It can be difficult for a small business to get their company recognized by the everyday consumer. So how does a small business compete not just with other brick-and-mortar stores but, online as well? By creating awareness of the brand online and through social media!
What is Brand Awareness
First what is brand awareness? “Brand awareness is recognized as one of the brand assets that contributes to enhance the value of a brand” These assets are essential to creating recall and recognition within the consumers. There are also advantages to developing and building brand awareness. First, brand awareness can help influence future purchases. If the consumer had, a favorable experience they are more likely to recognize and recall the brand which, leads to future purchases. Second, brand awareness can create familiarity and community between consumers and the company. The advantages of creating brand awareness are important not only because of influence and recall, but in creating value in the brand (Oppong & Phiri, 2018). Now that we understand how important brand awareness is, it can be applied to creating an online presence for the small business using social media.
Target Market
All business, even small ones, need to take advantage of social media channels. In order to connect with possible customers a small business must be active or engaging on social media. So in order for a small business to engage with their customers social media strategies need to be implemented. First, is knowing your target audience so you can promote the brands unique selling point on social media. Making the message clear and concise, will be affective. This is because the content will be relevant to those that are truly interested.
Content, content, content!
Second, is making content and making that content visible. Creating high-quality content is important as it shows off your brand. Also the content needs to be unique, as it has to be different or stand out from the competition. Third, is making videos and photos that can be distributed on the different social media platforms. Adding watermarks to your content will also aid in distribution because it will inform potential customers who are unaware of your brand which, also can become apart of the brands voice (Stanley, n.d).
Manage your posts
Last, is making sure that you can manage the content you are posting. While your company might not be on every social media platform, nor should you, it can be overwhelming when it comes to posting. Making a schedule of when you will post, consistency, and being sustainable is important. Doing these steps will help one not be overwhelmed and, will aid in the creation of quality content (Hodkinson, 2018).
References
Rawpixel.com (n.d). Photo of person holding black pen. [Photo]. Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-person-holding-black-pen-990818/
Pohorecki, R. (2016). Person holding white printer papers. [Photo]. Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/photo/drawing-feedback-logos-
Hodkinson, M. (2018, November 28). 10 Tips for increasing brand awareness with social media marketing. Retrieved from https://www.influenceagents.com/blog/10-tips-increasing-brand-awareness-social-media-marketing
Oppong, P. K., & Phiri, M. A. (2018). Impact of Brand Awareness and Association on Loyalty: The Role of Equity in Plant Medicine Market in Kumasi, Ghana. African Journal of Business & Economic Research, 13(2), 163–181. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.31920/1750-4562/2018/v13n2a8
Stanley, B. (n.d). 7 Tips to increase brand awareness using social media. Retrieved from https://www.relevance.com/7-tips-to-increase-brand-awareness-using-social-media-channels/
Category: Blogging, Small Biz, Social Media Marketing 201