It’s an accepted fact that you can’t determine if something is successful if you can’t measure it. Brand awareness is critical to companies in almost any industry, and its success or failure informs its marketing strategy. It should be noted, however, that brand awareness is an intangible concept, which is in and of itself quite difficult to measure. Perhaps people have heard of your company, but do they know what you sell? Even if they do, do they have a positive or negative feeling about how well you do it? Theses questions can drive marketers and CEOs mad, but there are some metric tools you can use to measure brand awareness analytically.

Measure Traffic and Social Media Engagement

Let’s start with an area where you can access hard numbers and interpret them easily. Look at the traffic to your website, starting with hits and page views. See where people are coming to your page. At the same time, look at your social media accounts. Of course, it’s important to have lots of followers but look closely at the people who are sharing, retweeting, liking, or embedding your content.

Take this information and compare it to the traffic and engagement numbers similar-sized businesses in your industry received. So much the better if you can stack yourself up against your direct competitors.

Track Value Earned

Value earned media is any free publicity or brand awareness you receive publicly without paying for it. In its truest sense, it is bonus advertisements given by media outlets as a sign of appreciation for ad dollars spent. But the term also applies to any free mentions you receive from people talking organically about your business on social media or in local news. Set Google Alerts for your business names and keeps a close eye on search engine and social media analytics to track this.

Focus on UX and Solicit Feedback

When it comes to brand awareness, your existing customers are obviously experts. You should already be focusing on creating the best possible user experience (UX) for them but pay attention to their feedback. Solicit it through surveys. Be sure to respond to comments and concerns through email or social media quickly, courteously, and personally. Don’t be afraid to ask them to share and ask them if you can share positive comments.

Your brand is your company’s identity, and it’s hard to break through so much clutter in the digital age. These tips will help you measure your success and craft your strategy.