Branding sometimes means all the difference between success and failure. To show the importance of branding, let us ask you a question – do you have some Q-tips in your bathroom? If you said yes, it’s the wrong answer. Unless they’re made by a company called Unilever, you should call them cotton swabs for ear hygiene.

This is just of many examples when a brand name becomes a general term for a product. Some other famous examples include Velcro (hook-and-loop fastener manufactured by Velcro BVBA), Stanley knife (utility knife made by Stanley Works), Kleenex (facial tissue made by Kimberly-Clark), and so on.

Turning your brand into a household name takes a lot of creativity and inventiveness, as we as a huge amount of luck. But, this doesn’t mean it’s impossible to achieve such a feat. Raising the brand awareness to a point when everyone knows about your company can be achieved with a little bit of effort. Here are some methods that can help achieve your goal.

1. Create a Logo Everyone Will Remember

Humans are visual creatures. We process information based on what we see, which explains the role of logos in marketing. By definition, a logo is the visual identity of a company simplified into a single icon. When you see the Swoosh on the sneakers, you instantly know they’re made by Nike.

You can create a logo on your own using software like Adobe Illustrator or leave it to professionals. There are many sites out there where you can find freelancer logo designers who will do the job at very reasonable rates.

But, just creating a logo don’t mean your work is done. You need to show it to the world. Putting a store front sign with your new logo should be your first step. You should also put it on business cards and office supplies, but even that isn’t enough. You also need to implement your logo online, which brings us to the second item on our list – creating a useful website.

2. Create an Awesome Website

Making a website with just some basic info about your company won’t do you any good. The visitors who come there will get bored quickly and go someplace else. But even that isn’t the biggest problem. What really needs to worry you is that Google and other search engines do not like such sites. What this means is that if your website isn’t very attractive to the visitors it won’t rank very high in the search results.

Take a look at the website of Coca Cola for example. It contains all the info you may need about the different types of drinks from its collection, as well as some interesting facts about the company and its history. It also contains news about events and promotions, which are updated on a regular basis.

3. Make Use of Social Media

Even if your website is interesting, it will still have trouble getting to the front page of Google unless you’ve done a really good job in terms of optimization, as well as received some mentions from high-authority websites.

A quicker way to spread the word about your business is to get active on social media. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are great places for promoting your brand.

4. Get Creative with Publicity Stunts

Red Sun Cigarette used to pay people $1,500 to have their logo tattooed. It sounds like a very bad idea, but people caught on it. Actually, we probably wouldn’t mention Red Sun in this article if there wasn’t for this publicity stunt.

Of course, you shouldn’t go so extreme (plus, it’s old news already), but thinking out of the box is crucial here.

5. Celebrity Endorsements

Snapchat lost $1.3 billion after Kylie Jenner tweeted she’s no longer using the app. What happened is that her followers started deactivating the app as well. This is just one of the examples that show that celebrities have the power to make you or break you.

Your small business would turn into a large business empire overnight if Kylie said something positive about it. But, let’s be realistic here, the chances that she’d get interested in your brand are close to zero. Plus, you probably don’t have enough money to pay her to promote you.

Our advice is to forget about the Kardashian Empire, instead, better focus on your local celebs. Or, even better, look for a celebrity from your business niche!  

One Last Piece of Advice

Probably the best advice we can give you is to never give up. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so you need to prepare yourself for some hard work if you want to make your business successful. But, hard work does pay off!