Unlocking the Power of First Impressions: Crafting a Strategy that Captivates in the Awareness Stage

by Joseph Njau Kinyanjui

In previous articles, we have explored key concepts like the importance of context and perception in enhancing your marketing communications, as well as improving your digital communication strategies overall. This week, we bring everything full circle by introducing a familiar but essential tool in marketing communication — the Marketing Funnel. Though not a new concept, the funnel remains one of the most effective frameworks for understanding and guiding customer journeys, from initial awareness to eventual brand loyalty.

Much like diagnosing an ailment requires identifying the right symptoms to prescribe effective treatment, leveraging the funnel requires a clear understanding of your target audience's needs, behaviors, and motivations at every stage. Blind or generalized application without these insights can lead to wasted efforts and poor outcomes. When properly contextualized, and aligned with strategies such as audience segmentation, data analytics, and brand positioning, the funnel becomes a transformative tool.

To demystify this further, think of the funnel in stages — Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action (AIDA), a theory developed to map out the journey consumers take from learning about a brand to making a purchase. Tailoring communication strategies for each stage ensures your brand message resonates appropriately, whether you’re building brand awareness or nurturing customer loyalty. Effective use of the funnel strategy requires adapting your messaging to fit where your customer is on their journey.

In keeping with last week’s insights, applying the funnel effectively depends on conditions like understanding your brand’s unique selling proposition (USP) and crafting personalized communication strategies that meet your audience where they are. Now, let’s explore the Marketing Funnel and its potential for elevating your brand or business strategy.

Origins of the Marketing Funnel: The AIDA Model

To build on our understanding, it’s essential to conceptualize how consumers transition from initial exposure to a brand or product, to making a purchase decision. In 1898, E. St. Elmo Lewis developed what has become the foundational framework for this process—the marketing funnel. Often referenced through the stages of Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action, this model has guided marketers and communicators for over a century in bridging the gap between consumer curiosity and purchase conversion.

By focusing on each stage of the funnel, businesses gain the insight needed to tailor their strategies, nurture leads, and maximize conversion rates. For example, during the Awareness stage, the objective is to introduce the brand and capture attention through broad messaging channels like social media, content marketing, or paid advertisements. In the Interest phase, businesses provide value-driven content or experiences to keep consumers engaged and informed. As consumers move to the Desire stage, brands can personalize their offerings to create an emotional connection, leading to the final step—Action—where the consumer decides to make a purchase.

This century-old model remains foundational even in modern marketing, helping businesses design campaigns that effectively address customer needs at every decision-making stage. Understanding and strategically employing the funnel allows brands to foster deeper engagement, improve brand loyalty, and ultimately drive sales growth.

The marketing funnel: Awareness

Building upon our exploration of the marketing funnel and its importance to your overall strategy, we now turn our attention to the first key stage: Awareness. As the name suggests, this phase marks the initial encounter a potential customer has with your brand. Whether driven by their search for solutions to a specific problem or prompted by your strategic outreach, the goal is to position your brand as a compelling answer to their needs.

This stage often takes two forms: a user-generated journey, where a prospect actively seeks information and stumbles upon your offering during research, or a business-led initiative, where targeted campaigns proactively introduce your brand to a wider audience. In both cases, the pain point—the problem your customer seeks to resolve—becomes the critical intersection between your audience and your brand.

As the saying goes, "First impressions last," and in today's fast-paced digital world, where attention spans are fleeting, making a memorable impact from the outset is vital. With the rise of social media and content overload, standing out requires thoughtful and tailored strategies. The awareness stage is your opportunity to craft that lasting impression and communicate your value clearly and compellingly.

In this stage, various approaches can be employed to ensure your brand is positioned favorably from the start.

Crafting Awareness Through Personas

it’s important to highlight a key ingredient in crafting strategies for first impressions—customer personas. These are digital representations of your target audience, built to understand who your brand is speaking to and how best to approach and engage them. Personas guide not only how you introduce your brand but also how you refine messaging for different audience segments throughout the customer journey.

Meet Ian: a dynamic and adventurous campus student aged 18-26, embodying a lifestyle driven by experiences and exploration. Ian thrives on spontaneity—whether it's late-night parties, impromptu road trips, or discovering new blockbusters with friends. His love for hiking, safaris, and fast food after nights out make him a prime candidate for brands offering adventure gear, affordable fashion, or exclusive experience-driven deals. Tech-savvy and socially connected, Ian spends much of his time on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, following trends, influencers, and music artists.

Why does creating personas like Ian matter?

It helps businesses position their brand in a way that resonates with the specific needs, behaviors, and motivations of their audience. As we noted earlier, understanding the intersection of consumer pain points and your brand’s solutions is crucial for effective awareness strategies. Ian’s persona reveals insights such as:

• Pain Points: Budget constraints despite a desire for high-quality, stylish products
• Motivations: Seeking memorable experiences and social connection
• Preferred Platforms: Highly visual, fast-paced environments like TikTok and Instagram
• Language and Tone: Relatable, informal messaging that aligns with his youthful, adventurous vibe

By crafting messaging and strategies that reflect these characteristics, brands increase their chances of making a lasting first impression—one that sticks. AB testing, where multiple strategies are tried and refined using performance data, can help validate persona-driven messaging and ensure alignment with the actual audience.

