In the last few years, content marketing has shown an exponential growth. More than 89% of companies have accepted content marketing as their core strategy for business growth because more than 96% of consumers are now looking for thought-provoking, valuable content.

With millions of articles on the internet, chances of people finding and reading your content are few and far between. So how can businesses differentiate themselves from other brands and create meaningful messaging that attracts the right customers?

Here are eight tried and tested ways that you can increase your brand awareness through content marketing:

1. Speak to your niche.

Your brand cannot serve everyone in the market, and it won't benefit you to try. You need to focus in on a specific niche audience and then customize your content to speak directly to them.  

A great way to get to know your target audience is by creating buyer personas. The buyer persona consists of common demographic traits like age, gender, income level, and geographic location, as well as detailed personality traits. Get to know their hobbies, passions, challenges and goals in order to really understand them.

To then engage your audience, you need to ask three questions:

1. What motivates your target audience? How do they act when they want to buy something?

2. Where do they find relevant information? Is it on social media, email or a blog? Do you need to figure out what pages of your website are most engaging to them?

3. How are they buying things? Do they buy from a laptop or do they prefer to buy from their mobile phone? What is the typical buyer journey?

1. Mix things up.

Imagine eating the same food every day for two years. It would probably make you feel sick right? The same theory applies to your content. One piece of content will be suitable for one segment of your audience, while another type of content will speak louder to others.  

There is a constant need to update the content on your website. And using visuals along with content can boost your visibility to 94%. But images are just the tip of the iceberg. Using infographics can leave an even deeper impact, as can memes or even a vlog or podcast.  

And don't hesitate to look at what your competitors are doing that's working. Whether that's case studies, webinars or videos, it's probably worth a try.

1. Be unique.

Your audience is smart. They understand what content is adding value to their lives and what content is up-to-date with the current market. So stop creating content simply to update your site. Take time to study a timely topic or trend that impacts your audience, and then add your personal touch. Your content should align with your company's mission and vision, and intrigue, excite, teach and help your readers.

Whether you post content once a week or multiple times a day, make sure it is helpful and intentional. Understanding this is a sign of a great brand.

1. Experiment with multiple channels.

If you want your brand to reach more people, you need to do two things differently than your competitors:

1. Start promoting your brand on social media.

2. Start planning exciting and relevant email campaigns.

If you’re unsure where your users are, it is best to start promoting your brand on every social media channel. When you stay consistent in these social platforms you’ll know which are performing well. There isn’t one right medium for any business. If you want to beat your competitors, you just need to reach more people.

But it doesn’t end with visibility. To succeed, your posts need to resonate. If not, people will move on and forget about you as quickly as they noticed you. So be consistent and create social and email campaigns based on what your audience is interested in. It’s just a matter of reaching out and asking.

1. Use Brand Influencers.

Influencers are the kings and queens of content creation. Because they’re constantly creating high-quality, engaging content for their followers, it only makes sense to team up and take advantage of their popularity and established audience.

Neil Patel the co-founder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar and KISSmetrics mentioned my friend's web design agency in one of his blogs, and it resulted in so much traffic to the page that for two straight weeks the website was down.

This is the power of an influencer. The key is finding an influencer whose audience aligns with your own.  

1. Analyze with the right tools

The number of people searching for your brand online can tell you a lot about the overall awareness of your brand.

Google Analytics is an excellent tool to analyze the buying behavior of your users, however if you’re solely using this tool, you’re missing out on valuable information. Consider using Google’s Keyword Planner to find phrases to use in paid campaigns or on-page optimization, as well as to get a better idea of how many people are searching for your brand name and how this changes over time. Google Trends is also a great tool to see how searches for your brand are changing.

You may even want to consider running a brand campaign on Google AdWords as it can reveal a lot about how many people are searching for your name online.

1. Case studies

One of the most authentic ways to connect with your audience and increase your brand awareness is to share case studies from your clients. Presenting a client’s story, and the struggle they faced before coming in contact with your brand can help readers relate with you in a memorable way. In this way it helps create a positive image of your brand in the eyes of a potential customer.

And consider creating both formal and informal case studies (written as a blog post or social media post) to reach a broader audience.

Brand awareness is not just about letting your audience recognize your name or logo. It is much more than that. It is about what your brand represents. Your values, your story, and how you’re solving your customer's problems.

Do you have any thoughts on how your content is creating brand awareness for your business? Do share your ideas in the comments section below.