can check where your audience is in seconds.

So now you know that most of your audience is on social media, especially on X (Twitter).

But what is the best time to post on X (Twitter) for your particular audience?

Brand24 has got you covered.

So now you know that it depends on the day. On Tuesday, it’s 12 p.m.; on Thursday, it’s 8 p.m.; and on the weekend, it’s 4 and 5 a.m. So simple!

Social media tactics to build brand awareness

Once you establish a platform you want to be active on, it’s time to get right to business.

Start with promoting your branded hashtag. It is a hashtag that should be used to relate to your products or company, for example, #adidas or #justdoit.

There are two benefits to using branded hashtags.

Firstly, you can use dedicated software to see how your content spreads on social media. A social media monitoring tool will help you:

• Spot the social media platforms where your audience is present
• Analyze the sentiment around your company or product
• Estimate the social media reach of your hashtag

These insights will help you tailor your brand awareness strategy and further inform your marketing efforts. Additionally, these metrics support measuring brand awareness changes.

Secondly, a branded hashtag helps to find and repost user-generated content. 

UGC serves as social proof – a way to reassure other social media users about the quality of your products. Nothing can compare to recommendations from other social media users.

Creating a lot of high-quality content can be quite an overwhelming task. UGC can help you with that! Just remember to ask the author for permission to repost their work.

Plus, when you come across a huge fan of your brand, this can be a great influencer marketing opportunity. Brand ambassadors and influencers can do wonders for your brand recognition and awareness.

07 Create shareable content

One of the best ways to get people talking about your brand is to have exciting and informative content marketing. 

Whether through articles or social media posts, you can engage your audience by providing valuable information that helps solve a problem or answers a question. People are willing to share this kind of helpful content.

You can also include social sharing buttons on your blog, so it’s easy for readers to share your posts with their followers.

Here you can see the tweet posted by Madalyn Sklar, who has over 112k followers on X (Twitter):

By creating shareable content, you can reach a wider audience and establish yourself as an authority in your field.

08 Implement remarketing campaigns

Remarketing campaigns are paid marketing campaigns where your target audience has visited your website but left before converting.

This is a pro approach to building brand awareness. What is the premise behind this technique?

It’s easier to boost your awareness among the people who have already heard about your brand.

A remarketing campaign for brand awareness aims not to broadcast your message to new audiences but to strengthen your message among your existing potential client base.

It takes several touchpoints to convert a client, and a remarketing ad is a perfect one.

09 Measure brand awareness

Building brand awareness cannot happen without tracking your results. Measuring brand awareness can be tricky, but it is essential to get an accurate idea of how well your marketing efforts are paying off.

To efficiently track brand awareness, you need to:

• Pick tactics to measure brand awareness – You can increase brand visibility through various digital marketing areas, such as influencer marketing, brand advertising, SEO, content marketing, social media, partnerships, etc. That’s why there is no one technique for measuring brand awareness. Using multiple methods gives you a more well-rounded picture of how your brand resonates with consumers. So first, set up your KIPs and choose tactics to measure them.
• Track key brand awareness metrics – They should be related to your KPIs and marketing goals. For example, you can track the volume of mentions. If this number is growing, it means that more and more people are talking about you, and you are reaching new target audiences. Another important metric is the Presence Score, which directly reflects your brand awareness level.

• Use brand awareness tools – There are many useful tools for measuring brand awareness campaigns. There are social media analytics tools, social listening tools, brand tracking software, and SEO tools. Of course, Brand24 is one of them.

The tips above are a great start. Fortunately, there are many more ways to boost brand awareness you can implement right away. Check: How to increase brand awareness.

How long does it take to build brand awareness?

It depends on several factors, including the size and scope of your target audience, marketing budget, and marketing strategies.

However, with a well-planned and executed brand awareness campaign, you can start to see results within a few months.

Brand awareness is a process. The thing is to build it day by day consequently.

