Brand visibility is pretty simple: it's about showing up where your customers are looking. Think search results, social media feeds, industry events — anywhere your target audience spends their time.
We're not talking about plastering your logo everywhere. It's more about being consistently present and relevant.
In this post, we'll walk through some practical ways to boost your brand's visibility without annoying people.
Ready to get your brand noticed by the right people, and for all the right reasons?
Here’s the lowdown.
TL;DR
- Employ social listening: Monitor online conversations about your brand to gain insights and engage with your audience.
- Adopt SEO: Optimize your website and content to rank higher in search results.
- Employee advocacy: Encourage employees to share company updates and insights on social media.
- Regularly engage on social media: Interact with your audience through comments, discussions, and interactive content.
- Encourage customer reviews: Prompt satisfied customers to leave reviews and respond to feedback.
- Invest in digital advertising: Use paid channels to promote your brand to targeted audiences.
- Collaborate with influencers: Partner with relevant influencers to expand your reach.
- Host events and giveaways: Generate excitement and engagement through interactive activities.
- Create impactful visual content: Use images, videos, and infographics to capture attention.
- Execute content marketing: Produce valuable content to attract and engage your target audience.
1. Employ social listening
Social listening involves tracking conversations around specific phrases or words related to your brand across social media and the web. This helps you understand customer sentiment, identify emerging trends, and engage directly with your audience.
“Social listening matters so much to us in the SaaS world. While we regularly ask our clients for feedback on our products, we can paint an even fuller picture through social listening. We see how users talk about the strengths and weaknesses of our product and every product in our category. We can see how they talk about their pain points and understand them even more deeply. All of that information is highly valuable to virtually every team, especially in marketing, sales, and product development.” — Elisa Montanari, Head of Organic Growth @ Wrike
“Social listening helped us understand our audience's interests and desires by observing organic discussions about our brand, competitors, and the industry at large. On one occasion, spotting a trending conversation around sustainable fashion led us to design a collection using eco-friendly materials. The resultant buzz significantly boosted our visibility and established us as an environmentally-conscious fashion brand.” — Abhi Madan, Co-founder of Amarra
How to implement:
- Employ tools like Sprout Social or Brandwatch to monitor mentions and keywords.
- Analyze the data to uncover insights into customer preferences and industry trends.
- Engage with users by responding to mentions and joining relevant conversations.
Example: Semrush effectively uses social listening to engage with their audience and understand what customers think about their products. This enables them to address concerns promptly and capitalize on positive feedback.
(Source)
2. Adopt SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) involves optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results. This makes it easier for potential customers to find you when searching online.
Building out a resource hub and blog has significantly boosted our SEO. It’s a win-win for us because we get to teach users how to make the most of our products and understand every feature while using content marketing to build search engine authority and bring organic traffic our way. The real key to modern SEO is to always focus on the value; if you build with value, they will come. — Elisa Montanari, Head of Organic Growth @ Wrike
How to implement:
- Conduct keyword research using tools like StoryChief, Moz or Ahrefs to find high-traffic, low-competition keywords.
- Optimize on-page elements such as meta tags, headers, and image alt texts.
- Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sites to boost domain authority.
Example: StoryChief uses its SEO expertise to rank highly for various industry-specific terms, drive organic traffic, and establish authority in the content marketing space.
Pro tip: While most companies focus on popular keywords, targeting long-tail keywords can attract more specific and motivated customers. These keywords often have less competition and higher conversion rates.
3. Employee advocacy
Encourage employees to share professional insights and company updates on their social media channels. Doing this significantly extends your brand’s reach and credibility.
“At Motivosity, we promote employee advocacy by cultivating a culture of recognition and engagement through our platform. Our brand message is amplified when employees have the tools and incentives to share their achievements and positive experiences on social media.
Our key performance indicators include: Employee Adoption Rate, Share Rates, Potential Reach and Interaction Rates, and Earned Media Value. These metrics help us continuously refine our strategies, driving brand growth and visibility.” — Logan Mallory, Vice President of Marketing @ Motivosity
How to implement:
- Provide employees with training and resources to effectively share content.
- Develop a content calendar that includes company news and industry insights.
- Recognize and reward employees who actively participate in advocacy.
Example: StoryChief’s Employee Advocacy program mobilized over 15,000 employees at Besix to amplify their company's brand messaging.
Pro tip: Adopt a platform such as StoryChief where employees can easily share content, track their advocacy performance, and receive rewards. This gamifies the process and encourages more participation.
4. Regularly engage on social media
Engaging with your audience on social media goes beyond posting updates. It includes responding to comments, participating in discussions, and creating content that encourages interaction.
