Build brand awareness with flows
All customers begin their journey as prospects who are unaware of your brand; it’s your job to change that. Let’s dissect what the awareness stage is, so that you can catch someone’s attention and jump start their journey as a customer.
Identify the 5 levels of awareness
The “5 levels of awareness,” credited to Eugene Schwartz’s book Breakthrough Advertising, breaks the awareness stage into 5 categories. Customers in each category may need different information before considering your company and making a purchase.
While one prospect may know of your brand but isn’t convinced that it solves their problem, another may not even be aware that they have a problem in need of solving. Let’s break down the 5 levels of awareness to get a better idea of what they entail.
Unaware
A prospect is unaware that a problem exists.
Example: A prospect has always suffered from dry skin, and they are not aware that this may be caused by harsh chemicals in the face wash they use.
Problem aware
A prospect is aware of their problem, but unaware of the solution.
Example: A prospect has realized they are experiencing dry skin and are seeking out a solution to fix the problem.
Solution aware
A prospect has a desired outcome, but are unaware of your product.
Example: The prospect is on the hunt for lotion or new face treatments, but hasn't heard of your brand.
Product aware
A prospect is aware of your product, but unsure if it can solve their problem.
Example: The prospect knows about your brand and is familiar with the name of your product, but is unsure if it will work for them.
Most aware
A prospect understands that your product meets their needs, and may need a deal to move into consideration.
Example: The prospect has visited your site, but may be searching for other forms of social proof or reviews to help inform their purchase.
Move prospects from awareness to consideration
Once you’ve identified the level of awareness a prospect has, how can you move them towards considering their first purchase? This involves 3 concrete steps, including setting up your first key automation: a welcome series flow.
Raise awareness
Before someone makes it to your email or SMS list, they’ll encounter a variety of other marketing materials that increase awareness and address any skepticism. Since you will have prospects who fall across all 5 categories of awareness, it’s a good idea to create different variations of ads with different messaging based on the awareness category.
For example, use the following avenues to raise awareness of your brand and the value you can offer to solve customer pain points:
- Social media
Create an online presence and community for your brand. Make sure that your posts and stories align with the style, tone, and messaging across all of your marketing content. You can even partner with influencers to expand to new audiences. - Paid advertising
If you have the budget in place, paid advertising can increase brand awareness across sites (e.g., on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google search), so that you surface ads to those most likely to be interested in your brand or who are actively looking for a solution to a problem your brand solves. - Organic search results
Work on improving your search engine optimization (SEO) so that your brand’s site ranks high in search results. To do so, include relevant keywords on your website, add relevant meta descriptions, format headings and page formats appropriately, and more. - Recommendations and reviews
Collect and promote reviews from real customers that may encourage someone to consider your product or service. You can even launch a referral program with a third party integration, so customers can refer a friend and cash in on a reward.
Collect marketing consent
On your website, a sign-up form is crucial to collect email and SMS marketing consent from visitors. Without this option, prospects come and go, and you have very little opportunity to directly engage with them again. Offering a sign-up incentive is an effective way to get hesitant browsers to take that next step.
You may consider also adding Meta lead ads as a marketing consent collection method. People can create more targeted welcome series based on which ad they convert on, also helping to tie this back to the 5 categories of awareness. Send a tailored welcome series that addresses the person’s specific concerns.
Automate your welcome messages
Upon collecting consent, your welcome series flow is essential. This is an automated message or set of messages that welcomes someone to your brand community when they subscribe.
Want to build this quickly? Search for Klaviyo’s pre-built welcome series in the flows library.
Goal: Introduce your brand to new subscribers, and encourage a first purchase.
Best practices:
- Introduce yourself
Share your founder’s story or what makes your brand unique in your first welcome message. If you offer an incentive to join your list, follow up with it right away. One way to help ensure that your future emails will land in the subscriber’s inbox is to ask a question and invite them to respond with a direct reply. When they do, it sends a strong signal to email inbox providers that these subscribers want to receive your messages. - Include what subscribers need to know
Highlight your top selling points in subsequent messages; e.g., feature your products to boost sales, share a rewards program or forum to build an online community, link to key content (blogs, tutorial videos, etc.) to showcase your brand values. - Get to know subscribers
Ask the right questions to learn more about these potential customers. For instance, ask for your customers’ birthdays or specific preferences. Then, follow up with messages around these topics, keeping them focused with one main call to action (CTA) per message.
Here’s an example welcome message from SWAK Cosmetics. Common welcome messages may also: reiterate a brand's mission, invite customers to shop, and share a thoughtful message from the founder. Since a welcome discount code is at the top, it's prioritized as the main CTA. This content can be in one message, or many, and would be a great A/B test.
If you collect consent from various channels (e.g., an on-site popup, an Instagram giveaway, and Meta lead ads), consider creating separate welcome series for each channel and tailor the messages to align with how your recipient learned about your brand. For example, the flow below is specific to those who filled out a Meta lead ad and follows up with the specific lead magnet that enticed them to sign up for more content.