Why is brand awareness important?

Strong brand awareness can have tangible effects on your business performance.

The benefits of brand awareness will impact different layers of your organization, from marketing to design and customer service.

01 Increasing customers’ trust

Trust is the currency of the 21st century. Word-of-mouth marketing thrives, and consumers rely on family and friends’ recommendations.

They read reviews and opinions about a brand, product, or service and base their purchase decisions on the research.

Brand awareness campaigns help build consumers’ trust by communicating the brand’s values and mission.

A high level of brand awareness will bring you more sales as your customers will return to you.

In other words, awareness of the brand bonds customers to it, and customer loyalty has a direct impact on your revenue.

02 Growing brand equity

Brand equity is the value of a brand, and brand awareness drives that value. 

Customers who know a brand are more likely to interact with it. The more often they interact with it, the more they trust it. This, in turn, influences the level of brand equity.

Why?

Because brand equity is not only determined by the number of tangible assets the company has. You also have to take into account brand reputation and brand trust.

Positive associations can raise your brand equity. That’s why it’s essential to build a positive brand image.

03 Making marketing easy

Or easier, at least.

Brand awareness builds associations with specific product categories. 

For example, many people use brand names as generic terms: kleenex for a handkerchief, coke for soda, and so on. 

Consumers tend to use top-of-the-mind brand names and not always differentiate between brands.

Brand awareness connects actions or events with certain products. And that’s how part of marketing is done for marketers. Once the brand enters the language, it builds valuable word-of-mouth brand awareness.

04 Helping reach the target audience

Brand awareness is essential in building and increasing your consumer base. 

Well-known brands can spend less on marketing and still make sales, constantly increasing the number of consumers.

05 Influencing consumer purchase decisions

Brand awareness is often one of the key factors that consumers use to evaluate and choose between different products.

According to Red C consumer research, at least 82% of customers choose familiar, well-known brands over unknown ones when making purchase decisions.

This leads us to a simple conclusion: the higher the brand awareness, the higher sales you can achieve.

06 Leading to brand loyalty

Brand awareness is an essential driver of building brand loyalty. Customers need to be aware of a brand to consider it when making a purchase, and they need to be loyal to continue buying from it. 

But how exactly does brand awareness lead to loyalty? 

• First, there’s brand recognition that creates familiarity. This helps customers feel comfortable with a brand. They correctly identify it and know what to expect from it.
• Second, brand awareness appears. It helps build an emotional connection with customers. They begin to see your brand as more than just your products or services—it becomes a part of their identity. 
• Finally, there’s the brand loyalty. Once paying customers are familiar with a brand and have developed a relationship with it, they are more likely to stick with it, even if another option becomes available.

07 Helping businesses compete more effectively

Brand awareness helps businesses compete more effectively by making their products or services more recognizable and memorable to consumers.

When people are familiar with a brand, they are more likely to choose it over competitors. This visibility can lead to higher sales and market share.

Brand loyalty plays a vital role in this. 

Customers who trust and repeatedly purchase from a brand tend to stick with it, even when competitors offer similar products or lower prices. Loyal customers not only contribute to consistent revenue but also become advocates, promoting the brand to others.

Together, brand awareness and loyalty create a competitive edge.

Examples of good brand awareness campaigns

I’m sure that you are curious about how different industry giants build awareness. Lots of them run hashtag campaigns. That’s because it’s relatively easy to measure the effects of such a marketing campaign. 

Plus, social media users willingly use hashtags, and they quickly go viral and spread across the internet.

Here are some great examples of branded hashtag campaigns aimed at increasing awareness:

#ASICSFrontRunner by Asics

Asics is a Japanese sportswear company that designs and manufactures shoes, apparel, and accessories for various sports, including running, tennis, and cricket.

The company has recently been working to increase brand awareness. They created the ASICS FrontRunner program, which brings together runners worldwide. Participants take part in running competitions wearing Asics running shoes and clothes.

