Building Brand Awareness
Building Brand Awareness
When it comes to business, brand awareness is an essential way to market your products to the world. Everyone knows the golden arches of McDonalds, the ‘Just Do It’ from Nike, and the red cans from Coca Cola. Wendy’s restaurant’s brand became more notable through the cunning tweets on their twitter account, and State Farm capitalized on the concept of Jake from State Farm becoming a viral sensation many years ago. It goes even further than logos, slogans, and marketing campaigns. Brand awareness involves not only the recognition, but the reputation of the business. McDonalds is branded not only by its arches lighting up the skies, but also their reputation for having cheap, quick, and hot meals accessible by drive-thru. Businesses strive to become a household name that not only catches the appeal of their consumers but also imprints a specific feeling and reputation through their brand.
Why is Brand Awareness Important?
While marketing campaigns are used to get business names and services out into the public, it’s not enough to bring in customers without established trust or loyalty through branding. Google is not only a name that everyone recognizes, but is what people trust most to make their internet searches. “Let me google it” is a common phrase many people use when they’re trying to find answers to their questions. The brand was made because of the effectiveness of searches, the quick response times, and the reliability of their services. As Ronnie Gomez from Sprout Social describes this phenomenon, “a high level of brand awareness is the competitive edge that keeps a business top of mind for consumers. Brands with high levels of consumer recognition can even become synonymous with their product.”
The more consumers are made aware of brands – either through marketing efforts or through reviews and word-of-mouth from other consumers – the more they come to trust the organization. The University of Fairfax started as a graduate school developed to train cybersecurity specialists during a time when the country needed it the most. Not only were we committed to providing cybersecurity trained graduates for the career field, but we were also committed to securing the future of those who attend as they ventured into a growing industry. Our established brand has brought in several students looking to earn their cybersecurity degrees as they trust our education to take them where they want to be in their careers. Like recent graduate, Dr. Cristy Cross, who had this to say: “There’s only about three universities in the states that have a good reputation that have a cyber program, only one of them, which is [University of Fairfax], offers a doctorate.”
How Do You Build Brand Awareness?
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Be a Personality Rather Than an Entity
As mentioned previously, Wendy’s Restaurant and State Farm capitalized off of their brands, feeling human rather than being a company. Consumers trust a company more when they feel they can relate to the person behind the scenes. When creating content for your business, you should bring a unique approach to set your brand apart from others in the market. Your social media team should find a focal voice to follow and build a brand personality around that. Do you want to go casual and fun, or do you want to be informative and refined? Do you want to be sassy like Wendy’s or approachable like Jake from State Farm? Having your brand become its own personality will allow your consumers to trust and talk about your company.
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Be Specific in Your Image
Nothing will push your customers away like disorganization and a brand without uniformity. Much like making your brand a personality, you must keep that style across all platforms – from social media to advertisements to speaking with your consumers directly. You cannot build a brand if your brand is not a solid idea. Consumers will not be able to remember your company or build trust without recognition of your personality across all channels.
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Collaborate with Other Brands
Joining a marketing campaign with another company is a mutually beneficial relationship. It gets people talking about both of your brands and provides interest to both. Not only that, but you are boosting your brand by aligning yourself with another. The Doritos brand joined with Taco Bell to one of the most famous partnerships of the Doritos Locos Tacos – and it’s been a staple to the restaurant’s menu ever since. This not only draws attention to Taco Bell for consumers to try their favorite tortilla chip turned taco but also brings attention to Doritos as a go-to snack since they pair well with tacos. The two were within the same realm of marketing.
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Influencer Marketing
Social media plays a huge role in marketing development in this modern era of technology. Influencers amass large numbers of followers. Their voices become the loudest in their respective fields. A make-up artist surely has the best products, a home chef has the best recipes, and Instagram models are keyed into the world of fashion. Social media allows people to look into the lives of these influencers and that makes them relatable. When consumers can relate to those they follow, the more they trust the product these influencers advertise. Using influencers to promote your brand therefore makes your company more trustworthy.
With some of these ways to build your brand, you could slowly raise the ranks and join some of the many companies who are household names. More than catchy slogans and eye-catching logos, your brand is one that should bring forth a reputation and feeling for your consumers. The University of Fairfax was founded on bringing graduate education and career development to students wanting to join the cybersecurity sector during the time when the country needed these professionals the most. Now, the University of Fairfax is dedicated to bring graduate and terminal degrees to students looking for more skills in business, cybersecurity, and information technology. Through our programs, you can find success and career opportunities through developing essential skills for your field. Learn more about our programs here, and how we deliver you a quality education to you wherever you are.
The University of Fairfax – Secure Your Future