It’s simple, it’s a case of ‘love at first sight’, sometimes literally…
You can’t get rid of an avid advocate (a brand one that is, not the legal kind, although they are handy to have around… but that’s another story entirely. Focus…) Brand advocates are like a rockstar’s fans, they swarm over everything the star does, reports on everything he/she says, wears, eats and even does in their sleep. Brand advocates are seriously ‘in love’ with a brand and will talk about it at any opportunity.
And you, as the ‘rockstar’ need to be on top of your game…
News outlets, publications and people in general, stand up and take notice when your brand is on everyone’s lips…
You need to be developing brand visibility through company content, social sharing, advertising, and other marketing initiatives, across a plethora of platforms. Without brand visibility, the quality of your product or service is irrelevant if no one knows your company, what products you offer — or why it even matters.
I mean, if a budding rockstar doesn’t promote the upcoming gig, chances are only the camera crew and a couple of groupies will pitch, right?
This is why brand advocacy is a key element to growing your brand. You want/need people who love your product and will support your company and promote it to new customers organically, increasing its visibility to larger audiences and, ultimately, boosting revenue without you having to invest substantially in advertising or other traditional marketing initiatives.
Brand advocacy grows the brand visibility …
Think, do rockstars pay their fans to be there? No, the fans arrive because they already know what to expect, they know the product line up, expect to encounter a couple of new arrivals and can sing along with the current offering… They have already told everyone who will listen that the band (read brand) is coming and invited all their friends to come along and enjoy the event.
The key reason it’s crucial to get people talking about and pushing your brand and your offerings generally, over other forms of marketing, is that people overall, trust word-of-mouth references and input from colleagues, family, and friends. Stats show that 92% of online consumers trust recommendations from their social circles because there is something more authentic about people recommending something, over companies promoting their own services or product.
Your customers or clients play a key part of brand advocacy.
Generally, it’s your customers or your clients who are your biggest cheerleaders, so don’t disappoint them.
If you want to keep those advocates swarming, nurture them, keep them talking (about the good stuff), keep giving them what they want, keep surprising them with innovations, new line ups and other recommendable offerings, and you’ll have a fan for life!
