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How to Increase Brand Awareness for Startups
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February 13, 2025
Burger King, Amazon, and MasterCard—these names have become part of everyday life. When a brand is memorable, people return without hesitation. Familiarity builds trust, and trust creates loyalty.
Some brands are so recognizable that a single color or symbol speaks for them. For example, the golden crown reminds people of Burger King. The interlocking letters on a polo shirt instantly bring Ralph Lauren to mind. A simple red and yellow circle is all it takes to recognize MasterCard. These brands have spent years crafting an identity that sticks.
Building a brand is a hard problem to crack for startups. For a new brand, it is hard to get visibility. Startups want to be remembered and trusted. In a crowded market, a strong brand presence helps you stand out, making attracting and retaining customers easier. The more familiar people are with your brand, the more likely they are to engage with your product, recommend it to others, and choose it over competitors.
Take Notion, for example. When it launched, the productivity software space was already packed with tools like Evernote and Google Docs. Instead of competing on features alone, Notion made brand awareness a priority. The company invested heavily into billboards across major cities like New York, London, and Tokyo, making sure people saw Notion everywhere. The brand also focused on community building and User Generated Content (UGC) to build trust.As a result, people started recognizing Notion as the go-to workspace tool, leading to rapid adoption and word-of-mouth growth.Brand awareness directly impacts credibility, trust, and customer acquisition.
Brand awareness measures how well people recognize your business. It sets the foundation for long term growth, market positioning, and customer retention for your brand.
A strong presence influences customer decisions and drives business growth. The numbers speak for themselves:
A strong brand also fuels word-of-mouth and encourages long-term loyalty, helping your business grow sustainably.
Here are a few benefits of brand awareness.
The key to generating more leads lies in making your brand a household name. Studies reveal that nearly 89% of consumers start their journey with a search engine and are more likely to trust familiar names. For startups, this familiarity is crucial.
When your business is top-of-mind, potential customers don’t have to think twice about who to turn to. The more people know about your brand, the higher your chances of attracting quality leads. This familiarity can give you a strong advantage over competitors, as customers tend to pick what they recognize first.
Once you’ve got your audience’s attention, the next step is keeping them around. A study by Motista reveals that consumers who feel emotionally connected to a brand spend twice as much as those who don’t. Additionally, they have a 306% higher lifetime value (LTV) and remain loyal to a brand for an average of 5.1 years, compared to just 3.4 years for others.
This emotional connection builds familiarity, which helps form lasting bonds with your customers. These loyal shoppers are more likely to return, make repeated purchases, and even recommend your brand to others. When your customers feel like they know your small business, they are more invested in your success, which turns them into lifelong supporters.
Consumers aren’t exactly big on taking risks. For most consumers, brand awareness plays a huge role in their decision-making. They tend to gravitate toward brands with stronger recognition, even when there’s no significant difference in quality or price. So, if you want to boost sales and grow faster, make the decision-making process easier for your customers. Not only should you have a unique value proposition, your brand should also be recognizable for customers. Focus on these areas:
Build on each of these, and watch your market share grow.
Brand perception is a crucial metric for assessing brand health, and it’s not the same as brand awareness. Think of it as the next step after awareness—sure, a lot of people might recognize your brand, but if they don’t have a positive view of it, all that recognition won’t do much for you.
You might assume that building perception requires multiple interactions with your brand over time. That would give you a gap between boosting awareness and shaping perception, right? Not quite.
In fact, even when you’re focusing on raising brand awareness, you’re already laying the groundwork for how people perceive you. First impressions count for a lot. Hence, if you want your startup to be proactive, design your brand awareness campaigns with perception in mind.
And, to measure their impact effectively, use brand awareness and brand positioning surveys to gauge how well you’re shifting the way people think about you.
A recognized brand increases customer lifetime value. When customers know and trust your brand, they are more likely to make repeat purchases. A study by Salsify reported that 87% of customers are willing to spend more on a brand they trust, leading to a higher CLV.
A strong, established brand has the potential to increase overall sales over time by turning first-time buyers into long-term clients. As your brand awareness grows, so does your customer retention, ensuring lasting relationships that drive profitability.
When consumers are aware of your brand and what makes it different, it’s easier for you to carve out a niche. Your brand’s story, values, and personality can differentiate you from competitors.
As your startup builds awareness, you can communicate your differentiators more effectively, helping you to attract customers who recognize the value you bring. Strong brand awareness creates an edge, allowing your startup to thrive even among bigger competitors.
Building brand awareness is tough for startups, especially with crowded platforms, limited resources, and tight budgets. Here's how you can create impactful brand awareness campaigns:
For startups, content is one of the most effective tools to build credibility and trust, especially when you're in the early stages and don't have a massive content team or budget. During this period, your focus should be on creating valuable, informative, and highly relevant content that addresses your audience’s pain points. Content marketing pillars like blogs, case studies, and whitepapers will help you showcase your expertise and make your brand more relatable.
