It’s tougher than ever to build a successful business. Not only do you have to be great at what you do, but you also need to get the word out about your business. After all, no one will buy from you or use your services if they don’t know you exist. How to increase brand awareness with the help of affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards an affiliate for each new customer they bring in. The affiliate typically does this by promoting the business on their website or blog, or by emailing their list of subscribers.
In this article, we’ll explore how affiliate marketing can help increase brand awareness for your business. We’ll also provide some tips on how to get started with affiliate marketing. First, let’s look at what brand awareness is and why it’s important.
What is Brand Awareness?
Brand awareness is the level of familiarity and name recognition that a consumer has with a particular brand. For example, let’s say you’re thinking of buying sneakers. What brands pop into your mind? Nike is likely one of the first brands that come to mind. That’s the power of strong brand awareness.
The name recognition that companies like Nike, Apple, and Google have is the epitome of brand awareness. However, there are other signs that your brand enjoys a high level of recognition. For example, if people often ask you where they can buy your products, or if they refer to your product by its name rather than saying “that thing you make,” then you have strong brand awareness.
In Semrush’s State of Content Marketing survey, 45% of respondents ranked “increase brand awareness” as the number one priority. Another study by HubSpot found that 54% of marketers believe that brand awareness is the most important metric for success.
How to increase brand awareness – generate leads
Generating leads is essential for any business looking to grow and scale. It’s also become increasingly difficult to generate leads organically. In fact, according to HubSpot, the average cost-per-lead has increased by 7% over the last five years.
One of the best ways to generate leads is through brand awareness. When people are familiar with your brand, they’re more likely to do business with you. A study by HubSpot found that 84% of respondents said that brand awareness was the most important factor in generating leads.
Builds trust and credibility
Trust and credibility have become even more important in the digital age. With so much information available online, it’s hard to know who or what to believe. Brand awareness can help you build the trust and credibility you need to succeed.
First, when people are familiar with your brand, they’re more likely to trust you. They know you’re not some fly-by-night operation that’s going to disappear tomorrow. Second, a strong brand can help you build credibility with your audience. If you have a well-known and respected brand, people are more likely to believe what you say and take your advice.
How to increase brand awareness – increase market share
If you’re looking to grow your business, you need to increase your market share. And one of the best ways to do that is through brand awareness.
Think about it this way: if two businesses are selling the same product, and one is a well-known brand, which one are you more likely to buy from? The answer is probably the well-known brand. That’s because we tend to trust brands that we’re familiar with.
Improve brand perception
Brand perception is the way consumers view a brand in relation to its competitors. Companies with high levels of brand awareness often have a more favorable brand perception in the marketplace.
It’s often said that customers need to see or hear a brand name seven times before they take notice. Boosting brand awareness can help you improve perception by making it easier for consumers to find and learn about your brand. When they can easily find information about your brand, and that information is positive, they’re more likely to view your brand favorably.
How to increase brand awareness – build customer loyalty
Finding new customers is expensive. It can cost up to five times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one.
That’s why it’s so important to build customer loyalty. And brand awareness can help you do that. When customers are familiar with your brand, they’re more likely to be loyal to it. In fact, brand loyalty is one of the main benefits of brand awareness.
Still not convinced that brand awareness is important for your business? Consider these statistics:
- 46% of consumers will pay more for trusted brands (Salsify).
- 88% of consumers say that authenticity is a key factor when deciding what brands they like and support (Stackla).
- 84% of consumers say that they don’t mind being advertised to if the ads are relevant to them (Nielsen).
- 61% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy from a brand that’s recommended by friends or family (Nielsen).
Running an Affiliate Marketing Program
An affiliate marketing program can help boost brand awareness, but only if it’s done correctly. So, here are a few things to keep in mind to make sure it is a roaring success.
Determine your goals
There are different types of brand awareness. Here are some of the most common:
- Building a general knowledge of your brand.
- Generating interest in your brand.
- Encouraging positive sentiment towards your brand.
- Increasing sales of your products or services.
Before you launch your affiliate marketing program, determine which aspect of brand awareness you’re hoping to achieve. This will help you set clearer goals for your program and choose the right affiliates. Also, it will make it easier to measure your success.
Identify your target audience
Who are you trying to reach with your affiliate marketing program? Are you targeting existing customers? New leads? A specific demographic? It’s important to identify your target audience before you launch your program. This will help you choose the right affiliates and create more effective marketing materials.
The best way to identify your target audience is to create buyer personas. These are semi-fictional representations of your ideal customer, based on real data and research. Once you have your buyer personas, you can start to identify which affiliates will be the best fit for your program.
Select the right affiliates
Quality affiliates are the key to a successful program. So it’s important to take the time to find ones that are a good fit for your brand.
As you’re trying to build brand awareness, it’s important to choose people who share your values, vision, values, or mission. They should also be relevant to your industry and target audience. Otherwise, you run the risk of being perceived as irrelevant.
Building brand awareness requires reach. So, the more people an affiliate can reach, the better. While size is important, also consider the quality of their following. A small but engaged following may be more effective than a large but unengaged following.
Finally, make sure you choose people who are active on social media and have a strong online presence. This will help ensure that your program gets the visibility it needs to be successful. Find more tips on recruiting affiliates in our guide here.
Create an attractive commission structure
Your affiliate’s commission should be attractive enough to incentivize them to promote your brand. But it also shouldn’t be so high that it cuts into your profits.
