How to make a big impact with an awareness campaign

In the current hyper-competitive business environment, there are some businesses are struggling to stay afloat. No, it’s not that they don’t have good products. Most of them do, but they lack visibility. 

When competition is stiff and no one knows who you are, no matter how good your product may be, those profits will keep eluding you.

It’s why you need to run a brand awareness campaign.

Brand awareness is a crucial aspect of business for both established players and those still new to the industry.

So, what exactly is brand awareness? After all, you can’t carry out an effective brand awareness campaign if you’re even slightly hazy as to what it is.

Brand awareness, in its simplest form, is the extent to which you’re your potential customers can recognize your brand and correctly associate it with a particular product or service. For example, mention Starbucks and people immediately think of coffee.

One mistake people make when it comes to brand awareness is to confuse it with brand recognition. 

What’s the difference, you ask?

Brand recognition deals with the visual aspects of your brand (colors, logo, etc.) On the other hand, brand awareness deals more with the experience people associate with your brand. In case you’re wondering, here are a few reasons brand awareness is important:

  • Helps in promoting your business

  • Makes it easy for you to introduce new products

  • Establishes you as a reputable business

  • Helps customers differentiate you from your competitors

  • Assists in building brand loyalty

Here’s a classic example from Red Bull:

Brand recognition deals with the visual aspects of your brand (colors, logo, etc.)

Source: Campaign Monitor

Now that you understand what brand awareness is and why it’s important, let’s get to the interesting part – running an awareness campaign.

Why is email the best brand awareness campaign tool?

When it comes to running an awareness campaign, no better tool can serve you as well as email. The reasons for that are pretty simple:

Email marketing is permission-based

Permission-based marketing is a type of marketing whereby you get consent from your audience to communicate with them. This type of marketing is very effective because such an audience is already “warm”, or interested in your offer.

Gives you direct access

Another reason you need to leverage email in your brand awareness campaigns is that it gives you direct access to your target audience. Not everyone is your ideal customer. Therefore trying to reach everyone will cost you more.

Customers prefer to communicate via email

Every business exists to serve its customers. In today’s playing field, the customer chooses where they want to meet with brands, and email is one of those platforms. According to research conducted by Marketing Sherpa, 72% of people prefer to communicate with brands via email. If that statistic is anything to go by (of which it is), then email is one of your best brand awareness tools.

4 ways to increase your brand awareness using email

Ready to run a brand awareness campaign that will drive traffic to your business and boost your bottom line? Here are some of the most important steps you need to take to ensure you run a successful awareness campaign.

1. Establish your brand voice

One of the most important steps in ensuring that you succeed in using email in your brand awareness campaigns is to establish your brand voice. Brand voice deals with the tone you use in your emails and the vibes you want your customers to get from your emails. It encompasses everything from the words and images you use to the emotions you want to evoke in your communications.

Establishing your brand voice is important as it helps you stand out from the crowd. Remember, brand awareness is all about the experience you are known for. As such, ensure that you don’t follow the cookie-cutter model when it comes to your brand voice – be unique. Especially for multi-location businesses, maintaining brand standards cannot be overemphasized.

2. Pay attention to design

Another important aspect you need to pay attention to before you run an awareness campaign is the design of your emails. Design your emails in such a way that people can tell what your brand is all about just by looking at the overall design of your email.

3. Consistency is key

When it comes to running a successful awareness campaign, you have to ensure that you are consistent. Be consistent in your brand voice, email design, and the overall message of your email. Failure to be consistent will only lead to your customers being confused. It can also cause you to lose their trust as it is a sign of instability.

You will also need to ensure that your email design is consistent with your landing page design. This ensures continuity, especially for your new customers who find you online. 

4. Frequency

As much as you may want to put your brand in front of your audience as often as you can, you’ll have to be careful about how often you send out your emails. Sending too often may result in you annoying your audience. On the other hand, not often enough will cause your audience to forget you. Strike a good balance in email sending frequency and your audience will happily interact with your emails. 

3 email types that are essential for your awareness campaign

Now that you know how email can help you boost your brand awareness, let’s quickly look at 3 email types that are essential in building brand awareness.

1. The welcome email 

First impressions are always important. It’s why one of the most important emails you can send in your awareness campaign is the welcome email. When an interested person signs up for your email list, you must make the best first impression with a well-designed welcome email series.

First impressions are always important. It’s why one of the most important emails you can send in your awareness campaign is the welcome email.

Source: Really Good Emails

One of the reasons this type of email is important is that it is one of the most opened email types. To ensure that your welcome email succeeds in its objective of boosting brand awareness:

  • Make it personal. Craft your welcome email as if it is a personal note from the CEO to the reader.

  • Give readers control. One way of showing that your brand cares is by using your welcome email as a platform for your customers to choose the types of email they want to receive from you and the frequency.

  • Highlight the benefits of interacting with your emails. Use your welcome email to show your customers the benefits they will get from opening subsequent emails from your brand.

One mistake many marketers make with the welcome email is that they only send one. If you’re to make a lasting impression with your welcome email, send 3-4 in a series. Use them to build rapport and establish trust with your customers.

2. The email newsletter

A newsletter, in email marketing, is a type of email that you periodically send out to your subscribers. As the name suggests, its main purpose is to disseminate company and product updates. Newsletters are a great way of building and nurturing relationships your customers as well as boosting brand awareness.

A newsletter, in email marketing, is a type of email that you periodically send out to your subscribers.

Source: Campaign Monitor

One reason the email newsletter is powerful when it comes to your brand awareness campaign is that it is a platform where you don’t overtly promote your products. To ensure that your newsletter keeps your readers engaged:

  • Provide value. In this busy world, people don’t have time for content that doesn’t directly benefit them. By providing value, not only do you increase the chances of your audience engaging with your emails, but you also increase the chances of them sharing it with their friends.

  • Personalize as much as possible. Personalization is a great way to grab attention and show that you care about your customers.

If you’re not using newsletters as part of your brand awareness campaign strategy, you’re missing a great opportunity. So go ahead and design your next newsletter with brand awareness in mind.

3. Thank you email 

Another important email in your awareness campaign is the thank you email. Especially for first-time buyers, your thank you email is a great opportunity for you to show your customers the value in continuing to do business with you. A simple way to achieve that is by designing a thank you email that:

  • Makes your customer feel appreciated

  • Is written in your brand voice

  • Exudes your brand personality

Another important email in your awareness campaign is the thank you email.

Source: Really Good Emails

Don’t underestimate the impact that a simple thank you email has on your customers. Used well, this type of email can be used to bolster your brand awareness campaign.

Wrap up

Every business needs to ensure that current and potential customers know exactly what the business does and stands for. This is why you need a robust brand awareness campaign to ensure that you are always top of mind when people need the products and services you offer. To do this:

  • Establish your brand voice

  • Pay attention to design

  • Be consistent

For more tips on how to ensure that your newsletter design adds value to your awareness campaign, check out our newsletter design tips.

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