Brand awareness: Strategies and growth tips

Artyom Dovgopol

Brand awareness for IT companies and startups isn’t the result of massive marketing budgets, but rather the outcome of a consistent strategy built on a quality product, authentic communication, and a deep understanding of the target audience😉

Key takeaways 👌

What does “brand recognizability” mean?

It’s quite a broad term. Sure, when your customers randomly remember your brand’s name from time to time, that’s a good thing — but true recognition lies in patterns.

Chances are, if you see any sort of combination of red and yellow, you’ll think of McDonald’s — that’s real recognition. Certain colors, forms, sounds, and slogans, when combined, naturally draw customers’ thoughts toward your product.

This might sound like an ideal, even unattainable, scenario — something you should strive for, sure, but not exactly focus on. But have you seen how many products are out there these days? Recognizability isn’t just a nice bonus — it’s a vital part of your brand’s success, and what makes it truly stand out.

Why is IT product recognizability vital

Your app might be the result of dozens of hours of work by designers and developers, but if nobody knows about it, there’s really no point to it all. A good, recognizable image will give you a whole bunch of benefits:

• Organic installs, downloads, and registrations – if people have heard about your product, they’re more likely to try it.
• Low marketing costs – again, if your brand is recognizable, you don’t need to invest that much into advertising.
• Investor and partner trust – recognizability opens quite a few doors, especially when it comes to investments.
• Protection from competitors – it’s hard to switch to something unfamiliar, and consumers know that.
• Nice price flexibility – recognizable brands can afford to charge more, with clients still choosing them for all the reasons above.

Half of all unsuccessful startup cases end with “unskilled marketing.” And often, “unskilled” means exactly that — unrecognizable and unseen. A product can be great, but the right consumers need to actually find it first.

The paradox of brand awareness in tech: the less obsessed you are with becoming a famous brand, and the more focused you are on solving real user problems, the more likely your brand will become truly well-known. Google, Slack, and other giants didn’t chase fame—they were maniacally focused on building a useful product

Is Your Brand Recognizable?

Before we start improving your brand’s recognizability, it makes sense to first measure whether there’s any to begin with.

Basic Metrics

• Website traffic – check how often your brand’s website is visited directly from a web browser.
• Search engine traffic – look into how many times per day your brand’s name is searched on Google and other search engines.
• Share of Voice – how often is your brand mentioned compared to competitors?
• Social media mentions – are people talking about your brand without the push of major marketing campaigns?

Qualitative Research

• Logo recognition tests – can people identify your brand by the logo alone, without any text?
• Association tests – what associations does your brand evoke?
• "Top of mind" surveys – which brand comes to mind first in your category?

Technical Metrics for IT Products

• Brand search volume / Total search volume – the share of branded searches out of all category-related searches.
• Ratio of organic to paid installs – the higher the brand awareness, the more organic installs you’ll see.
• Bounce rate for new users – a well-known brand typically has a lower bounce rate because users already know what to expect.

And a bit more about brand awareness…

Want to dive deeper into brand visibility? Check out the article Integrating with social media: How to set up and use It for Business

How to boost brand recognition?

There are quite a few ways you can approach this matter, pick the one that fits your product the most.

• Build a brand identity that stays with the customers

Rich visual appeal. Logo, minimalistic but distinct design – all that can help you stand out.

Example. We all know Notion, whether we like it or not. And not all of us are project or content managers, certainly. So what’s the deal? Minimalistic, black-and-white logo, and a very clean design that etches itself into memory the moment you see it.

Practical advice. Don’t cheap out on your brand’s design. A proper investment in a well-thought-out and well-designed brand identity will pay you back in the long run. Don’t make things too complicated, and try to make them as simple and understandable as possible.

• Become an industry expert

IT-audience is really into product owners who know what they’re doing. So publish texts on topics related to your product, give lectures, educate, and show everyone around you how much you know.

Example. GitLab is the first thing that comes to mind when we think about DevOps, for a very good reason. The amount of raw knowledge these guys have on their website is absolutely staggering. And not just the amount, but the quality of it all – CI/CD guidelines written by this company became an industry standard.

Practical advice. Set up a proper content schedule with regular publications on topics that are interesting to your audience – one deep dive into a specific topic is miles better than five or ten posts that don’t even scratch the surface.

• Use the advantage of being a part of an IT community

IT industry has one very rich and lively community with its own language, memes, and communication channels – use it.

Example. Discord got popular with gamers and streamers first, and everyone else later. Why? They shipped game-related content in bulk, participated in forum discussions and relevant subreddits. Now it’s a central communication hub for a multi-billion-dollar gaming industry.

Practical advice. Find communities where your core audience likes to hang out: GitHub, Stack Overflow, Reddit, Habr, certain Instagram and Telegram channels. Don’t just spam ads in there — try to become a useful and helpful member of the community.

• Make something that makes people go “woah”

Creating something absolutely wondrous, outstanding, and never seen before is the quickest way to make your brand recognizable.

Example. Midjourney was one of the first services that allowed for AI-generated images. It’s a sad and mundane concept now, but back in the day, it absolutely blew everybody’s minds. The sheer number of reposts and shared pictures attracted thousands of new customers to the company.

Practical advice. Try to understand which feature of your product is the most prominent one and refine it to perfection — even if it means kinda dropping the ball here and there on its secondary functions. This specific feature must solve one very specific pain better than any other option on the market.

• Use communities and ambassadors to your advantage. In IT industry (and in any other out there), certain influential people can direct mass opinion towards or against certain products.

Example. Figma created a very thorough community of design ambassadors who were constantly busy with master classes and product-related lectures. Now, Figma is basically in every design agency on the planet.

Practical advice. Try to locate your most active users. Offer them access to the latest features, maybe some nice but limited merch, invite them behind the curtain – give them that status they’re craving. They could also become another member of your team.

• Personalize Communication with Users. A personal approach is the most memorable, especially in a digital environment.

Example. The Notion team sends personalized emails to users, highlighting their achievements within the product. And when a user contacts support, they receive a reply from a real person, not a generic template.

Practical advice. Automate personalized messages at key stages of the user journey — during registration, upon reaching certain usage milestones, or after a period of inactivity. Use the user’s name and reference their actions, avoiding overly formal language.

Steps to boost IT brand awareness

• Audit current brand perception. Survey your existing users and target audience to learn what associations your brand evokes. Analyze online mentions and discussions.
• Define your unique tone of voice. IT brands often sound the same. Find your own communication style—are you more friendly than your competitors? Or perhaps you emphasize your technical edge? Stay consistent across all channels.
• Invest in SEO with a focus on branded queries. Optimize your content not just for functional searches but also for your product name and its variations.
• Create a public product roadmap. Transparency attracts tech-savvy audiences and gives people a reason to talk about you.
• Form partnerships with complementary IT services. Integrations and joint projects are a great way to expand your reach.
• Participate in industry conferences and meetups. Speaking at technical events helps build credibility within the community.
• Measure results regularly. Track brand awareness metrics and adjust your strategy based on real data.

Conclusion

Brand awareness isn't about “getting rich quick,” it's about “staying in your customer’s mind long-term.” The clearer, closer, and more helpful your brand appears, the more likely people are to choose you. If you’re just starting out, begin small: pick one strategy and commit to it. Over time, brand awareness will become one of your strongest assets.

Recommended reading 🤓

"Summary of Building a StoryBrand", Abbey Beathan

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"MIND THE BRAND GAP", Constantin Singureanu

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"Branding: In Five and a Half Steps", Michael Johnson

A step-by-step manual on how to build a successful brand—from research to execution.

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