Word of mouth will always be the best way to acquire new business. Brand advocacy is an extension of word of mouth. How can you encourage employee brand advocacy, leverage existing relationships, and use influencers to extend the reach of your message?
What is a Brand Advocate?
A brand advocate is a person, or customer who talks favorably about a brand or product, and passes on positive word-of-mouth (WOM) messages about the brand.
Brand ambassador (celebrity spokesman) is a marketing term for a person employed by an organization or company to promote its products or services. The brand ambassador is meant to embody the corporate identity in appearance, demeanor, values, and ethics.
Why are you in Business?
Why does the company exist? I haven’t met an entrepreneur who started their business simply to make money; there is always a greater vision. Brand advocacy starts at the top. Are you conveying your vision?
What does the organization hope to achieve? What is the nature of the business? What are you committed to? Define the why and let others know. Better yet, get someone else to say it for you.
Leverage Influencers
People will trust a third party recommendation above what you say about yourself. Influencers are the key to spreading your vision. There are three steps to leveraging influencers. Rather than broadcasting a message to an ad-resistant mass audience, pick your ideal target market, find who they respect and focus on winning them over.
1. Know More
Knowing more about your audience means understanding their demographic and psychographic profile. When you’ve defined the age, gender, geographic location, income level, education level, etc., find out their psychographic profile.
2. Get Closer
Get closer by finding out what motivates them to make purchasing decisions. Remember any effort expended getting closer will improve your marketing return on investment (ROI) and is therefore a worthwhile endeavor.
Consider the three primary motivations outlined in the VALs framework. Is your audience motivated by self-expression, ideals, or achievement? Using your answer, consider what books they read or magazines they pick up, and how much television they watch. Utilize the media that interests them.
Write a profile of your ideal customer. Compare your sketch to the demographics and psychographics of print publications, radio stations, and social media networks. When you’ve found a match, spread your message.
3. Emotionally Connect
The third step in leveraging influencers is to emotionally connect. As a consultant, this may mean slow, but steady drip marketing. Email marketing is one means and still has a high ROI.
Emotional connection may mean one-on-one. You’ve already narrowed down who you want to talk to. Try LinkedIn’s search to find the names and contact info of specific individuals. Then make a phone call or email introduction.
Initiate a virtual or in person one-on-one. Come prepared with questions that will draw you closer and emotionally connect. Sharing a meal is one of the best ways to emotionally connect.
This is the time to build relationships. Don’t sign paperwork at this first meeting. Take the info back with you and devise a plan.
