How to build a brand awareness program?
In the first two volumes of this series, we established that brand awareness is growth engine of your business and defined the critical difference between a short-term “campaign” and a long-term “program.”
Now, it is time to look at the blueprint.
Building a brand is an architectural process. You wouldn’t start building a house by picking out the curtains; you would start with the foundation and the frame.
The 3-Step Brand Awareness Program Framework is designed to provide that structure, ensuring your marketing efforts are intentional, measurable, and customer-centric.
Step 1: Define your legacy
Before you design a single graphic or write a caption, you must be crystal clear about what you want your brand to be known for, both today and five years from now.
This step is about defining what your business says about your service / products.
To find this clarity, ask yourself these three critical questions:
The BBQ Test
When a stranger talks about your brand at a social gathering, what specific words do you want them to use?
The Competitor Test
When your rivals look at your business, what is the one thing they would most want to “steal” from you?
The Connection
When your logo is seen, how do you want that person to feel? Trust, excitement, or a sense of security?
Step 2: Define Success and Measurements
A common mistake in brand awareness is waiting until the end of a program to see if it worked.
To maintain credibility and satisfy stakeholders (or your own budget), you must set your outcomes before you begin, with clear timelines and milestone points.
Brand awareness is a long-tail marketing tactic, which means it takes time.
Unlike a flash sale, brand awareness builds impact incrementally.
Resist knee-jerk reactions at early milestones.
Include Engagement Metrics.
While sales are the ultimate goal, you must also track changes in your:
- Are more people visiting your website?
- Social media shares, likes, follows and DMs
- Brand mentions articles, social posts, rating sites.
Test and Learn is key.
Use milestone dates as check points to identify what is working and what needs refinement.
Monitoring the results at strategic points as your program rolls out, allows you to change what your doing, if you need to – reducing time and money wastage.
Step 3: Map the Customer Journey
Once your foundation and frame are set, you can map out the actual experience of your audience. This is where you decide which marketing channels will put you in front of the right people, your target audience.
Some channel options may be LinkedIn; Instagram; email; google search ads; mailbox flyers; blog.
The Journey Checklist
- The First Click: Where exactly are you directing people that ‘clicked link in bio’? Your homepage, a specific landing page, or a product video?
- The Desired Action: Once they arrive, what do you want them to do? book a site visit, schedule a meet and greet, or make a purchase?
- The Inspiration Factor: How will you inspire them to trust you? Give you a chance? Hire you?
The golden rule - IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU
The most important takeaway from this framework is a shift in perspective. Although an awareness program is about your brand, it must be designed to be about the customer.
Ensure your story is relevant and meaningful to the people you want to hire and book you.
High-value content highlights your features from the customer’s point of view:
- What’s in it for them and why should they get it from you?
- By consistently delivering this message across every interaction and touchpoint, you build the authority required to dominate your market.