4 ways to build brand awareness with a cold audience

Your brand might be front of mind for loyal or return customers, but if you haven’t been paying attention to your cold audience, it might be time to start, writes Blake Micola, founder of GMS Media Group.

Cold audiences generally don’t have any awareness of your brand, but by increasing their knowledge and creating a sense of trust, they can lead to new business and increased sales.

While it can be easy to overlook this stage of the marketing journey, especially if you already have established sales, doing so will see you miss out on valuable traffic.

Here’s how to get your brand in front of as many people as possible.

1. Stand out

At GMS Media Group, we believe that video content is king when it comes to building brand recognition and awareness. In this crowded digital marketplace, you only have a short amount of time (in most cases, mere seconds) to make a first impression.

Video content allows you to grab people’s attention, communicate your story and inform potential consumers in an engaging way. Using video also allows you to create new audiences based on the people who engage with your ads, which will improve your retargeting campaigns.

2. Optimise your awareness campaign

To make the best impression on new visitors, ensure that their experience is as seamless as possible.

If you’re using video to build your brand awareness, be sure to use the right formats. For example, Facebook ads should have a 1:1 dimension, platforms like Instagram Stories and TikTok should have a 9:16 ratio, while 16:9 works best for YouTube.

Optimising your content might not equal a higher conversion rate, but it will allow your ads to look more native to the platform and viewers will associate them with the content on that specific site, which helps create a sense of authority and trustworthiness.

3. Inform, don’t offer the hard sell

At this stage of the marketing process, you’re casting a wide net, so the focus should be on educating consumers and building affinity with potential consumers. After all, you don’t yet have enough information to start targeting.

Instead, share relevant information about your brand or product (such as an explainer video), and focus more on the problem you can solve or the need you can fulfil.

4. Create shareable content

Never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth marketing. Whatever content you create – be it a video, blog article, image carousel or social media post – ensure that it’s easily shared.

The more your brand is recommended by others, the more likely people will be to explore your product or services. Once they’re familiar with your brand, they’ll then continue to build brand awareness for you via your shareable content.

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