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.

Who are Your Brand Advocates?

A brand advocate is anyone who supports your company’s growth and brand reputation management.

This includes:

  • Customers: Customers aren’t affiliated with your company. This makes their support more genuine and influential to future clients.
  • Employees: Employee advocates know everything about your business. Their inside knowledge combined with their relatable nature make them a powerful tool in advocacy.
  • Business partners: Charities, organizations and other companies affiliated with your brand also influence purchasing decisions.
  • Influencers: A well-known form of advocate, influencers extend your reach to a wider yet more targeted audience.

Finding a Brand Advocate

Earned media, including peer-to-peer referrals and word of mouth marketing, drives 4 times better results than paid media. However, you need to find your brand advocates first.

Identify people who have strong affiliations with your brand.

  • Visit review sites and contact people leaving high-quality testimonials
  • Use social listening tools and monitor engaged individuals on your channels
  • Speak to your partners about a mutual advocacy program

You’ll generate new brand advocates frequently with strong social customer service.

The Benefits of Brand Advocacy

76% of people say they’re more likely to trust content shared by “normal” people. Brand advocates are one of the most credible forms of advertising. Used correctly, a brand advocate:

  • Organically grows brand visibility: Brand advocates share your message with natural passion. They require very little effort or investment.
  • Demonstrates the value of products/services: People trust other people more than corporate messages. Brand advocates give more credibility to your USPs and business values, convincing customers to convert.
  • Generate media attention: Publications and news outlets prefer to feature companies with a strong fan base. A brand advocate opens the door to new promotional opportunities.
  • Achieves broader reach: The average social media user connects with more than 400 friends and family – including people you wouldn’t typically target. A brand advocate gives you access to new markets.
  • Make time for other business initiatives: With brand advocates offering free marketing, your company is free to pursue other growth strategies.

Supporting Brand Advocacy

A successful brand advocate program must be nurtured. There are plenty of ways to do this. Employee advocacy and brand advocacy tools support advocates by curating content for them to share. These tools also make it easier to track your advocacy campaigns.

Rewards and gamification also make advocacy more exciting for those involved. Focus on maintaining advocate loyalty with simple processes, support and compensation.