First-In-Mind Ideas To Improve Brand Recognition

How many ways do you know and use to get customers thinking about your brand?

A fundamental part of growing your business is brand recognition.

This business blog covers both online and offline marketing strategies you can use so your audience remembers your brand. First let’s look at the meaning of brand recognition.

What Is Brand Recognition?

While it may seem obvious to many, not everyone understands brand recognition or how to improve it.

Brand recognition refers to the extent to which consumers are familiar with a particular brand. You can test people close to you right now by asking them what they think of when they see a brand’s logo. The answers you get will confirm brand recognition is visual, and it’s what people can quickly identify within a given context.

When consumers recognize and remember a brand’s name, logo, and other visual or auditory elements, they attach emotion to it. For example, if they had a nice meal at McDonald’s, they will remember and experience that emotion when they recall what they recognize about the McDonald’s brand;

Examples

Examples of brand recognition today include:

Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola logo is one of the most recognizable logos in the world, with its distinctive red and white lettering.

Nike

The Nike “swoosh” logo is instantly recognizable and synonymous with the brand.

Apple

The Apple logo, an apple with a bite taken out of it, symbolizes innovation and quality that is instantly recognizable worldwide.

McDonald’s

The golden arches of McDonald’s are a symbol of fast food and convenience that is instantly recognizable.

Amazon

The Amazon logo, with its arrow pointing from “A” to “Z,” represents the company’s commitment to delivering everything from A to Z.

These brands have invested significant time and resources in building their brand recognition through consistent branding efforts and marketing campaigns that have helped to make them some of the most recognizable brands in the world.

Whether you sell food, fix cars, or have a SaaS business, your company’s name must be recognizable and for the right reasons – i.e., conjure up the right emotions in consumers.

Marketing Strategies For Brand Recognition

Your business can use online and offline marketing strategies so your audience can recognize your brand visually and ideally with another of their five senses. Let’s start with the online strategies.

Social Media

Social media is a powerful tool for building brand awareness and engaging customers. By posting regularly, responding to comments and messages, and running social media campaigns, businesses can encourage customers to think about their brand and share it with their networks.

Your social followers will see your brand’s image every time you post. You can also pay for ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

However, you can also use sound hashtag research and fun imagery to catch followers’ attention.

Like SEO, simply using hashtags and targeted keywords in your posts is free, and this strategy will get your seat in front of people who want to see it. If you’re getting engagement, you can pay to boost the position to reach people not yet following your business profile.

Additionally, social media doesn’t limit you to search results within the platform. For example, a well-optimized Instagram post will show on search results pages on Google, and your customers will be directed to your Instagram account. Furthermore, your images are more likely to show up in the image search results on Google.

Advertising

Investing in brand recognition campaigns will likely include paid advertising. It is one of the most traditional ways customers think about a brand.

By creating memorable, engaging, and informative advertisements, businesses can promote their brand and capture the attention of potential customers. You can advertise on social networks, publisher sites, and blogs and run a Google PPC campaign.

Content Marketing

Creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content can help businesses build relationships with their target audience and encourage them to consider their brand.

1. Blogs, Videos, Quizzes

Content can include blog posts, videos, infographics, quizzes, social media posts, email newsletters, and more. Your content can be published on third-party publisher sites like BusinessBlogs and your own site, then shared with a broader audience on social media.

2. Webinars

Host free webinars on topics related to your industry. This can be an effective way to engage with potential customers, build relationships, and establish your business as a trusted source of information.

Influencer marketing

Partnering with influencers with a large and engaged following can help businesses reach new audiences and get customers to think about their brand. Influencers can create sponsored content, share promotions, and provide reviews and endorsements. See this article for more tips on using influencers to promote your brand.

Physical Brand Recognition Strategies

Online everything appeals to our visual sense first and foremost. Podcasts and videos also include sound, so two of our five senses are covered. We can not reach with online marketing because of touch, taste, and smell. Physical brand recognition strategies include merchandise, free samples, and events.

1. Branded merchandise

Give away branded items such as pens, keychains, stickers, or notepads. These items are low-cost but can be effective in increasing brand awareness.

Make T-Shirts

Most people aren’t going to turn away a free t-shirt. It doesn’t matter if it’s in their style or not. It’s not common for people to turn away a free shirt. One of the great things about it is that you can put just about any logo or design on a t-shirt and give it away.

Whether your shirts get worn on Saturdays while dad’s out mowing the lawn, kids wear them to bed, or it becomes somebody’s favorite shirt to run errands in, this is a way to get your brand out among the general public.

2. Samples

Provide free samples of your product or service. This will give potential customers a chance to try your product without any financial risk and can lead to increased sales in the future.

3. Brand experiences

Creating unique and memorable customer experiences, such as hosting events, sponsoring charity initiatives, or creating immersive brand experiences, can help businesses build brand awareness and encourage customers to think about their brand.

Summary

The key to successful brand recognition is to provide value to your audience. Using the marketing strategies mentioned here, you can offer your target audience valuable free items and resources. By improving your brand recognition, you can build trust with potential customers and increase the likelihood of future sales. To get started use this brand essentials worksheet as a branding template for your business.