Common Mistakes Marketers Make When It Comes to Building Brand Awareness

When people need a product or service you specialize in, is your brand the first one that comes to mind? Figuring out how to tell the world who you are and what you do isn’t easy. You can’t always control the way they perceive your company, but you can plan out your marketing so you influence the way the world sees you.

Bynder’s most recent State of Branding report found 89% of businesses believe technology will solve challenges they face with digital marketing. While you shouldn’t give up on offline efforts, online branding helps you reach more people than at any other time in history. 

You may be eager to get the word out about your company and drive new traffic to your website. Unfortunately, passion can lead to mistakes, especially if you’re inexperienced in some marketing methods. Here are the most common mistakes and how to fix them.

Mistake #1: Not Developing Brand Guidelines

People want to see consistency from the companies they do business with. When you present the same message and image continuously, people see you as more trustworthy and authentic. 

However, you likely have multiple people working on marketing efforts, including graphic artists, web designers, and advertisers. If you don’t set up some brand guidelines, you may appear scattered and unfocused.

Spend time creating a set of guidelines for everyone working on your team to follow. Explain when and where to use the logo, create a font hierarchy and even dig into the tone and personality of your brand.

Mistake #2: Underestimating the Power of Outdoor Signage

People need to know where your store is and what you have to offer. Outdoor signage is a powerful tool to draw new customers into your establishment and turn them into raving fans. Your signs make a first impression on your target audience.

Pay attention to the colors on your signs and if they contrast enough for people to read messages while driving past your store. Your brand colors may not work if they don’t allow the letters to pop. Don’t be afraid to stick with simple black and white with a splash of color here and there. 

Mistake #3: Having an Unrelated Logo

Have you ever looked at a company’s logo and wondered how it related to what they do? Your logo is something you’ll use in nearly every type of marketing effort you pursue. Logos appear on your storefront, website, ads, and signage. 

Take a hard look at your current logo and ask if you’d know what your business does just by looking at the emblem. For example, some brands are self-explanatory and can get by with a word logo, such as a bagel company called Bagels ‘N’ Bagels. 

Imagine you’re a new customer and you’ve never heard of the brand before. How does the logo signify what you do?

Mistake #4: Forgetting to Proofread

In an ideal world, you’d never make mistakes, but typos in advertising abound. Not only should you read your copy once, twice, and a few more times, but it’s smart to get others to proof as well. 

The copy you put out into the world with your brand name on it leaves an impression on consumers. The last thing you want is to make an embarrassing typo that makes you look like an amateur at best. 

You must also pay attention to moving parts within advertising. For example, if you place a vinyl wrap on the side of a work van, what does the logo look like when the door slides open?

Mistake #5: Failing at Social Media

Social media offers a huge opportunity to grow brand awareness. According to DataReportal, out of the 7.83 billion people on the planet, 4.2 billion are active on social media, with 5.22 billion using mobile devices at least part of the time. 

However, not all social media platforms are built the same. Use your buyer personas to figure out where your customers hang out online. If most of your customers are Gen-Z, then TikTok or Snapchat is an excellent choice. On the other hand, if you want to reach Gen-X, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram are better options.

Social media is difficult to learn, so you must study the trends, branding styles of your competitors and enlist the help of social media influencers to truly spread the word and build awareness. 

Mistake #6: Ignoring Your Audience 

If you want to create a positive image for your brand, you must know your audience and how they’ll respond. Dig into the pain points your average customer deals with and uses language showing how you solve the problem for them. 

Create buyer personas for your customers based on internal and external data. Every branding effort should consider the impact on your buyers. Why would they care? How can you show them the benefits of doing business with you?

Use Common Sense

Digital advertising is much less expensive than some other promotions. It’s tempting to throw a bunch of stuff at the proverbial internet wall and see what sticks. Unfortunately, this rarely works. You’ll waste precious time without seeing much of a return on your investment. 

Use your common sense to figure out where people are most likely to respond to your message. Pay attention to their interactions and engage them in conversation. The better you understand online advertising and the more you engage with consumers, the more focused your marketing will become.