How to Measure Brand Awareness: Metrics You Should Use

Establishing brand awareness is a paramount marketing strategy, and for good reason. When your brand is well-known, it takes precedence in the minds of potential customers. Consequently, when it's time for them to make a purchase, the odds are in your favor that they will choose your products or services.

Before embarking on a brand awareness campaign, it is crucial to address one aspect: how do you measure its effectiveness? However, what is brand awareness? Let’s briefly examine the brand awareness definition before delving into the specifics.

What is Brand Awareness?

Brand awareness measures how well your market recognizes your company, products, or services in a particular category. Think of how Coke is immediately associated with soft drinks or McDonald's with fast food. These are all brands with high awareness.

Brand awareness is one of the most crucial marketing assets any business can have for several reasons. One key advantage is that products or services with strong brand awareness are often chosen over their competitors, offering a significant edge since high brand recognition cultivates trust and credibility, establishing a solid foundation.

Why Brand Awareness is Crucial for Marketing

Measuring brand awareness should be undertaken by all businesses regardless of size. That's because it's one of the foundations of good marketing.

Think about it – customers will only do business with you if they like and trust your brand. Awareness is the first step in that process.

Compared to other marketing tactics, brand awareness is also long-term. It aims to create lasting impressions and associations with your brand that can lead to ongoing customer loyalty and retention.

Ultimately, high brand awareness leads to the best type of marketing—word-of-mouth. When your existing customers advocate your products and services for free, it’s more effective than any marketing plan.  

7 Brand Awareness Metrics to Build Your Business

So, how do you measure brand awareness? Here are seven metrics you can use:

1. Vanity Phone Numbers

Vanity phone numbers are highly memorable and have been proven to significantly increase brand recognition and customer recall. By incorporating a unique combination of letters and numbers that relate to your brand or industry, these customized phone numbers not only stand out but also establish a strong brand identity in the minds of your target audience. 

Maximize your marketing efforts with vanity phone numbers and elevate your brand presence to new heights.

2. Lead Generation

Lead generation can be a good brand awareness measurement because it determines how many cold prospects engage with your product or service. And since engagement doesn't happen with awareness (even at a basic level), it can be an excellent metric.

For example, you can measure how many phone inquiries you get. A large volume could indicate good brand awareness.

However, it's important to note that lead generation alone isn't an accurate metric. That's because only some of these potential leads will become customers. Thus, it's best used with another metric on this list so you can have a better picture.

3. Website Traffic

The number of people who visit your website can be a good indicator of interest in your company, making it a credible way to measure brand awareness. This is especially true if that traffic is primarily organic and not generated through paid advertising.

It can also tell you how well your other brand awareness campaigns are doing. For instance, if you get many referrals from social media platforms, then it means you're doing something right there.

However, like lead generation, website traffic is a broad measurement that must be used in context with other brand awareness metrics. 

4. Search Volume

Search volume can be an excellent way to measure brand awareness. That's because when people are actively searching for you in Google, it means they're aware of you and want to learn more. A higher search volume might mean more awareness.

You can also analyze search volume in a specific region or area to determine where your brand is more or less well-known. This information can be useful for planning local marketing campaigns to boost your presence.

5. Online Mentions

Online mentions serve as a crucial metric for brand awareness. The frequency of discussions surrounding your company indicates its level of recognition and public interest.

The individuals or entities that mention your brand also hold significance. Being referenced by influential figures and experts in your industry can make a substantial impact, particularly if they are highly regarded and reliable.

Assessing the sentiment behind these mentions is vital to understanding how customers perceive your brand. Negative references can be more detrimental than receiving no mentions at all and necessitate prompt action.

6. Backlinks

Backlinks are sought-after in search engine optimization (SEO), and for good reason. They can be an indicator of brand visibility and authority. Plenty of backlinks from multiple sites indicate high awareness.

Websites do not link to your page without a valid reason. When they do, it signifies that they consider you a reputable and recognized source. However, the majority of your backlinks must come from credible websites. Getting it mostly from unknown (or worse, malicious) websites will backfire on your brand awareness.

7. Customer Surveys

Measuring brand awareness can be achieved most directly by asking the market. This can be done through customer surveys, either by conducting them yourself via telephone or using online forms. While conducting surveys by telephone may be time-consuming, it offers the advantage of asking follow-up questions to clarify answers, making it an effective method. 

Alternatively, you can hire a third-party research firm to conduct the surveys for you. They will not only gather the data but also provide ready-to-consume insights, offering a more convenient approach.

Build Brand Awareness with Ring Boost

There are many brand awareness tools, but one of the most overlooked is custom vanity phone numbers. These numbers are customized to make them easier to remember and more recognizable (such as 1-800-FLOWERS or 1-800-GOT-Junk). These are invaluable for helping boost brand awareness.

When you decide to build brand awareness, trust Ring Boost to buy a vanity phone number. We offer the largest database of custom numbers and cover both toll-free and local phone services.

Have a vanity number in mind? Visit our website today and check if it's still available.