Brand Advocacy

Brand Advocacy :

Brand advocacy is one of the most powerful tools of business marketing. It involves the promotion of the product/brand given its strong value proposition, and it comes down to word-of-mouth publicity. When people and communities discuss the product and consider it reliable for usage. Brand advocates can also be Key Opinion Leaders in a given industry, who stand by the offering of brands, to help their followers make the correct buying decisions. At SocioClout, we help brands find KOLs, who would further help brands reach out to their target groups. This makes authentic relationships between brands and influencers. 

We realize the importance of brand advocacy where audiences listen to influential personalities and their recommendations more over traditional marketing routes. By launching the brand advocacy program, we aim to nurture real relationships of brands with their most vocal and influential advocates.

Build a Brand Advocacy Program

1. Identify Potential Advocates:

Identification of potential brand advocates is a necessary first step in building a Brand Advocacy Program. These people are either passionate about the brand in the picture or could potentially love it once they learn of it. This group could form out of the following:

•   Loyal Customers
•   Social media personalities/celebrities
•   Industry experts
•   Enthusiastic employees

 At SocioClout, we use data-driven detailing to explore the potential advocates and reflect on the engagement metrics, purchase history and interactions on social media.

2. Recruitment and Onboarding:

After the identification of potential advocates, what is followed is their recruitment and onboarding in the program. The process begins with sending personalized invitations, explaining the program benefits and the participation methodology. When it comes to influencers, they could be offered exclusive access to special events, products, or partnerships. For customers, this could start with them winning loyalty rewards/points or early access to the latest products.

3. Educating and Informing Advocates:

The third step is to educate the brand advocates, about the brand values, product details and related marketing messages. This is done to ensure that the brand advocates effectively promote the brand. The process of doing so is often through integrated training sessions, welcome packs, and day-to-day updates. To make their communication efficient, we make it a point to equip them with the required tools and resources. Examples of the same include:

1. i) Shareable Content
2. ii) Product Samples

iii) Access to insider information 

Managing a Brand Advocacy Program

•   Continuous engagement is requisite for brand advocacy programs to become a success. We take care that Brand Advocates feel valued and energized, and keep the content coming consecutively. For instance, to appreciate their efforts we present them the opportunity to feature on the brand’s channels so they can keep growing their credibility. To keep them high-spirited, our team sends them information about new product launches and the positive impact of the brand.
•   By keeping tabs on brand advocates’ activities, our team can understand their impact and offer them support whenever needed. It allows us to track their performance on their digital channels while incorporating brand feedback. We respond to their queries with finesse, resolving any issues or misunderstandings (if any).
•   To measure the strength of this program, we study performance and conversion metrics. This set of data helps understand the return on investment of the program and which brand advocates are making a difference on their respective platforms. For future strategizing, we provide reports and analysis to the client, with recommendations.
•   The performance insights obtained from continuous monitoring of the brand advocacy program help in continuously improving the strategy. This also helps in refining the recruitment process of the Brand Advocate, launching new engagement ideas, or providing them with more resources.

At SocioClout, the attitude and process towards brand advocacy are driven by numbers. It takes into account the quality of work that the Brand Advocates produce, and the impact they leave.