7 key enterprise marketing solutions for the awareness stage

The awareness stage is the first stage of the marketing funnel, where prospective customers encounter your brand for the first time. That’s why it’s essential to lay the groundwork for all subsequent interactions—by capturing their attention, sparking interest, and making a memorable impact right from the outset.

This blog will delve into essential enterprise marketing solutions for the awareness stage, equipping you with the tools to make that crucial first impression count.

7 enterprise marketing solutions for the awareness stage

Being at the top of the funnel, the awareness stage is responsible for creating a strong initial impression that lasts for the rest of the customer journey.

But with the fierce competition, standing out from hundreds of similar products or services and grabbing the attention of your target customer base is no easy feat. You need the right strategies to overcome obstacles and create a memorable brand image. Here are seven advanced enterprise marketing solutions for the awareness stage to grab eyeballs and leave a lasting impact:

1. Amplify brand visibility through content marketing

While there are numerous content marketing strategies you can use to reach your target demographics organically, there are still a few basic types of content techniques to get right:

• Optimize your online presence through advanced search engine optimization (SEO) tactics, such as targeting long-tail keywords, optimizing meta tags and descriptions, and building high-quality backlinks to improve search engine rankings and visibility.
• Rely on educational content that not only promotes your product but also moves your audience closer to a purchase decision.
• Invest in targeted pay-per-click (PPC) marketing campaigns to reach the ideal audience and drive qualified traffic to the website through clear calls to action.
• Create engaging and shareable social media content that showcases the brand’s personality, values, and expertise. Pro tip: Testimonials make excellent social media posts that encourage sharing.
• Utilize platform-specific features like Instagram Stories and LinkedIn articles to maximize reach and engagement.
• Use Yelp Showcase Ads to incorporate location-specific ads that promote your deals and discounts to maximize exposure early in the buyer’s journey.

To truly set yourself apart, consider incorporating semantic keyword research into your content strategy. This approach goes beyond traditional keyword-focused SEO by exploring the intent and context behind user queries.

Unlike conventional keyword research, which primarily focuses on search volume and competition, semantic keyword research delves into the semantic relationships between words, phrases, and topics. It leverages natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning techniques to analyze search data, user behavior, and content patterns, uncovering insights that traditional methods might overlook.

Tools like Phrazor and Gensim can also help identify the underlying topics and themes within search data, fueling the creation of relevant, contextually rich content that resonates with users and aligns with search engine algorithms. Employing this method can help brands develop awareness stage content that their audiences are searching for and may position them as authoritative voices in their industries.

2. Create a compelling brand narrative

A strong and compelling brand narrative can work in your favor to differentiate your business and forge deep emotional connections with your target customers. A captivating brand story goes beyond mere product features and benefits; it taps into the aspirations, values, and challenges of your ideal customers, positioning your brand as an integral part of their lives.

Consider Duluth Trading Co., a workwear and gear retailer that has successfully built a powerful narrative around the rugged, hardworking spirit of its target audience. Duluth Trading Co.’s ad campaigns highlight scenarios where their durable products shine—from the illustrations to the ad copy they use—reinforcing the brand’s narrative. Here’s an example of one of their ads:

To create a similarly compelling brand narrative, start by conducting extensive market research and customer surveys to uncover your audience’s core values, aspirations, and pain points. Use these insights to craft a narrative that aligns with their beliefs. Situate your products as the solution to their challenge or the enabler of their dreams. Infuse this narrative into every aspect of your brand at every stage of the buyer, from your website copy and product descriptions to your packaging and customer service interactions.

3. Deliver your content in the right formats

The primary goal of awareness stage marketing is to attract potential customers and educate them about your brand and offerings, which can be done through content. Your content should be informative, engaging, and valuable to your brand’s buyer personas. By picking the right formats of lead-generation content based on your industry and the preferences of your customer segments, you can move them beyond the awareness stage to the consideration stage and finally to the decision stage. Make sure to keep an eye on each format’s performance to fine-tune and pick the ones that perform the best.

Here are a few content formats to consider:

Educational blog posts and articles

Blog posts and articles are a great way to provide valuable information to your target audience while showcasing your expertise. Blogs can cover a wide range of topics related to your industry, address common pain points, and offer solutions.

Industry examples: This format works well for businesses in the B2B space, such as consulting firms, software companies, or professional services providers, where thought-leadership articles can establish credibility and build trust.

