Coca-Cola, Asos, IBM, Argos… What’s the similarity between these companies? Some of them operate in the B2C sector while others are B2B. What connects them has nothing to do with their offerings, nor their services, but they do have one thing in common: If you look them up on social media, you can easily find them.
To support business growth, marketing teams of these companies have chosen digital communication strategies. Their social media profiles display their latest news, info regarding recruitment and employees and even contests to encourage users to follow them. To attract as many followers as possible, they have a well-defined editorial line and a social media calendar. But if you take a closer look at what Argos is doing on TikTok or Asos on Instagram, you’ll notice another similarity:
Both brands partner with content creators. Argos asks influencers to showcase their products during short videos that are often funny and silly. The goal is to increase brand awareness among young people, especially those that are under 24. Asos collaborates with numerous influencers when introducing their latest products. As you’ll have gathered, these brands decide to partner with influencers with one goal in mind: to increase brand awareness among specific target groups.
On social media, increasing brand awareness can be achieved in a lot of different ways. While Argos and Asos are using social media platforms to showcase their products, IBM prefers to introduce their scientists as well as how and where they work. The content seems more educational at times than advertising-focused. Asos uses the image of the influencer, as they know that their popularity gets transferred to the products they endorse.
Fashion brands generally need to inspire consumers with each new collection to get them to buy the clothes. Asos’ posts reach fewer people than posts on influencers’ profiles which is why they partner with them. It allows them to boost their reach.
Brands have very good reasons to promote their products and services on social media: Millions of consumers browse social media every day. Among them, many are not yet familiar with your brand. And while most users turn to these apps for entertainment, they also enjoy following companies that share their values.
For example, on Instagram, 90% of users follow at least one brand account. They use the app to discover new products and accounts and ultimately enjoy themselves. Two thirds of these people feel that Instagram allows them to connect with businesses, and more importantly, to interact with them.
Promote your business on social networks
While companies primarily use these apps to increase brand awareness, they can also help them build a closer connection with consumers, which is not something trivial. People can send brands private messages or comment on their posts. Then it’s up to the team to nurture these leads. Finally, one last interesting thing to keep in mind: advertising on Instagram is well perceived. Influencers tend to post branded content on a daily basis to promote products and services. Social ads also play a big role in increasing brand awareness. 50% of users become interested in a brand after seeing an ad on Instagram.
Instagram isn’t the only app brands can use. On Facebook, for example, users like to follow local businesses. It is then a great tool for local advertising. According to Facebook, 2/3 of Facebook users surveyed check one local business’s page at least once a week.
Users also like learning about a brand when they’re not yet familiar with. What generally gets social media users interested in a brand they don’t know about is hearing an influencer talk about a product or company in a story. People tend to relate more to brands that way and are more motivated to seek information on the product before buying it. Where do you think they look for said information? As surprising as it may seem, they often turn to Twitter to find out if a brand is well liked or not. 16% of internet users aged 16–64 use twitter to learn about businesses.
Increase brand awareness with influencer marketing
As you can see, brands use social media to boost awareness and to develop a closer connection with consumers. With the wealth of content posted daily, partnering with influencers with big communities is a great way to give your posts more reach. Companies hire them to add online channels to their traditional channels and best promote product releases.
For example, after 17 years of absence, Sephora has returned to the UK, first online and soon opening a physical store in London. Influencers have been asked to spread the word throughout several events including the opening of a pop-up store. The company’s goal was to invite British influencers, both micro and macro, to create a buzz around the event.
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Boosting brand awareness is one of the most popular goals when it comes to social media. Unfortunately, sometimes brands are held back by a lack of skills and understanding of social media apps. That’s why they choose to hire someone for their influencer marketing.
In addition to being able to boost awareness, these companies can also partner with content creators to create engaging quality content. Canon successfully uses this strategy. New cameras are regularly sent to ambassadors whom, in return, post pictures taken with them. Later, the brand reuses the pictures for its own advertising.
There is no single magic formula for increasing brand awareness quickly. You need to be patient and plan a good content strategy, a good influencer strategy and let the experts do the rest.
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