Digital Marketing Insights

Nothing can sell quite like a powerful brand image. No pushy ads or promotions can replace what a well-built brand can do in terms of bringing in more revenue. However, in this competitive modern climate, every business is always on the lookout for better, more cost-effective ways to get their brand in front of the right audiences and increase brand awareness.

Despite the hefty competition and the budget limitations, you can absolutely rely on the following strategies to grow your business and earn a trustworthy reputation in your industry.

1. Leverage influencer relationships

Did you know that 70% of millennials base their buying decisions on recommendations by their peers? They don’t have to be celebrities or extremely popular influencers, but their friends, family members, and micro-influencers that post genuine product and service reviews on a regular basis. This is where you can step in to earn the trust of the most impactful individuals in your niche. In fact, modern brands cannot afford not to do so, as most of your buyers will apparently make their decisions based on brands that are already approved by their peers.

This also makes monetary sense, as a happy influencer can use freebies from your brand, while you gain a far greater exposure than you ever could accomplish without their help. However, make sure to build long-term relationships rather than one-off reviews, as this will give you even more credibility to grow your brand awareness.

2. Elevate your content game

Certain cost-effective strategies might have the benefit of being great for your budget, but some of them take longer to show results. However, slow progress is by no means poor progress, as when you take your time to form a reputation, it will outlast those who rely only on quick-yielding tactics. In this case, content creation requires time, creativity, and patience to take effect.

Very few businesses generate enough buzz from the very first blog post, and the goal is to increase your engagement rates in order for search engines as well as users to love you more. In turn, this attention gets you more visibility through shares, comments, likes, and better ranking. While we’re at it, your ranking is yet another piece of the puzzle that should be included in your marketing budget.

3. Get your SEO house in order

Brands come to life almost every day, and each and every one of them wants to be on the proverbial first page of Google. With so much focus on investing in the best SEO techniques, many entrepreneurs decide to pour all of their finances into this one element of brand awareness. Instead of using all of your funds to fuel your pricey SEO tactics, you can apply for personal loans to keep your major personal expenses covered, while you invest your brand’s capital into its own growth.

The SEO game always requires hefty investments; hence the need to balance your personal and your professional finances without mixing the two in these sensitive phases of brand growth. Keep an eye on the latest algorithm changes and do your best to work with experts to implement them in such a way to keep your site ranking as high as possible – from mobile optimization, keyword research, to image quality, find ways to put your brand above the rest.

4. Give it a personal touch

Oftentimes the simplest of all solutions give the most impressive results. While no one can deny the powerful impact of the digital revolution and the convenience of online shopping and communication, it still lacks that level of warmth and personality human interaction is based on. What makes some brands far more memorable than others are those little gestures that show you’re willing to go that extra mile to make your customers smile and talk about your brand to their friends and family.

It can be something as simple as a handwritten note attached to the product they purchased. Another idea is giving them a personal discount or sending them a gift card for their birthday, if you have access to that information through their subscriptions or social media. Follow-up emails checking if they are satisfied with your service is a win-win for your brand: you get to strengthen your connection with this customer and ask for feedback you can use to improve your service. On that note, why not reward them with store credit for publically posting that review?

5. Partner up when possible

If apparel giants pair up to turn a profit and raise awareness (both of their brands and the values they stand for), why shouldn’t you take the same approach? Stella McCartney’s partnership with Adidas delivered a unique take on an existing fashion trend, thus bringing together their cumulative powers to get more people to shop sustainably.

While you may not be able to score a collaboration with a brand boasting such a vast audience, even the smallest of partnerships can make a significant impact. Cross-promotions, social mentions, and turning a regular purchase into an extraordinary experience can quickly generate more awareness as well as profit that will ultimately help you grow.

With a handful of strategies to allocate your budget better and plenty of imagination, you can indeed help your brand thrive in this competitive climate. Make sure you conduct regular research in order to stay in the loop with the latest trends, and your brand can get more visibility when you pair market trends with your own ingenuity.

Lauren Wiseman