Introductory videos and animations

Short, visually appealing videos that showcase your products in action can be highly effective in capturing the interest of potential customers. These videos can highlight key features, demonstrate product usage, or even incorporate humor and storytelling to make them more memorable. In fact, 36% of social media marketers say short-form videos offer the highest ROI, according to a 2024 HubSpot report.

Industry examples: Businesses in industries like technology, healthcare, or manufacturing can benefit from explainer videos that break down complex topics into easily digestible content. B2C product companies can also use humorous, candid video content to promote their products.

Informative infographics and visual content

While informative content is essential, presenting it in a visually appealing and digestible format can capture the attention of potential customers more effectively. Infographics, illustrations, and other visual assets can communicate complex information or product features in an engaging and accessible way.

Industry examples: Businesses in data-driven industries, like finance, marketing, or research organizations, can effectively leverage infographics to communicate key insights and trends. Any B2C business with a complex or overwhelming product or service offering, such as legal services, healthcare, or telecommunications, can use infographics to simplify their offerings.

Interactive quizzes and assessments

Interactive content, such as quizzes, assessments, and calculators, can engage potential customers and help them better understand their needs or preferences while introducing them to your products or services. These interactive experiences can also provide personalized recommendations based on their responses.

Industry examples: Businesses in industries like e-commerce, fitness, or personal finance can use interactive content to introduce products or services in a fun and memorable way.

Engaging social media content

A whopping 82% of marketers report that social media marketing was effective in boosting their digital marketing efforts in 2023. This is primarily because enterprises can quickly deploy social media campaigns to reach new target demographics and build brand awareness.

Captivating social media content, such as product highlights, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and user-generated content can further build brand awareness and trust. You can also partner with like-minded influencers with similar customer bases to build familiarity and help you get one step closer to a conversion.

Industry examples: Businesses in consumer-facing industries, like fashion, food and beverage, or entertainment, can leverage social media to showcase products and build a loyal following.

4. Create lasting impressions through experiential marketing

Experiential marketing focuses on creating interactive and immersive experiences that allow the target audience to engage with the products on a sensory and emotional level. Enterprises can make use of interactive installations and pop-up events to create a lasting impression and foster a deeper connection with their audience.

Spending on experiential marketing increased by over 15% in 2023, making it the fastest-growing channel among all platforms. 29% of marketers already use experiential marketing as part of their strategy, and 51% find it the second most effective method to find their target audience.

Glade, the air freshener brand, created a unique “Museum of Feelings” in New York City. The interactive exhibit featured multi-sensory installations designed to evoke emotions through scents, visuals, and sounds. Visitors could explore rooms representing emotions like joy, nostalgia, and calm, each with a distinct scent and interactive elements. This experiential campaign helped Glade connect with consumers emotionally and reinforce its brand as a provider of sensory experiences.

Here are some ideas to leverage experiential marketing to guide potential customers to the next stage of the marketing funnel:

• Pop-up shops: Use temporary retail spaces to offer unique, themed experiences that can attract attention and generate buzz.
• Interactive installations: Design engaging displays or installations in public spaces or host events that engage customers through multiple senses like taste, smell, or touch to create a memorable connection with your brand.
• Product demonstrations: Host live demos, allowing customers to see, touch, and experience your products firsthand.
• Virtual reality (VR) experiences: Use VR to create immersive experiences that transport customers to different environments or scenarios related to your product or brand.
• Experiential stunts: Plan unexpected and attention-grabbing stunts or flash mobs that draw public attention and media coverage.

By creating memorable and shareable moments that showcase your brand’s personality and values, you can increase brand visibility and make lasting connections with your target audience.

5. Implement neuromarketing for enhanced product discovery

Supermarket shelves are lined with competing products. Think of how easy it is for a customer to choose your competitors’ products. Maybe your packaging is less inviting or your competitor offers a discount or their messaging is more compelling. Such nuances can make a huge difference when it comes to your ROI. This is where employing the proper neuromarketing techniques can help.

Neuromarketing is a field of marketing that uses neuroscience techniques to study and understand consumers’ sensory and cognitive responses in response to marketing stimuli. By delving into the subconscious realm of consumer behavior, neuromarketing offers a groundbreaking approach to product discovery.

For instance, consider the case of Frito-Lay, which utilized neuromarketing research to revamp its packaging design to appeal to its female demographics. They monitored the communication center in the brain and deciphered how women relate snacking to guilt. Frito-Lay then designed new packaging and ads that reduced feelings of guilt and resonated emotionally with women.