Positioning Your Brand: Crafting Awareness Strategies

Having created personas to represent your audience, it's essential to recognize that your target market may consist of multiple segments. From primary audiences like Ian to secondary or even tertiary ones, these personas help you understand who else might resonate with your brand by identifying audiences that resemble your primary demographic—think "friends of friends." But let’s not digress too far.

The next crucial step in the awareness stage is positioning—determining where and how to place your brand to capture the audience's attention effectively. As a newcomer to this journey, it might feel overwhelming, but breaking it into manageable steps will help ease the process.

We’ve already identified your persona, Ian, who spends much of his time on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The next task is understanding how to position your brand as the ideal partner to solve his pain points. For instance, if you're a local fashion brand, how do you capture Ian's attention? Chances are, ideas are already forming—perhaps influencer collaborations, trendy content, or engaging challenges come to mind.

Here’s where asking the right questions becomes vital:

• What problem are you solving?
• Where does your audience spend their time?
• What type of content resonates with them?

When it comes to execution, you have two primary approaches: organic campaigns and paid campaigns. Each has its benefits:

• Organic Campaigns: These are long-term strategies aimed at building brand authority and community engagement. Tactics can include storytelling, user-generated content, and regular social media posts.
• Paid Campaigns: These offer versatility and faster reach, allowing you to target specific audiences with precision. Examples include sponsored posts, social media ads, and influencer marketing.

While organic campaigns build authenticity and long-term brand loyalty, paid efforts accelerate visibility. A strategic blend of both often proves most effective, especially when targeting a dynamic persona like Ian.

This leads us to the introduction of a key element in your marketing journey—the marketing plan. Here, you set and explore both long-term and short-term goals to navigate the awareness stage successfully. By crafting campaigns that balance organic growth and paid initiatives, your brand can position itself effectively as a go-to solution, building awareness that translates into lasting connections with your audience.

Setting Marketing Goals: Anchoring Your Strategy

A marketing exercise without a clear plan or goal is like a kite without an anchor—directionless and susceptible to drifting aimlessly. So, how do you avoid this? It starts by asking: What do you intend to achieve?

One personal approach I’ve found effective involves visualizing goals on a “number line.” I draw a line, mapping out both long-term and short-term objectives. While this method works for me, finding a system that suits your thought process is key to maintaining focus and clarity.

Under the awareness stage, marketing goals can be divided into:

• Short-Term Goals: These may focus on immediate visibility, brand recognition, or increasing engagement rates through campaigns or product launches.
• Long-Term Goals: These often aim at positioning the brand as an industry leader, cultivating trust, and building lasting relationships with audiences.

Using these goals as indicators and guardrails ensures your marketing efforts stay on course. They help clarify what each strategy—whether organic or paid—should target.

Similar to market entry pricing strategies (e.g., penetration pricing or premium pricing), your approach to blending organic and paid marketing strategies will depend on positioning goals:

• Organic Strategies for Long-Term Success: These methods help establish your brand as a trusted authority. Examples include creating insightful blogs, publishing thought leadership pieces, engaging in industry commentary, and even sharing original research. The digital sphere’s dynamic nature demands consistency and time, making organic strategies essential for building credibility and long-term relationships.
• Paid Strategies for Immediate Impact: While organic efforts lay the foundation, paid campaigns accelerate visibility and help maintain a competitive edge. They serve as a strategic complement, ensuring your brand reaches its target audience efficiently.

Short-term and long-term objectives are not separate entities; they work together to complement your overarching marketing agenda. Each campaign, exercise, or initiative should support the broader strategy rather than function in isolation. This synergy ensures that both organic and paid efforts drive measurable results, enhancing your brand's visibility, authority, and relevance in a competitive marketplace.

Staying Focused on Your Audience

Throughout this journey, one guiding principle remains clear: never lose sight of your audience. Losing that focus introduces noise into your communication process, creating misunderstandings or diluting your message. This is a breakdown in communication—and one that effective marketers simply cannot afford.

We’ve explored transformative concepts and strategies for navigating the awareness stage, emphasizing audience personas, positioning, and balancing organic and paid approaches. These strategies are not isolated tactics but interconnected steps that revolve around knowing your audience deeply and asking the right questions to guide your messaging.

Remember, each initiative builds upon the last, creating a cohesive approach that aligns your brand’s message with your audience’s expectations and needs. Crafting a communication strategy isn’t about isolated tactics but rather a comprehensive ecosystem where every piece plays a crucial role.

There’s more to uncover as we move forward—deeper insights and strategies designed to elevate your brand’s communication journey. I encourage you to reflect on these concepts, apply them to your unique context, and share your thoughts or experiences. Your insights will enrich this exploration and help us all grow together.