PR packages include press release writing, distribution via segmented media lists and news agencies, media monitoring and reporting processes.
Brand awareness lies on the basis of consumer behavior and purchasing processes, which have become quite complex today. The basic assumption is that people don't want to take risks by buying a brand they don't know. In these days when digital behaviors are becoming widespread, the key point of building brand awareness in the online world lies in the production of content in accordance with the algorithms of search engines. Online press release distribution is the dominant behavior of creating digital brand awareness.
You might believe that the pivot in sales is when the customer hands the money. While in fact this process is more complex and it goes through convoluted stages in a split of seconds before the consumer makes up his mind on which brand he wants to go with. His decision demonstrates the degree of how much he knows the brand and his ability to distinguish qualities of the product from its competition. This is the definition of brand awareness according to Investopedia.
A humorous example on brand awareness is when ex-president Trumpreferred to Apple CEO as “Tim Apple”. Looks like Tim Cook was not bothered at all from this confusion in fact he went and changed his name on Twitter to Tim Apple!
Experts in building brand awareness referred that the reason behind this mistake is Apple's ability to promote the awareness of its brand is what prompted the president to make the mistake of associating the name "Tim Cook" with the name of Apple. Tim Cook liked this mistake demonstrating the strength of the Apple brand.
Now that we are sure about the importance of brand awareness, let’s get to know this paramount marketing tool for all businesses.
Nowadays we live in a world of brand names. I’m sure that everyone of us had this conversation where you try and convince your friend to buy a certain product and he goes saying no, I’m an “Apple person” or a “Samsung person”.
This very important tool yields to incremental sales, increase in market share and encourages consumers’ repetitive purchases. It also drives consumers’ decisions when differentiating between competing companies.
The human brain functions in a very complicated way, we are constantly overwhelmed and bombed with numerous brand names and features so, we use mental shortcuts to skip the process and avoid being overwhelmed by the number of available options from competitors.Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman says that 95 percent of our purchase decision making takes place in the subconscious mind. Marketers use tools to increase brand awareness and reach your subconscious. With brand awareness you can encourage consumers to feel connected to and empowered by your brand hence build brand trust and loyalty. Brand awareness affects perceptions and attitudes since it targets the subconscious of a brain, which drive brand choice. This means that without brand awareness, repeat purchases are less likely to happen.
Brand awareness is every company’s greatest asset, it embeds itself into consumers purchases and lifestyle, thus the consumer makes the purchase decision with little to no forethought and of course it secure repeat of purchase hence contributing to brand equity.
Did you know that the most searched word in bing is Google? We always seem to associate the action of searching with Google. Brand awarenessis the degree to which consumers precisely associate the brand with the specific product or service just like in Googles’ case. Brand connotations are not benefits or features, but are images, symbols or even sounds associated with a brand or its service. A negative or positive perception will spring to the minds of customers when encountered with images, symbols or even sounds associated with a brand or a brands’ service.
Making a connotation isn't a reason to buy, it just occupies an important place in the minds of consumers. A known entity will become linked to multiple perceived qualities. In order to achieve sales your brand should be associated to something positive, for example when you had a small cut in your finger. I’m sure you asked for a Band-Aid not a bandage. We associate actions and products with a certain brand name and we subconsciously replace them with the brands name. According to the statistics published by OnBuy, 71% of consumers are more likely to buy from a name they recognize. When asked what they considered the most important, the brand’s name ranked first by 52%.
You have reached a great position on brand awareness. Is this enough? No. You should keep your presence updated and increase your visibility, especially in online channels where everyone is looking for almost everything. Here are 4 different ways to do it:
Brand building and SEO efforts should go hand in hand. When used effectively, a well-designed and carefully organized SEO campaign helps boost brand awareness. There are many methods to use like building links, optimizing with good content, using keywords - preferably longtail.
According to research conducted by HubSpot, 71% of consumers say that they are more likely to buy from a brand that they follow on social media. It all comes down to creating content that triggers an emotional response, and that adds value to a follower’s life enough that they would want to share it with a friend. Take into consideration what your audience wants. Do they want entertainment humor or more serious information? Do they want to be educated, inspired, or something else? Whatever they want and whatever they usually share, should guide you to the kind of social media content to post.
Please also keep in mind that you should choose the most suitable platform. Start by identifying the social media platform where the potential customers are for your business, and set up an account on it.
Native advertising is the modern method for businesses to tell their story and attract readers. All you need to do is to present your native ads in a way that they do not look like ads, make it informative and stick with the 70% content and offer your audience something to engage with and the 30% sales pitch. It will help you attract a decent number of users and increase your page traffic. Make sure your brand is hitting the target and the right audience.
Preparing and distributing SEO-friendly press releases with user-intent related keywords which has newsworthiness with consistency, saves you a place in the media and increases your visibility. You might not be an expert in writing press releases, and you don’t have to. Just make sure you chose a right partner to help you in writing an effective press release which will capture the eye of journalists and media outlets and help you find SEO strategies for your industry, products or services and take the first step towards your brand awareness. This can be a PR agency, or you can take advantage of next generation approaches. If you work with an online PR service such as B2Press, you both get expert support and pay as you go.
