Gaining brand recognition is vital to small businesses, self-employed workers, and freelancers to secure consistent cash flow and loyal clients. The truth is, the world of brand marketing is vast and potentially expensive if it is not navigated properly.

Selecting the most appropriate marketing channels requires knowledge far beyond the basics of your target audience. Here are the top five marketing channels to focus on to improve brand recognition:

1. Content Marketing
Building a branded blog full of relevant content for your company is a great way to improve overall brand recognition. Content-driven blogging is one of the best ways to establish a voice of authority in your market or niche. Not only must you write engaging content that is highly relevant to your business, but you must also work on developing and expanding your audience.

Within your posts, be sure to format a metadata description. Metadata provides both structure and details to content and is the summary of a web page that shows up in a search result. Metadata is valuable to getting more click-throughs on your content. The more shareable and relatable content you create, the more opportunities you gain to introduce your brand to potential customers. Focus on creating content that answers your customers’ questions or gives them advice on specific topics related to your brand.

If you are an author or freelance writer, this can come second nature to you. However, consider the efforts that you are putting into your content pieces and try not to overdo it. Remember, content marketing is specific to the audience and their needs, so it should provide them with the appropriate useful information in regards to you brand.

2. Events
A great way to build brand recognition is to get involved with local companies and individuals, forming local partnerships. By partnering with local businesses to hold Q&As or festivals, you embrace the “power in numbers” theory. This gives you the opportunity to reach consumers that you may have not been introduced to in the past, and vice versa.

No matter what type of business you are running, holding a life event is a perfect way to get prospective customers and loyal consumers in the door. These events can be a simple picnic or a community holiday party. If you want to aim for a more professional approach, you can structure your event around a specific topic to your industry.

Running a workshop is a great way to share you knowledge of your industry while connecting you with potential consumers or other writers. Holding a live event can prove to be valuable for you by presenting the opportunity to have a real face-to-face.

3. Social Media
In the digital age of e-commerce, a brand cannot be successful without harnessing the power of social media. It’s invaluable to have a presence on social media platforms, because it allows for open conversation between your brand and those who follow you.

When launching a social media campaign, it’s important to make sure you choose the appropriate platform. Consider which social media audience best represents your target audience. Create a social media action plan that ensures you present the values of your business correctly while delivering customer-oriented content.
Building up your following is just the foundation of a successful social media marketing channel. Once established, you must commit to making your presence known. Regularly generating content is arguably the most important aspect of a successful social media brand awareness campaign. Social media is also a great way to bring consumers into the daily duties of your brand.

4. Pay-Per-Click Advertising
With the realm of SEO marketing becoming more and more competitive every day, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is important to ensure your brand is seen on the first page of a search. This is a great way to increase brand awareness. Even if a person doesn’t click on your ppc ad, they will see your name at the top of the google results, making an impression.

Pay per click advertising can be very competitive, so it is vital that you commit to getting and staying within budget, but also stay committed to measuring its effectiveness on your branding. Winning with a PPC marketing campaign gives you the opportunity to present your brand to targeted customers.

The return on investment (ROI) of PPC ads is getting easier to quantify thanks to Google AdWords and customized reporting. This shows advertisers the conversions, click-through rate, and bounce rates of the PPC campaign. Companies or freelancers can take these reports and apply adjustments accordingly.

5. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing can be very valuable to building brand recognition. This type of marketing focuses on how an influencer person feels about a product or service instead of focusing on the target market as a whole. In doing this, writers can place their product or services in front of tailored audiences, with reputable spokespeople vouching for your brand.

Influencers allow a brand to reach individuals in every industry. Start leveraging them by starting conversations with them. Repost or reply to their Tweets, tag them in important industry updates, or direct message them with the latest content piece you’ve written when it is published. They may ignore you, but they also may be interested. If they like the content, they are more likely to share with their audience, increasing the number of eyes on your brand.

If you are looking to boost brand awareness for any reason—to improve sales, to advance the success of your endeavors, or meet partners—these five tips will help you get and stay ahead of the competition.

About the Author:
Avery T. Phillips is a freelance human being with too much to say. She loves nature and examining human interactions with the world. Find her on Twitter; comment or tweet her at @a_taylorian with any questions or suggestions.

Photo by Daniele Riggi on Unsplash