When you think of brand awareness – do you think of collateral, paid social media, and Google Ads? Sometimes the best way to build brand awareness does not come from the costly marketing budget but from communication and public relations strategies.
Building brand awareness doesn’t need to cost millions. We have seen companies, like Tesla, build brand awareness with no advertising investment. Your organization can increase awareness by carefully crafting a position that builds trust with a well-defined target audience. It isn’t about reaching wide. It’s about being laser-focused on your audience and goals.
Here are three ways you can start increasing brand awareness with communications and public relations:
Start with a Game Plan
Focus on developing the right story to meet your audience where they are and accomplish your business goals. This means clearly defining your goals for your business first. Whether your ultimate goal is to build your customer base, draw investment or attract talent, your goals will drive your brand awareness needs. Think through your audience very judiciously to understand who you need to reach and make sure your positioning addresses the needs of your key audiences. This process seems intuitive but figuring out how you stand out to your target market is one of the most important steps needed to successfully build awareness.
Share Your Wins—Big and Small
Building awareness through public relations and communications is about consistently sharing relevant information. You are achieving milestones as you build your business. Don’t be shy about sharing them. They are not all major milestones, but they do show the progress you are making. Made a critical new hire? Share the announcement with your current and prospective investors. Completed an upgrade to your product? Announce it to customers. Presenting data at a conference? Amplify that message. Take the opportunity to re-tell your story with each milestone. This will make you more relevant and offers the ability to resonate with your community.
Invest the Time
Unfortunately, building credibility and trust with your brand does not happen overnight, but with time and strategy—anything is possible! By creating a story that resonates with your target audience, you will have the building blocks to form a community around your brand. Often, this is overlooked due to the lack of time and resources. But one of the best investments you can make in your business is to create ongoing communications and public relations for your organization. It is not a one-time effort but an ongoing effort.