Content is a powerhouse for boosting awareness of your brand and making it a household name among the people. Let us take a deeper look at exactly how and why content can help increase brand awareness.

Brand awareness sounds like a new-age buzzword, in tune with social media, digital marketing and other contemporary strategies. However, building awareness of the brand is something that businesses have been doing right from the beginning.

In simple terms, brand awareness is at the heart of marketing. It is all about making the society familiar with the brand and making it recognizable with the audience. In fact, a product or service is elevated to the status of a ‘brand’ when it becomes so well-known that it is embedded in the minds of people and enjoys high recall value.

Think about it – why will people buy from a business unless they know about it? Therefore, building brand awareness is what will increase the customer base and sales. This is primarily a subconscious phenomenon as the familiarity translates into comfort and will eventually drive people to patronize the brand, even without much of a forethought. They will keep returning for more and become repeat customers.

Here, building a positive image is crucial as the customers should be able to trust the brand and desire to remain loyal to the same.

Moreover, brand awareness is not just about the community recognizing the name or even the logo of the business. It has more to do with people gaining a true understanding of what the brand actually stands for and feeling aligned with what it represents.

How to build brand awareness?

Traditional marketing techniques like print and broadcast advertizing campaigns, billboards, telemarketing, referral programs, contests, freebies are slowly fading away. The focus is shifting to the digital medium in the form of social media marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization, online advertising, website designing, blogging, podcasting, etc. which are riding high on the personal interaction and engagement elements with the audience.

While the new strategies are varied, content forms the apex of building brand awareness in today’s digital era!

Indeed, it is the content that will portray what the business is all about. Recognizing this crucial component of building brand awareness, every company with an online presence is literally shouting from the internet rooftops. There is a lot of noise on every online platform – from websites, blogs, email newsletters and podcasts to social media, search engines and more. So much so that, according to the Content Marketing Institute, over 89 percent of brands use content marketing to grow their business!

Everyone is speaking, but how do you ensure that the people are actually listening?

Just a write it and post it strategy will not go down well with the readers anymore. Directly hurling the product or service at the audience has actually proved to be detrimental to the brand value. The focus has to shift from simply keeping the company name and website in the limelight to pitching the prospects in the right manner. Cutting through the clutter calls for aligning the content with the brand image.

Therefore, all written, downloadable or visual content that a company puts out there on the web should speak about the qualities that make the brand unique and differentiate it from the competitors. It should describe the company culture, the operations and the expertise in such a way that the audience can relate to the brand and the products or services. This will enable the brand to carve a niche for itself even while setting the company apart as an expert and leader in the field.

Stepping up your game on the content stakes

Crafting an effective content campaign calls for professional assistance. Content marketing specialists will concentrate on creating interesting, informative and relevant content that focuses on adding value to the audience rather than merely selling the company’s products or services. They will slowly build a cohesive story of the brand with positive, topical and productive messages. The well-written content will also concentrate on articulating the personality behind the brand.

This calls for detailed research to first identify the target audience and understand their behavior, interests and other drivers that will help forge a connect with them. For instance, appealing to the specific interests of the audience and trying to address their needs or even solving the problems they face is always effective. Speaking about the company’s vision, the struggles, the roadblocks, the hazards, the quality measures and the future plans also never fails to resonate with the readers. Helpful tips, guides and other handy information prove to be engaging primarily because of the utility value in making a difference to the people’s lives.

As the content is backed by robust keyword research, it will further connect with the audience and build a lasting bond in their minds.

It follows that strong and customized content is what will spark a flare of interest in the minds of the customers and build a bespoke brand reputation. This will not only help the business to thrive but also improve market share and open the door to new opportunities even while securing your standing in the industry. Authenticity is key here as false or misleading claims will only dilute the brand image and can even lead to the company downfall.

Content marketing is especially important for small businesses. It works as a valuable tool to engage the customers, create brand momentum and become successful, that too without investing huge sums of money in expensive marketing campaigns. Professional content marketing will craft a streamlined process that pitches the right content and leverages the most effective channels based on the customer persona.

In sum, it is clear that content marketing forms a vital component of the brand awareness bouquet. Moreover, solid brand awareness cannot be built overnight. It calls for strategic and sustained efforts over a period of time that will slowly build familiarity and ultimately culminate in a solid brand image!