One way to strike the perfect balance is to offer a tiered commission structure. This means that affiliates who generate more sales will receive a higher commission. This will give them an incentive to promote your brand more, while still being profitable for your business.
Another way to incentivize your affiliates is to offer bonuses for meeting specific goals. For example, you could give them a bonus for every 10 sales they generate. This will give them an extra incentive to promote your brand and help you reach your goals.
Keep in mind that you can also offer other types of incentives, like free products, exclusive discounts, or early access to new products.
How to increase brand awareness – Actively promote your program
Once you have your affiliate marketing program up and running, it’s important to actively promote it. This will help ensure that your affiliates are successful and that your program reaches its full potential.
There are a few ways to promote your program. You can reach out to influencers and ask them to promote your brand. You can also create marketing materials, like banner ads and social media posts, that affiliates can use to promote your products or services.
Finally, you can use your own website and social media channels to promote your affiliate program. Make sure to include a call-to-action (CTA) so that people know how to sign up.
Make sure your affiliate program is easy to join and navigate
Your affiliate program should be easy to join and navigate. Otherwise, people will get frustrated and give up. Make sure your application process is straightforward and doesn’t require a lot of information. The last thing you want is for people to start the process and then get discouraged when they see how long it will take.
Once people are accepted into your program, make sure they have access to all the resources they need to be successful. This includes training materials, marketing materials, and support from you and your team.
Finally, make sure your affiliate program is easy to use. The last thing you want is for people to sign up and then get overwhelmed by all the options. Keep it simple and streamlined so people can easily find what they’re looking for.
By making your affiliate program easy to join and navigate, you’ll increase the chances of people signing up and promoting your brand.
Educate affiliates
Your affiliates are your brand ambassadors. So, it’s important to educate them on your brand and what you stand for. This will help them promote your brand more effectively and connect with your target audience.
Make sure to provide them with all the information they need, like your brand guidelines, product information, and marketing materials. You can also give them access to exclusive content, like blog posts, videos, or webinars. This will give them the tools they need to be successful.
Finally, make sure to keep in touch with your affiliates on a regular basis. This will help you build relationships and keep them up-to-date on your latest news and products.
By educating your affiliates, you’ll ensure that they’re promoting your brand correctly and connecting with your target audience.
Create attractive visuals
When you’re trying to build brand awareness, visuals are key. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. So, make sure the visuals you use in your affiliate marketing program are attractive and eye-catching.
This doesn’t mean that every image needs to be flashy or over-the-top. Sometimes, a simple picture can be just as effective. The important thing is that it catches people’s attention and makes them want to learn more about your brand.
In addition to images, consider using other types of visuals, such as videos, infographics, or even GIFs. These can be extremely effective in getting people to notice your brand and learn more about what you have to offer.
Sharing banners and images of your brand with your affiliates, will make sure their content is appealing for the end customer.
Encourage social sharing
When people share your content on social media, it helps to increase brand awareness. So, it’s important to encourage social sharing in your affiliate marketing program.
Make it easy for affiliates to share your content by providing them with pre-written posts, images, and even videos. You can also offer incentives for social sharing, such as discounts or giveaways.
In addition, encourage your affiliates to tag your brand in their posts. This will help increase visibility and make it easier for people to find your content. Finally, make sure you’re active on social media yourself. This will help you stay engaged with your affiliates and build relationships with potential customers.
Create contests and giveaways
Contests and giveaways are a great way to increase brand awareness. They help to get people interested in your brand and what you have to offer.
To run a successful contest or giveaway, make sure you offer an attractive prize. It should also be relevant to your target audience. You should also promote the contest or giveaway widely, so that as many people as possible are aware of it.
Finally, make sure you choose a winner who is active on social media. This will help ensure that your contest or giveaway gets the visibility it needs to be successful.
Use diversified content
When you’re trying to build brand awareness, it’s important to use diversified content. This means creating content that appeals to a wide range of people.
To do this, consider recruiting affiliates that work with a mix of visuals, such as images, infographics, and videos. . And, make sure to cover a variety of topics that are relevant to your target audience.
By using diversified content, you’ll be able to reach a wider range of people and gain increase brand awareness through your affiliates.
Use software to monitor the program
Keeping track of all your affiliate’s activities is crucial to the success of your affiliate marketing program. But, it can also be time-consuming and difficult to do manually. That’s why it’s a good idea to invest in software that can help you monitor your program.
There are a number of software programs that can help you track clicks, sales, and other important metrics. This information can be extremely valuable in helping you to improve your program. Check out our article on software for affiliate marketing.
Review your program regularly
It’s important to review your affiliate marketing program on a regular basis. If it runs on cruise control, you’re missing out on potential opportunities. So, take a close look at your affiliates, their activities, and your overall results. Are there any areas that need improvement? Can you support your affiliates to promote your brand?
Also, make sure to keep an eye on your competition. See what they’re doing and try to stay ahead of the curve. By regularly reviewing your program, you’ll be able to make changes and improve your results.
Conclusion
Brand awareness is critical for any business looking to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. Affiliate marketing can be a great way to increase brand awareness and reach a larger audience. By following the tips above, you can set up an effective affiliate marketing campaign that will help you reach your goals.
Check out more tips on improving your affiliate program in our Ultimate guide to starting an in house affiliate program.