To start, align your content strategy with customer journey mapping. This ensures each piece of content addresses a particular question or need at every stage of the buyer’s journey. Whether it’s a detailed guide on a topic or a quick how-to video, make sure that your content solves real problems. Your audience needs to see your brand as a resource, not just a product. Over time, this builds trust and boosts recognition.
Don't forget about search engine optimization (SEO)—it’s your best friend when you're working with limited budgets. Targeting long-tail keywords specific to your startup’s niche increases the chances that organic search traffic will lead people to your content. Once they’re on your site, use call-to-actions to lead them further down the sales funnel.
The role of social media in increasing brand awareness cannot be overstated, especially for startups. But how can you make noise when you’re competing with well-funded brands that already have massive followings?
Focus on consistency. Create a social media strategy that includes regular posting, direct engagement with followers, and showcasing your brand personality. By narrowing your focus to one or two platforms (like Facebook and Instagram), you can maximize your reach. Plus, you can engage with your followers by commenting, liking, and sharing user-generated content (UGC), rather than just pushing out promotional content.
UGC not only helps build a sense of community but also plays a critical role in driving conversions. Research shows that visual UGC on product pages can increase conversions by 161%. When potential customers see others sharing their positive experiences with your product, it acts as social proof that can encourage hesitant shoppers to make a purchase.
It’s this kind of content that can push someone from the "maybe" to the "buy now" button. In fact, displaying visual UGC on product pages has been proven to boost add-to-cart rates by 154%, making it a powerful tool for startups looking to build trust and increase sales.
Similarly, collaborate with micro-influencers who share your target audience as they cab extend your reach without requiring significant investment. Glossier’s “You Look Good” campaign is a great example of using micro-influencers to drive brand trust. By encouraging everyday women to celebrate their natural beauty, the campaign resonated with Glossier’s ethos of skincare-first, makeup-second.
Micro-influencers played a key role, sharing unfiltered photos of themselves using products like Boy Brow and Cloud Paint, which helped spread the brand’s message authentically and effectively.
It’s easy for startups to feel overwhelmed by the cost of paid media, especially when large brands seem to dominate every platform. But with the right approach, even smaller budgets can achieve impressive results.
Start by narrowing your focus to high-conversion channels like Facebook ads, LinkedIn ads, or Google Ads. The key is targeting your ads carefully so that they reach only the most relevant audience. Then, use advanced segmentation to break down your audience into specific categories and craft ads tailored to each.
Start with a small budget and focus on performance tracking. Using A/B testing, you can refine your ads to see what resonates with your audience. The beauty of digital advertising is that you can scale what works and halt what doesn’t, allowing for better control over your startup’s advertising spend.
Even limited budgets can be stretched by focusing on high ROI opportunities, like retargeting or running remarketing ads that target people who have already visited your website.
Getting press coverage may feel out of reach when you're just starting, but even startups with little recognition can benefit from a strong PR strategy. Write guest articles for industry publications to establish thought leadership. By positioning yourself as an expert in your field, you build credibility that can boost brand awareness.
Don't hesitate to pitch your startup’s unique story to journalists or influencers who cover topics in your niche. Often, your journey as a startup—the struggles, the wins, the lessons learned—can be compelling to a wider audience. The more relevant and timely the news, the more likely it is to get picked up by major media outlets, giving your brand exposure it wouldn't have received otherwise.
Webinars and online events are a cost-effective way to engage with potential customers. Whether it's a product demo, Q&A, or industry deep dive, these events foster meaningful connections and valuable engagement.
Partnering with other startups or industry experts for joint events can help expand your reach, bringing in new audiences and boosting brand visibility. Virtual meetups, exclusive content, or networking events tied to larger conferences also offer great opportunities to connect, gather feedback, and build brand loyalty.
Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool for any startup, but it becomes even more effective when there’s a structured incentive behind it. A well-crafted referral program not only gets customers to advocate for your brand but also drives growth in a cost-effective way.
Since customers are more likely to trust recommendations from friends and family, you can leverage this behavior to expand its reach. Offer your existing customers incentives to refer others. It could be a discount, free product, or even an exclusive offer for both the referrer and the referee.
Loyalty programs are another great way to keep your audience engaged. By rewarding repeat customers, you increase the likelihood that they’ll not only return but also tell others about your brand.
Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional, low-cost strategy aimed at gaining attention through surprise, creativity, and bold tactics. For example, if you’re launching a SaaS tool for freelancers, you could publish a “Freelancer Pay Transparency” report with anonymous income data and surprising insights. Make it visually striking, shareable, and slightly controversial to spark debates on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Then offer a free tool that lets freelancers compare their rates instantly. People will share their results, tagging friends. If media and industry influencers pick it up, your brand gains massive exposure without a big ad budget. That’s how you hijack attention for free.
Building brand awareness isn’t something that happens overnight, especially for startups. It’s a long-term effort that requires patience, consistency, and a strategic approach.
