9 Key Metrics to Track Brand Awareness – Startup Growth

As a startup founder, the concept of brand awareness often seems like a mysterious, intangible force from a consumer’s perspective. Some brands effortlessly captivate the public’s attention, while others remain hidden until a serendipitous encounter brings them to light. This enigmatic nature of brand awareness can leave you pondering how to precisely quantify and measure it. After all, relying solely on the famous quote, “I know it when I see it,” falls short when you’re in the trenches of the business side of branding. Brand awareness is a critical element that demands meticulous measurement and continuous evaluation. So, how can you effectively gauge and measure brand awareness within the unique context of a startup?

Let’s embark on a journey to explore essential strategies and key metrics that astute startup marketers should meticulously monitor.

Cracking the Code of Brand Awareness

Brand awareness goes beyond mere recognition; it involves measuring how well people grasp your products and services. It’s not sufficient for your brand to be known; people must comprehend what you offer. After all, having a robust presence on social media won’t benefit you if potential customers can’t fathom your offerings.

Read: Tapping into Word-of-Mouth Marketing for Explosive Growth

9 Key Metrics to Track Brand Awareness

Disregarding the measurement of brand awareness is akin to shouting your company’s name into the abyss, hoping someone will hear you. Fortunately, several methods exist to gauge brand presence across the vast digital landscape. Here are nine paramount metrics to consider (with Tools you can use):

1. Social Listening
   • Key Metrics:
     • Reach of Mentions: Evaluate the number of people exposed to your brand mentions online, with particular attention to mentions from accounts boasting substantial followings.
     • Sentiment Score: Harness social listening tools to discern whether social posts convey positivity, negativity, or neutrality, providing valuable insights into overall public sentiment.
     • Net Promoter Score (NPS): Although typically measured through surveys, social listening tools can serve as a proxy for NPS.
   • Tools to consider:
     • Hootsuite Insights: A social listening tool by Hootsuite that helps you track brand mentions and sentiment on social media platforms. It offers customizable reports and real-time monitoring.
     • Quintly: A social media analytics tool that allows you to track and benchmark your brand’s performance on various social platforms, including follower growth and engagement metrics.
     • Meltwater (PreviouslySysomos): Offers social listening and analytics to track brand mentions, sentiment, and social media conversations. It provides real-time data and customizable reports.
       
2. Branded Search Volume
   • How to Measure: Employ SEO tools like Semrush to track the monthly search volume for your brand name and related keywords.
     
3. Change in Direct Traffic
   • How to Measure: Scrutinize direct traffic metrics using tools such as Google Analytics, tracking unique pageviews and direct blog referral sources to discern changes over time.
     
4. Backlink Profiles
   • How to Measure: Leverage backlink checkers (e.g. Moz) to monitor both the growth and quality of backlinks leading to your website.
     
5. Brand Awareness Surveys
   • How to Measure: Craft tailored surveys to gauge brand awareness, incorporating aided and unaided questions to glean insights into your audience’s awareness levels.
     
6. Social Share of Voice (SOV)
   • How to Measure: Calculate your social SOV manually or with social listening tools, comparing the number of brand mentions to those of your competitors.
     
7. Earned Media Coverage
   • How to Measure: Deploy tools like Ahrefs to search for unlinked brand mentions and monitor their proliferation over time.
     
8. Referral Traffic
   • How to Measure: Monitor referring domains and assess their quality in Google Analytics to grasp how other brands recognize and disseminate your content.
     
9. Content Marketing Performance
   • How to Measure: Rely on tools like Ahrefs or Moz to track keyword rankings, organic traffic, and conversions linked to your content marketing initiatives. Or use tools like Contently, a content marketing platform that helps you plan, create, and distribute content while tracking its performance.

Bonus KPIs Brand Awareness Assessment

While the aforementioned metrics form a robust foundation for evaluating brand awareness, consider these supplementary KPIs to achieve a holistic evaluation:

Traffic KPIs:

• Unique Users: Measure the popularity of your website by tracking the number of unique users.
• Time Spent on Page: Gain insights into audience interaction and engagement.
• Bounce Rate: Assess content relevance and user experience.
• Return Visitors: Acknowledge the value of repeat users who are already acquainted with your brand.

Social KPIs:

• Impressions: Gauge the visibility of your content or ads.
• Engagements: Monitor shares, likes, and comments to evaluate content performance.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Measure the relevance of your content or ads.
• Shares: Comprehend which content resonates most with your audience.

Remember, the number of followers on social media doesn’t always represent the most critical KPI for brand awareness. Quality interactions and engagement with your existing followers often hold more significance.

In conclusion,

Brand awareness is an essential element that startup founders must measure and cultivate meticulously. Effectively assessing brand awareness can provide invaluable insights into how your brand is perceived, reveal areas for improvement, and guide strategic decisions. With automation tools such as Zapier seamlessly managing marketing analytics, you can dedicate your efforts to expanding your brand’s presence and leaving a lasting imprint in your industry.

At Growth Graphers, enhancing your brand’s presence and awareness is our expertise. Here’s how we can assist you:

1. Tailored Branding Strategy: We specialize in crafting personalized branding strategies aimed at significantly boosting brand awareness.
2. Channel Identification: We pinpoint the most effective channels with broad reach potential, ensuring maximum audience engagement and increased brand recognition.
3. Custom Marketing Strategies: Through extensive market and audience research, we develop marketing plans tailored to resonate with your target audience, further enhancing brand awareness.
4. Multi-Channel Approach: Our strategies encompass a multi-channel marketing approach, extending your brand’s impact across various platforms, and solidifying its presence in the minds of your audience.
5. Measurement and Analysis: We diligently measure the effectiveness of your brand awareness strategies using data analysis, customer response evaluation, and KPI tracking.
6. Continuous Optimization: We provide actionable insights for ongoing optimization, ensuring your brand not only thrives but flourishes in the online landscape.

Learn more about 6 Proven Landing Page Hacks to Boost B2B Conversion Rates

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for expert assistance in elevating your brand’s presence and strategy, ultimately boosting brand awareness.