Research shows that word of mouth marketing is by far the most effective form of marketing. People prefer to hear good things about a brand from consumers rather than from a business. However, brands have to work on self-promotion tactics if they have any hope of getting more attention from everyday consumers. The first step in defining a good reputation is focusing on your brand.
According to a 2014 Regalix survey, 83 percent of marketers have defined brand enhancement as a top goal for online marketing. This is because brands generate conversions on their own. When customers recognize a brand name, they’re more likely to make purchases and tell their friends. It’s no wonder that brand enhancement is such a prominent goal for marketers.
If this is your goal as a marketer, recognize that building a strong brand is no easy task. There are several important steps you’ll need to take to be the kind of brand that naturally generates conversions.
- Define Your Brand
Every brand must occupy a specific space in the market. This will define your target audience and show what kind of competition you should be watching. If you haven’t yet, figure out where your brand fits into the grand marketing scheme. As you do so, you can evaluate your competitors’ marketing tactics and connect on a more realistic level with your customer base.
This is something Pepsi learned to do early on. At its start, the company competed with Coca-Cola, which had very similar products. If you compare the two companies, you’ll note that many of their products have similar flavors, but they were able to define their brands by building on different morals and product names. Pepsi wouldn’t still be around today if they hadn’t managed to identify their space in the market and differentiate from Coca-Cola.
- Share News About Your Company
Let your brand’s authenticity and leadership speak for itself by sharing news about your company. When your organization is featured in an online publication or a local newspaper, share it through a collection of featured news stories.
To get an idea of what to share and how to maximize the effectiveness of your publication, see this example of a news page from Pinnacle Art. The company shares info about charity events, awards, nominations, advancements in technology, new services, and more. They make customers feel like a part of their organization through this page, setting them apart as a brand
- Sneak Promotion Into Blog Posts
Though too much self-promotion will hurt your search rankings, consider dedicating a few blog posts to promoting your company and its services. Even though you already have an about page, these blog posts can add more in-depth information to promote your brand. You can also add calls to action and promotional company blurbs at the end of your blog posts to drive conversions.
- Use Social Media
Social media is a free tool that’s excellent for offering straightforward branding messages. You’ll primarily achieve social exposure through content marketing. Whenever you share a piece of content, make your logo and brand clearly defined so that followers will recognize your company for the content you share.
Fully complete your social profiles so that when visitors check out your page, they’ll be compelled to follow you. Branding on social profiles involves quality images, your logo, and frequent posts.
- Become Memorable
Creating a memorable brand doesn’t just happen on its own. Begin with researching the competition. Learn how to make your brand different. Everything from how to name your business, the colors of the logo, and the slogan will affect your brand.
You may need to hire experts to help you brainstorm original ideas and trademarked taglines. That’s how the big corporations do it and small companies have to start somewhere, too.