Brand advocacy is all about building solid relationships with your audience. To find out what you should say to motivate your audience to advocate for your brand, you need to think about which brands you tell your friends about and why. Why do you spread the word about them? What makes them different? It’s probably the great product they offer or that friendly and efficient customer service.
The majority of brands are getting this all wrong. They view their audience as individual clicks and as dollar symbols, instead of relationships. It’s not about investing on advertising and making elaborate Facebook and Twitter templates. Personal interaction is what makes this advocacy happen. Creating that connection begins online now.
It’s self evident that people want to buy and support brands they like. Without the engagement and human interaction from your users, their value is diminished. Building advocacy is all about nurturing these relationships and experiences. You need to build an emotional connection. When users seek you out through social media, that’s what they are looking for.
What you need to do is build in emotional connection by making an effort to reach out to specific individuals and acknowledge their comments. You should also thank the individuals that share your content. The most important thing is to not take your social audience for granted. Authentic advocacy is the result of giving good consistent service, and delivering what your brand promises to do. Your present and future customers deserve to have an experience that resonates. It’s important to not be routine and keep it unique and interesting!
As soon as you have established your brand advocates, you need to make sure that they are heard. These people want to be heard, so make sure to re-tweet their tweets and their input on your website and social pages. Share their ideas and make sure to give them credit they deserve. Treat these people like valuable members of your team and make them feel as though they are a real part of your brand. Provide them with special offers and promotions. Their opinions and insights can provide you with information about your brand and even influence the direction of your brand. Simply, honor and invest in these relationships because that is where it all starts.