If you are unsure or the answer is an outright no. Then here are a few reasons (and tips) on why and how you should start developing those relationships right now.
First let us understand who your brand advocates are.
A brand advocate is someone who elevates your brand through word of mouth marketing.
Brand advocates leave positive reviews about your product. They also refer new customers and create content on your behalf. Brand advocates even contribute useful insights to your user personas.
Now that 92% of customers seek social recommendations before buying, advocates are a powerful part of your marketing strategy. – Sproutsocial.com
Got them in mind?
Ok, lets now look at some reasons why these brand advocates will be so important and how we can use them.
Brand Advocates are avid content creators.
That means that on average just one of your brand advocates will be likely to reach at least 155 people with a single post, promoting your brand, for free.
Here’s the best bit, they probably are already doing it, because advocates are not generally in it for the money, they do it because they are passionate about what you do, who you are and your products or service.
If anything you will at least have a whole bunch of free top quality social media content, that is already getting noticed, and you know the owners will be more than happy for you to like, comment and even share on your own page, saving you a lot of effort.
People Buy From People.
In the travel and tourism industry, 86% (climbing to 90% for Gen Z and Millennials) of people said that they made decisions of where to go and what to do based on what they saw on social media posted by friends, family or people they trusted.
Wow, why do we even bother paying for sales staff, seems to make more sense to hire your mum, let her do all the selling, after all let’s face it she will always be your number 1 fan, and she loves to tell everybody what you doing, even if she doesn’t quite understand it.
Brand Advocates Are Loyal.
Remember, Advocates are Friends NOT Employees.
– Find them – Use social listening tools or look on review sites (TripAdvisor if you are a travel/tourism brand) and contact those who have given amazing reviews.
– Share and comment nice things on their social posts that talk about your products.
– Offer them free products or offers – Although they are not looking for money, they do value recognition above all else, so do this publicly and make them feel valued, it will pay off in the long run.
If you want to find out how Beanstalk Social can help you make the most of your brand advocates, then please drop us a line, we are always happy to chat.