Why Trying to Raise Awareness Results in “Spray & Pray” Marketing

And How to Close Perception Gaps Instead

The marketing leaders I work with often tell me, “We need more awareness.”

Their thinking is, “We just need more people to know about the issue and that we’re out here working to solve it.” Sounds simple enough… but if 10,000 people became aware of your organization tomorrow, would that actually move you closer to achieving your mission?

Probably not. Brands go viral all the time and it does very little to move metrics the CEO cares about.

Why?

Because awareness isn’t just one thing. It’s a sequence of beliefs that move someone from “I’ve heard of you” to “I trust you to solve this” to “I’m ready to act.” And until you’ve mapped that sequence, content creation is directionless… and ineffective.

When Everybody Is Aware... of the Wrong Things

Everyone and their dog has heard of The Salvation Army, so you’d think “awareness” wouldn’t be much of a problem for them.

But sometimes the bigger the brand, the bigger the Perception Gap.

Sure, people knew about the thrift stores. They’d seen the red kettles outside stores at Christmas. But most had no idea The Salvation Army is the single largest provider of social services outside the U.S. government, nor how the organization operates, nor exactly how donations are funneled.

That meant part of my role, as the lead social strategist on their account at The Richards Group, was fielding tweets from people upset at various things, like learning their old sweaters went to a “thrift store” to be sold for money (*clutches pearls*) instead of directly to a person in need.

More importantly, this Perception Gap often posed friction to driving year-end donations, securing corporate partnerships, and recruiting volunteers.

For social media to close that gap, we needed to create awareness of:

• The full scope of services they offer (addiction recovery, disaster relief, after-school programs, job training, emergency shelter, etc.)
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• How the organization actually operates (granting autonomy to local centers to decide which programs their communities need most)
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• How donations create impact (thrift store revenue and cash donations went to support free social services)

One of the most impactful things The Richards Group ever did to communicate the depth and breadth of their social services was coming up with the tagline, “Doing The Most Good.”
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But to bring that message to life on social, I had to get specific about all these layers.
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Otherwise, we’d just be shouting “We help people!” into the void… like every other nonprofit ever.

How to Get Granular About What Awareness Actually Means

When I build out a Strategy-First Social™ Playbook for clients, we map out exactly what people need to understand before they’ll take the desired action.

This becomes the foundation that drives every strategy, tactic, and piece of content downstream.

Here’s how we do it:

1. Define the role social media plays. What should it accomplish for your organization? (Beyond just “marketing” — consider talent recruitment, audience research, crisis management)

2. Break down “awareness” into 3-5 specific goals. What do people need to understand or believe before they’ll take action?

3. Map strategies for each awareness goal. How will you achieve each one? (These become your content themes, messaging pillars, partnership approaches)

4. Define tactics. What specific actions will you take to implement those strategies? (These lead into your content types, platforms, etc.)

5. Establish metrics that indicate success. How will you know if you’re closing those awareness gaps? (Not just vanity metrics; measures that indicate whether people understand what you need them to)

What an Effective Awareness Strategy Looks Like

Let’s say one of The Salvation Army’s goals was to create more awareness around the scale of homelessness.

Our strategy might be, Increase Homelessness Awareness: Help more people understand how many Americans live one emergency away from losing housing.

That’s specific. It immediately clarifies what kind of content to create. For example:

• Stories about families who lost housing after a medical emergency or job loss, and how TSA helped
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• Infographics showing the number of Americans with less than $400 in savings next to the costs of an ER visit

See the difference?

We’re not just posting “Here’s what we do” or “Support our emergency services.” Every piece of content has a precise job to do. And when you get this granular, you strategically build empathy, shift perception, and move people to action… instead of just hoping your message breaks through the noise.

So before you create one more piece of content: map it out.

What do you really need people to be aware of?

Until next time,

P.S. Are we LinkedIn friends yet? It’s where I hang out most often — don’t be a stranger!
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P.S. If your org has a Perception Gap that needs closing, book a Strategy Diagnostic Call and let’s talk it through. It’s 25 minutes, no hard pitch (not my style 💅), and you’ll leave with more clarity on what raising awareness really means for your brand.