John Horn, CEO Digital Advertising Agency StubGroup, talks getting attention online and then leveraging that attention to maximize profit
When beginning a company, starting a small business, or even venturing out on your own as a solopreneur, the game is all about building awareness. Without attention paid to your product or service, you’re essentially dead in the water. Getting that attention and then parlaying that into profit is a skill that even longtime business owners and CEOs may struggle with.
John Horn, CEO of StubGroup, is an expert at getting brand awareness for his clients. The market is constantly shifting in this cutthroat era of influencing, amassing followers, and paid social media advertising. Brands have to stay ahead of the game to remain competitive.
Horn helps us give a rundown of maximizing brand awareness and getting the right kind and right amount of attention for your business.
1. Choose Your Platform Wisely
These days, if you’re not leveraging the power of one social media platform or another, you are likely leaving a lot of money on the table for your business. Each platform offers something different in terms of flexibility, reach, and target market, so you must be intentional when choosing which platform to invest in.
Pay close attention to your messaging and business model. Target markets also differ widely from platform to platform. You will reach people at a different stage in their purchasing journey with Google Ads than with targeted ads on Instagram or Facebook.
Having a finger on the pulse of what is coming down the pipeline in terms of popular platforms also matters.
“We don’t do much MySpace advertising these days,” Horn joked to the New Money Gang podcast. You want to meet your target market where they are to maximize brand recognition.
2. Offering a Solution to a Need
Consumers have brands they automatically think of when they have a problem that needs solving. When you have a runny nose, you’re likely to ask for a “Kleenex” not a tissue. When your lips are chapped, you’re looking for “Chapstick” not lip balm.
When your brand offers a consistent and successful solution to a problem, that creates recognition and recall.
3. Build Valuable Relationships – Not Just Lists
Turning social media engagements into paying customers takes more than collecting “likes” and “follows”. It involves getting those people off the platform and into a relationship with your brand. This can include email lists and real-time engagement with people interested in your product or service. With brands battling it out for attention online, businesses must go the extra mile to set themselves apart if they plan to make an impact.
Also, as Horn cautions, “You are at the mercy of the platform”. With algorithm changes and platforms coming and going or changing their policies, if you fail to capture direct access to your followers, you will lose access to them when those policies and algorithms change.
4. Build Creative Marketing Campaigns
There are certain campaigns that everyone remembers. Think Coca-Cola’s “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”, Geico’s Hump-Day Camel, or Apple’s 1984 campaign. Those campaigns worked on a very large scale to build brand recognition.
Today, smaller businesses and solo entrepreneurs rely on social media, taglines, and imagery to dig up attention. Often, the more creative, the better.
Nearly every industry under the sun that utilizes social media for marketing has its “influencers.” These leaders set the tone for what is hot and not in social media marketing and creative campaigns.
Tik Tok has recently emerged as a juggernaut in the creative marketing space. “It’s become more and more of a powerhouse to driving traffic,” says Horn.
Getting creative with chosen platforms is a surefire way to build brand recognition, as long as brands remain consistent and dedicated to putting out unique and engaging content.
“Creating engaging, relevant content for platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Pinterest, et cetera is a powerful content strategy,” says Horn, “Not only because they allow you to perform demographic- and interest-based targeting, but because you’re using these platforms to connect with people while they’re doing something they enjoy, using social media. You make it easy for them to share your message with their friends online.”
5. Capture Attention Effectively
When building company and brand awareness, you want to combine organic efforts and paid ads for a balanced approach. If your attempts at either method fail to lead to profitability, leaders and marketing teams should rethink them.
“It’s an evolving conversation,” says Horn, “How is attention turning into profitability?” When working with clients at StubGroup, Horn and his staff question them about leveraging followers for profit and capturing attention, and then turning that attention into direct communication. Simply collecting “likes” and followers does not signal that a marketing campaign or bid for attention is successful.
Building a brand takes dedication, creativity, and just a little luck. By using advertising opportunities presented by various platforms to your advantage and by turning followers into regularly engaged consumers of your product and service, you can build a long-lasting and recognizable brand.