How to implement:
- Use interactive content like polls, Q&A sessions, and live videos to engage followers.
- Respond to comments and messages promptly and authentically.
- Track engagement metrics to refine your social media strategy.
Example: Semrush has gained a reputation for its witty and responsive social media posts, particularly on LinkedIn, where it engages followers with humor and timely responses.
(Source)
Pro tip: Host regular “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) sessions with industry experts or company leaders. Doing this regularly will enhance engagement and potentially position your brand as a thought leader.
5. Collect customer reviews
Encouraging happy customers to leave reviews will enhance your brand's credibility and can greatly influence purchasing decisions.
How to implement:
- Ask satisfied customers to leave reviews through follow-up emails or in-app prompts.
- Respond to reviews, thanking customers for positive feedback and addressing any concerns.
- Highlight positive reviews on your website and social media channels.
Example: Zoom, a video conferencing software, makes the review process easy for customers by clearly stating the time commitment (5 minutes) and providing a direct link to the survey in the request. This reduces friction and increases the chances the customer will complete the review.
(Source)
Pro tip: Create a review campaign where customers who leave a review are entered into a monthly draw for a prize. This can increase the number of reviews and engagement with your brand.
6. Invest in digital advertising
Digital advertising involves using paid channels like search ads, social media ads, and display ads to promote your brand to a targeted audience.
How to implement:
- Define your target audience and set clear objectives for your campaigns.
- Develop compelling ads that resonate with your audience.
- Use analytics to monitor performance and optimize your ads for better results.
Example: Spotify promotes its premium service with targeted ads to find users who are likely to subscribe. This increases both subscriptions and brand awareness.
(Source)
Pro tip: Use retargeting ads to re-engage users who have previously interacted with your website but did not convert. This can recover lost opportunities and improve overall ad performance.
7. Collaborate with influencers
Influencer marketing means working with individuals with a significant following to promote your brand. The key is to find influencers who align with your brand values and have a genuine connection with their audience.
How to implement:
- Research and identify influencers who align with your brand’s values and audience.
- Develop a partnership strategy that includes clear goals and expectations.
- Track the impact of influencer campaigns on your brand’s visibility and engagement.
Example: Qualtrics has successfully leveraged influencer marketing by collaborating with high-profile guest speakers such as Michelle Obama & Ashton Kutcher.
(Source)
Their approach also includes partnering with micro-influencers, which has led to significant online mentions and increased brand visibility on platforms like Instagram.
Pro tip: Form long-term partnerships with influencers rather than one-off campaigns.
8. Host events and giveaways
Events and giveaways generate excitement and engagement around your brand. They offer value to your audience and encourage them to interact with your brand.
How to implement:
- Plan events or giveaways that are relevant to your audience’s interests.
- Promote these activities through all available channels, including social media and email.
- Encourage participants to share their experiences.
Example: Salesforce is known for its large-scale events like Dreamforce, which hosts numerous sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities.
The event often includes giveaways, such as branded merchandise and free trials of their services.
Pro tip: Co-host events or giveaways with other brands to reach more people and create better experiences.
9. Create impactful visual content
Visual content such as images, videos, and infographics can capture attention more effectively than text alone.
How to implement:
- Use tools like Canva or Adobe Creative Cloud to create visually appealing content.
- Ensure consistency in your visual style to reinforce brand identity.
- Optimize visual content for SEO by using appropriate tags and descriptions.
Example: IBM employs a variety of visual content strategies, including illustrations and action photos, to communicate complex concepts and showcase real-life applications of its technology.
(Source)
Pro tip: Create a series of behind-the-scenes videos that showcase your company’s culture, product creation process, or employee stories. This humanizes your brand and builds a deeper connection with your audience.
10. Execute content marketing
Content marketing involves creating and distributing valuable content like blog posts, whitepapers, eBooks, and case studies to attract and engage your target audience.
How to implement:
- Develop and execute a content strategy that addresses your audience’s pain points and interests.
- Use SEO best practices to ensure your content is discoverable.
- Distribute your content through various channels to maximize reach and engagement.
Example: StoryChief’s extensive content marketing strategy includes blogs, eBooks, and webinars that provide valuable insights and drive significant traffic.
Pro tip: Repurpose your content into different formats, such as turning a blog post into a LinkedIn post or infographic. This allows you to reach different segments of your audience and extend the life of your content.
Weave these strategies together to tell your brand's unique story
Improving your brand’s visibility requires a multifaceted approach.
Make every tweet, blog post, and ad count – give your audience something they actually care about. Do it right, and you won't just be another logo they scroll past. You'll be the brand they can't wait to hear from.
The ultimate goal is to establish your brand not just as an option, but as the preferred choice.
