Advertising is far from the only or the best way to get your brand in front of the right audience. In fact, younger generations prefer other forms of engagement that are more interactive, offer greater value and are less sales-focused to begin with. Of course, greater awareness is at the core of improving your profit margins, but awareness itself is more than enough of a worthy goal.
In this vastly competitive climate, especially in Asia and Australia where more startups keep popping up, your brand needs to put in more effort in order to stay at the forefront of your industry and attract the right clientele. Let’s take a look at some of the top ways to achieve more exposure and thus improve your business reputation and overall success!
Build influencer bonds
The perfect example of a relatively new manner of getting more exposure without pushy ads is utilizing modern methods of communication, such as social media. However, in addition to your regular activity levels, to which we’ll get in a moment, it matters that you also build relationships with the most important influencers of your niche. After all, they justify their title by being one of the most significant factors in your buyers’ decision-making process.
In Australia, for example, where the fitness world is blooming, businesses aim to work with impactful people such as Kayla Itsines, known for her immense following in the health and fitness industry. Their social posts, shout-outs, reviews, and tags go a long way in getting you in front of an incredibly vast audience.
Make it personal
Every touchpoint of your communication with a customer that seems like another template conversation will put most users off quickly. In an age of chatbots and AI taking slowly over for major faceless corporations, you can give your brand a more personal touch. Whether you send out a personalized thank-you card (handwritten, perhaps) with every purchase, or you send them a follow-up email to make sure they’re happy with the product, it will go a long way in building an emotional bond.
These tiny steps tend to lead to greater shares on social media as well as more recommendations, and the beauty of human interaction instead of machine-based chats can be all they need to come back to your business instead of looking for a replacement.
Focus on the target market
Precisely due to so much competition, brands need to value their customers’ loyalty more than ever. This is particularly prominent in Asian regions where the startup ecosystem is a very fruitful one, hence the need to go the extra mile in retaining customers and getting them to talk about your brand with excitement.
An excellent strategy for boosting brand exposure is using a prepaid card in Hong Kong and similar flourishing regions in Asia to incentivize loyalty and build trust. By delivering such a unique, valuable gift to a loyal customer, you inspire them to come back to your brand as well as spread more awareness – a gift card truly is a conversation starter, especially around the holidays!
Get active on social media
Asia and Australia are far from the only regions that are deeply affected by how digitalization has reshaped our purchasing choices. In fact, a study of the US market showed that almost one in three consumers use social media as a reference for choosing whether or not to purchase a product. However, the journey doesn’t start or end with purchases, and it’s vital that you focus on the engagement piece of the puzzle.
After all, 53% of Americans who follow brands on social networks are actually more loyal to those brands, and keeping them engaged with fun, educational, and well-researched content is of the greatest importance. That means you need to be aware of the latest trends in your industry, be active in the right amount and according to a timeline that is best for your customers in order to get the right amount of exposure.
Do some good in the community
On a slightly different note, some of the finest ways to get more exposure for your brand comes from old but gold methods such as volunteer and charity work. It’s a win-win for all parties involved, from the fact that you’ll make a difference for a cause you genuinely care about, all the way to quickly deserving media attention and more appreciation from your audience and your existing customers.
Whether you run a free workshop for impoverished kids and educate them to help them earn a living, set up a charity event to collect money for a cause, or you simply organize your employees and invite your customers to clean the parks in your community – it’s the action that matters. Plus, you can always choose to diversify every several months.
Ultimately, each of these steps on their own cannot help a company thrive. It’s their combination and continuous refinement that will deliver the best results for your brand, since no business can flourish today without innovation in every single aspect of its operations. You can kick-start your exposure efforts with these tactics, but you’ll see true progress once you start implementing them with an innovative, authentic twist.
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Article by David Webb
Business consultant
david.wiliam.webb@gmail.com
david.wiliam@bizzmarkblog.com