They also willingly share their results and experiences on social media using #ASICSFrontRunner.

It was used 886 times in the last 30 days. Instagram is the primary source of mentions.

#GivesYouWiiings by Red Bull

Red Bull’s slogan “Gives You Wiiings” is all about their product giving you the energy and boost you need to reach new heights.

The brand is well known for its inventive marketing campaigns, often involving extreme sports. This focus on adrenaline and excitement helps create a strong brand identity that resonates with Red Bull’s target audience.

As a result, Red Bull has become one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Thanks to its clever marketing, Red Bull has built a loyal following of passionate customers.

In the last 30 days, the hashtag #GivesYouWiiings was used 641 times. TikTok is the main source of mentions.

#SpotifyWrapped by Spotify

#SpotifyWrapped is an annual event that gives users a personalized overview of the music they listened to during the year.

The event encourages users to continue using the Spotify service and brings back good memories of their favorite songs from a particular year.

#SpotifyWrapped typically runs for two weeks, during which users are encouraged to share their results on social media.

Participants can see how many hours they spent listening to music, their most-played artists, and their top genres.

They can also compare their results with friends. #SpotifyWrapped is a great way for Spotify to raise awareness of its product and keep users engaged with its service.

In the last 30 days, #SpotifyWrapped was used 510 times. X (Twitter) is the main source of mentions.

Strong brand awareness examples

A few names stand out globally when it comes to solid brand awareness. Read on to get inspired.

Google

Google has become so embedded in our daily lives that “Googling” something is now a universal term for searching online. Its minimalist homepage and playful Doodles reinforce its friendliness and accessibility. 

Beyond search, Google’s ecosystem of products, including Gmail, Maps, and Meet, has further cemented its presence in our everyday routines.

Apple

Apple is known for its sleek, minimalist designs and cutting-edge technology, instantly recognizable by its bitten apple logo.

The brand has set a standard for innovation and premium quality with product lines like the iPhone, MacBook, and Apple Watch. 

Apple’s consistent emphasis on user experience and design has cultivated a loyal customer base, making it one of the most valuable brands worldwide.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is synonymous with refreshment. Its iconic red and white logo, paired with its timeless contour bottle, is recognized in nearly every corner of the world.

As you can see, their Presence Score only confirms that.

From classic advertisements to its longstanding holiday campaigns featuring Santa Claus, Coca-Cola has masterfully positioned itself as a symbol of happiness and togetherness.

Haribo

Even in the candy world, Haribo has mastered brand awareness. Its catchy jingle, “Kids and grown-ups love it so,” paired with its signature golden gummy bears, evokes a sense of fun and nostalgia. 

Haribo has become synonymous with high-quality, playful treats that people of all ages recognize and love.

Conclusion

Why is brand awareness important? 

Because if no one knows about your product or service, you will not make any money. It doesn’t matter how great your product or service is if no one knows about it.

Before people become your customers, you must ensure they know your brand.

A bulletproof brand awareness strategy has many benefits:

• It encourages consumers’ decision-making process when they have to choose between multiple companies,
• It drives repeat purchases,
• It contributes to an increase in market share and conversions,
• It allows you to show your products and services to a new audience.

Once you increase brand awareness, you will improve your brand’s core business performance metrics.

So, if you’re not yet focusing on building a brand awareness strategy for your business, now is the time to start. Try the Brand24 tool for free!

Key takeaways:

• Brand awareness refers to the level of familiarity consumers have with a brand. High brand awareness means that a large portion of the target audience knows about the brand, its products or services.
• Organizing a brand awareness campaign is a smart and simple way to raise brand awareness. Companies like Asics, RedBull, and Spotify know that.
• If you aim for high brand recognition, you need to make your brand memorable. For great examples, look at Coca-Cola, Google, Haribo, or Trivago.
• Building a good brand awareness strategy is a complex process involving 9 crucial steps presented in this article.