The timeline for noticeable results can vary greatly depending on whether you focus on organic growth or opt for paid strategies. Let’s see how.
Organic growth, through tactics like content marketing and SEO, is typically slower but builds a more sustainable foundation for your brand. Creating valuable content, optimizing your website, and executing a strong SEO checklist helps your brand steadily climb the ranks in search engines.
Even with the best keyword research and on-page optimization, it might take several months for your content to rank and start bringing in organic traffic. Over time, this approach builds visibility organically, making your brand more trusted and recognizable.
Paid strategies, like running LinkedIn ads or partnering with influencers who already have a loyal following gives your startup an immediate boost in visibility. However, these campaigns require careful targeting and budgeting to maximize the return on your investment.
While paid ads give you quicker exposure, they are not sustainable without continuous investment. To truly maintain brand awareness and solidify trust with your audience, you'll need to back up your paid efforts with a strong organic presence.
To assess how well your efforts are working, it’s crucial to track the right KPIs. These indicators show you whether you’re on track to reach your brand awareness goals.
Some key KPIs to monitor success include:
Now that we have a fair understanding of how to build brand awareness, let's take a look at some brands who have successfully boosted their recognition and growth through strategic campaigns.
Pluto Card, a fintech disruptor in the MENA region, had the technology and vision to build its brand. However, with no in-house marketing team, Pluto Card faced challenges in becoming a recognizable name in a highly competitive market. That’s where TripleDart Digital stepped in, helping Pluto Card amplify its presence and establish brand authority.
Before the partnership, Pluto Card’s lead-to-opportunity conversion rate was 11%. With TripleDart’s data-driven approach, that number surged to 33%, a 200% increase in just six months.
TripleDart implemented a multi-layered strategy to boost Pluto Card’s visibility and credibility:
Dollar Shave Club pulled off one of the most successful brand awareness campaigns with a single, low-budget video. Instead of traditional ads, their founder, Michael Dubin, filmed a hilarious, no-nonsense clip. The video went viral, racking up millions of views and turning the brand into a household name.
It wasn’t just funny. It made razors feel cool and different. The result was a massive spike in subscriptions almost overnight, proving that a bold, memorable campaign can make a startup stand out 9even in a crowded market).
In 2022, RazorpayX set out to change how startups think about payroll. They launched a campaign featuring six startup founders, each sharing real payroll challenges they faced every month. The message was simple—payroll and compliance don’t have to be a headache.
Over eight weeks, the campaign showed how RazorpayX makes the process smooth and hassle-free, reinforcing its brand as the go-to solution for businesses looking to simplify payroll.
Old Spice was once a household name, but by the early 2000s, it had lost its charm. The brand felt outdated and struggled to connect with younger consumers. Whispers of P&G dropping it surfaced, leaving Old Spice at a crossroads.
It had two choices—reinvent itself or fade away.
Instead of playing it safe, they went all in on humor, confidence, and a fresh, irreverent attitude.
The result was "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like," a campaign that didn’t just advertise a product but created a cultural moment. Launched during Super Bowl weekend, it quickly took over television screens and online conversations. A carefully planned media strategy placed the ad in spaces where couples would be watching together, making sure both men and women paid attention.
The response was overwhelming, but Old Spice didn’t stop there.
Over two and a half days, a team of creatives, strategists, and developers filmed 186 personalized video replies to fans and celebrities, answering questions in real time with the "Response" campaign. These videos were posted on YouTube and spread like wildfire across Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.
Suddenly, Old Spice wasn’t just a brand people recognized—it was a brand people actively talked about and engaged with.
The results spoke for themselves. The original goal was to increase body wash sales by 15%, but by May 2010, sales had jumped by 60% compared to the previous year.
This brand awareness campaign set a new standard for digital marketing, proving that the right mix of humor, interactivity, and bold messaging could turn a struggling brand into an unstoppable force.
Building strong brand awareness is an ongoing journey that requires dedication and persistence. By following the strategies in this guide, you can effectively enhance brand awareness, position yourself as a thought leader, and drive sustainable growth for your B2B business.
If you're looking for a head start, TripleDart Digital can help! As a SaaS marketing agency for startups, TripleDart creates and distributes high-quality content across multiple platforms, including social media, blogs, and email marketing. This helps you effectively engage your target audience and strengthen your brand identity in the market.
Whether you're looking to improve your SaaS brand, tap into the expertise of a full-service agency, or looking for digital marketing solutions, we’ve got you covered.
Ready to take your startup to the next level? Get in touch with TripleDart Digital and make your brand known to everyone!
Track metrics like direct traffic, social media mentions, branded search volume, and surveys to gauge brand recognition and recall.
Leverage paid ads, influencer partnerships, PR, and viral content to quickly boost visibility.
Yes, SEO improves search rankings, increases organic visibility, and builds long-term brand credibility.
It varies, but startups typically allocate 10-20% of revenue to marketing, with a portion dedicated to brand awareness efforts.
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