Enterprises can similarly implement neuromarketing through neuroimaging technologies like EEG and fMRI to measure brain activity and emotional responses to various stimuli to identify what resonates with consumers. While the technology might seem advanced, companies can start small by partnering with specialized neuromarketing firms to run pilot studies and gradually integrate these insights with traditional market research methods to understand consumer behavior and make well-informed decisions.

To fully benefit from neuromarketing, companies should encourage collaboration between marketing, product design, and neuroscience experts to seamlessly integrate neuromarketing insights into product development, design, and discovery processes.

6. Position your brand as an industry expert

Thought leadership can significantly enhance reach during the initial awareness stage by positioning the brand as an authoritative voice in its industry. By creating and sharing high-quality, insightful content that speaks directly to the pain points, opinions, likes, and interests of your target audience, you can showcase your company’s expertise and establish your brand as a trusted resource.

Take Optum, a health services and innovation company, that excels at using thought leadership to expand their reach and drive long-term engagement. Optum produces a wide array of content, including white papers, research reports, and expert articles that delve into critical healthcare topics. By consistently providing valuable and actionable insights, Optum positions itself as a trusted resource in the healthcare sector.

Here’s how you can do the same too:

• Build a thought-leadership hub: Create a dedicated section on your website that’s easily accessible and well-organized to house all your thought-leadership content. This hub should explore various topics in formats such as white papers, case studies, reports, and long-form articles.
• Create, optimize, and distribute content: Develop comprehensive, research-backed content addressing industry issues and trends. Optimize for SEO with keywords, meta descriptions, and high-quality backlinks. Distribute through your web properties, industry publications, and social media for maximum reach.
• Conduct webinars and live events: To boost your brand’s visibility, host webinars, podcasts, and live events featuring your company’s experts and industry leaders. Engage directly with your audience, answer their questions, and provide deep insights into complex topics.
• Publish in reputable outlets: Contribute articles and research findings to reputable industry publications and journals to improve brand credibility and reach a wider audience.

Thought leadership is not a one-time effort but a continuous process. Develop a long-term content creation strategy that consistently delivers high-quality, relevant information to your audience. This sustained effort helps build a loyal following and ensures your brand remains top-of-mind.

7. Maximize brand exposure through a cohesive online and offline approach

For multi-location product-based companies, strategically leveraging a mix of online and offline channels is the best way to enhance visibility and create a unified customer experience.

For instance, the global furniture retailer IKEA has perfected the omnichannel approach. IKEA’s strategy involves providing immersive in-store experiences where customers can visualize products in model rooms. However, IKEA doesn’t stop there.

It also extends this immersive experience online through the IKEA Place app, allowing for augmented reality-based furniture placement at home. By consistently engaging customers across these channels, IKEA reinforces its brand presence and identity, making its brand more memorable and top-of-mind for consumers. This integration ensures a seamless transition from physical to digital interactions, ultimately enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction.

To create your own cohesive online and offline marketing strategy, try the following:

• Identify and utilize offline opportunities that align with your brand values and can attract your target customers. These opportunities could include specific events or time frames relevant to your brand and target market. For instance, a clothing brand targeting winter wear could focus on touchpoints around the beginning of the winter season, while a stationery store might concentrate on the start of the academic year.
• Develop a robust digital infrastructure to support and enhance these offline experiences. For instance, use mobile apps for event registration, personalized product recommendations, or virtual try-on features.
• Promote offline experiences through social media channels to drive attendance and engagement. Use event-specific or deal-specific hashtags to create buzz and encourage user-generated content.
• Create location-specific ads to highlight and promote your offline events or deals using Yelp Spotlight Ads. These ads feature regional specials and messages right on Yelp’s homepage.
• Ensure that your branding, messaging, and visual elements are consistent across all online and offline platforms to create a unified brand image.
• Integrate data from all touchpoints with your CRM to create a 360-degree view of the customer, which helps deliver highly personalized experiences right from the initial point of contact.

Implementing these strategies can create a cohesive and immersive customer experience that maximizes brand exposure and sets the stage for deeper engagement and long-term loyalty.

Captivate your audience from the start

The awareness stage is the pivotal moment in the buyer journey where first impressions are formed. At this critical juncture, brands have the chance to showcase their value proposition and relevance among potential customers.

Grab their attention and their business by building compelling brand narratives and leveraging content marketing efforts to the fullest. Deploy innovative enterprise marketing solutions for the awareness stage, like neuromarketing and experiential marketing. Choose the marketing strategies that will help you promote your expertise online and offline so your enterprise stands out in the crowd.

For more ideas to differentiate yourself from your competitors, here are five enterprise advertising strategies with examples to get you started.