Statistics reveal that there were about 5.9 million small businesses at the beginning of 2020. As this sector expands, it’s essential to ensure that your business stands out from the crowd. Therefore, creating visibility for your brand is a step you shouldn’t overlook as a business leader.
Here are some practical ways to increase visibility for your small business and create more brand awareness.
1. Make good use of SEO
As you work towards building your business, it would help to combine it with other efforts such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to improve your rankings. Assuming a potential customer were to Google ‘best bakeries near me’, your business should be part of the top listings. A good SEO strategy will make it easier for your customers to find you on the first two pages of search engines and help place you above the competition. Although there are several SEO guides available online, it would help if you explored the option of getting professional help from experts such as FATJOE to assist you in yielding measurable results. Whenever you’re planning for your business or drawing up a budget, remember not to overlook SEO.
2. Create engaging content
One excellent way to help your business grow is to be aware of your customers’ needs, so you can create relevant content to engage with them. In developing content for your brand, consistency is also essential. Your content should be explicit, insightful, and reflect your brand’s personality. As you continue to create informative content for your brand, you become the go-to place for things related to your industry. You can eventually convert leads into sales as you connect with your target audience.
Remember to invest in a website that is easy to navigate, optimised for both mobile and desktop, and provides an excellent user experience. Content management platforms such as WordPress make it easy for you to design a great website that will sustain your target audience’s attention. Additionally, tools like Canva make it easy to create outstanding graphics for your content without breaking the bank.
3. Leverage on the power of social media
Social media plays a significant role in creating awareness for your brand. However, the number of social media platforms is rapidly increasing, and it would help if you chose those that can work well for your business. You can identify the best ones for your brand by keeping in mind the nature of your company. For instance, visual platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest will prove helpful if you’re in the fashion industry. If your brand is more geared towards empowerment, advocacy, etc., platforms such as Twitter will come in handy. Doing this will help you have a focused approach for your small business, launch memorable campaigns, and engage with the right audience for your brand.
4. Keep your business’ data up to date
Customers are increasingly going mobile, and as a growing business, it’s vital to keep up. Aside from using traditional marketing tools such as flyers or newspapers to inform your clients about changes your small business may be facing, it’s essential to adopt modern strategies to keep your company information as current as possible. Customers are often concerned about making an informed decision. Therefore, making information readily available about your brand will make things easier for them. You can do this using your website or try resources such as Google My Business. Such tools make it easy for you to update your brand’s data like your contact information, respond to customer queries and reviews, and build a solid business profile that puts your company out there.
5. Don’t overlook feedback
Customer reviews are a great way to gain insight into how your company is generally performing. Believe it or not, how you handle feedback can contribute to your brand’s visibility. Customers are increasingly becoming vocal, and how you respond to their concerns can make or break your small business. Although you strive for positive feedback, it’s essential to note negative feedback as well so you can respond accordingly, make the necessary improvements, and manage your company’s reputation. Doing this will make your clients feel valued, and this will in turn boost customer loyalty, help make your brand a trustworthy one, and create positive word-of-mouth marketing for your business.
6. Build a network
As a small business, networking is crucial in boosting your brand’s visibility. It also helps give you an idea of what other companies in your industry are doing and how you can fill the gaps to serve your clients better. You can start by connecting with other small businesses in your area. You can also get in touch with others online or attend business events near you. Networking with other companies will allow you to learn from them and identify the similar challenges you face and how you can solve them. One great networking tip is to listen more so you can ask the right questions and not appear interested in talking only about yourself. Who knows, this could even birth a formidable partnership that will yield great rewards for your business.
7. Measure your efforts
All your brand awareness efforts should be geared towards specific goals so that you can measure your progress. Constantly evaluating your strategies will help you identify which ones work for you and which ones you may need to stop. There are many ways to monitor metrics for your business. For instance, you can track your website traffic to identify which content attracts the most people to your site. You can also monitor your social media pages to understand what makes customers engage with your brand the most. Additionally, you can analyse activity on your site to determine what customers look for the most when they visit your page. Having such vital insights will help you have a more targeted business approach instead of a generic one and yield measurable results for your company.
These straightforward and practical tips will go a long way in enhancing your brand’s visibility and help you connect with your target market without exceeding your budget.
