When it comes to improving brand awareness online, most businesses understand the importance of things like keeping their website up to date or maintaining an active presence on social media. But these are far from the only tactics you can use to find new potential customers and improve SEO rankings. Here are some other digital marketing tactics you may wish to consider to increase your brand awareness.

1. Podcasting

Many brands are building a digital audience by creating their own podcast. Podcasts are a great way to share your expertise and some of your best content in an engaging and interesting way — especially since over 73 million Americans listen to podcasts monthly. Podcasts are ideally suited for discussing topics relevant to your brand and its industry, and content produced for a podcast can be repurposed for blog posts, videos, and more.

Of course, you don’t have to produce a weekly podcast to get results from this marketing method. Many brands build awareness by sponsoring popular podcasts in their niche. Others use guest appearances on several different podcasts to talk about their brand and its journey.

Regardless of the method, it’s clear that podcasting can provide a big boost for brands. AdWeek reports that “65 percent of listeners [say] podcast ads increase purchase intent while another 45 percent [say] that they’re likely to visit an advertiser’s website after hearing an audio promo.”

2. Partnering With Micro-Influencers

You no longer have to snag sponsorships with big-name athletes or movie stars to make an impression with your audience. The popularity of Instagram, YouTube, and other social media platforms has led to the rise of digital influencers whose fans often number in the millions. Many brands build their audience by paying for sponsored posts or product reviews, gaining vital exposure to an influencer’s audience.

Working with the biggest influencers can be quite expensive, with a single post often costing tens of thousands of dollars. Because of this, many brands are turning to micro-influencers — such as Instagrammers whose followers number in the tens of thousands, rather than millions. Such influencers have a loyal, highly engaged audience, without demanding as much of your ad budget.

By doing your research to identify micro-influencers in your niche, you will find the right partnership opportunities to effectively introduce your brand to members of your target audience.

3. Referral Programs

Quite often, your current customers are your best resource for creating brand growth. Your current customers provide a source of organic advertising that is typically far more persuasive than a paid advertising message. After all, the friends of your current customers are quite likely to fit your target demographic. So why not let your fans do some of your marketing work?

Of course, sometimes your customers need a little extra incentive to spread the word. Referral programs that reward customers for becoming brand ambassadors will spur far greater results. For example, Dropbox achieved its tremendous growth simply by giving users free additional storage space when they referred a friend to sign up for the company’s services.

Other popular referral options include offering digital coupons or discounts in your online store, or simply running a social media contest where users must tag a friend for a chance to win a prize package.

Parting Thoughts

There is so much more to growing your brand online than fine-tuning your SEO campaign. As you invest in a diverse range of marketing tactics, you will be better equipped to reach new audiences that spur continual growth for your business.