Best Practices of Brand Advocacy Execution

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5 Essential Steps it Takes to Properly Execute the Successful Management of a

Community of Brand Advocates1 Creativity2 Frequency3 Diversity4 Continuity5 Longevity

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Best Practices of Brand Advocacy Execution presented by

1 Creativity (of content and curation)

An advocacy program should act as a complimentarycomponent to a brand's preexisting social, digital, andtraditional marketing effortsAdvocates act as organic amplifiers of your message and contentProviding unique and creative content will further engage advocates to take action on your behalfCurating the creativity of advocates will also stimulate additional interaction and participationCrowd source ideas, opinions, and feedback from your advocates to help them become a part of the creative process

Get creative and I’llcontribute more often!

A few examples:Outside the box initiatives that stretch beyond social sharing

Prompt real world interactions between advocates

Tasks which prompt personal stories, photos, and videos

Contests and give aways which provide instant gratification

Unique offers, coupons, and incentives

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Best Practices of Brand Advocacy Execution presented by

2 Frequency (of outreach and communication)

An advocate wants to hear from you more often because they love (not like) your brandCommunicate regularly with an advocate community to ensure your brand stays top of mind

A few examples:Update your advocates daily with a status/feed post

Notify your community of urgent or important info with email notifications

Set up regular reoccurring outreach such as a weekly newsletter

Utilize chat rooms and forums for group discussions

I want to hear fromyou, I promise!

Disseminate your content frequently so advocatescan choose when to engage on their own timeTarget your outreach in the form of status updates, messaging, tasks, news, and announcements

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Best Practices of Brand Advocacy Execution presented by

3Just because your brand primarily focuses on one or two socialchannels doesn’t mean your advocates have the same preferenceGive multiple options to advocates when asking them to share your brand’s message and contentUtilize advocates to launch and test new communities on new social channels as they are likely early adopters to begin withDon’t forget about the real world as the majority of word of mouth interactions and recommendations still happen offlineDiversify your identification process across all communities as advocates may not see your call to action the first time

A few examples:Go beyond the status update with Facebook, utilizing events, photo tags, timeline, etc.

Tweets and RT’s are only the start, engage your followers to become influencers for your brand

Pinterest is excellent for product focused brands and allows for mass syndication

Tumblr offers a unique social blogging platform where tags can attract attention and clicks

Google+ is powerful for those early adopters who are on board, start early and win later

Completely visual, Instagram is an excellent tool for advocates to use to share your brand’s story

Diversity (of social channels and WOM)Just because you’re not using Instagram doesn’t mean I’m not

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Best Practices of Brand Advocacy Execution presented by

4 Continuity (of your message)

Stay consistent with your overall theme and messageBe up front and transparent from the start, letting advocates know the goal of the program

A few examples:Choose a creative theme/name for your community that ties in with your brand

Create unique visuals and branded elements that entice participation

Utilize all forms of communication to tie the goals and branding together

Keep advocates informed of ongoing campaign and marketing initiatives

Make sure your community knows there is a human behind the curtainDon't confuse advocates by asking them to share content that doesn't pertain to your core brand

Keep it real and consistent, I’m a

real person!

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Best Practices of Brand Advocacy Execution presented by

5An advocacy program is not a short term solution The loyalty and relationships you will develop with your advocatestakes time and patience to generate impactful numbersBuild for the future, laying a foundation of trust and guidance that advocates will appreciate over the course of the programThink big picture. You’re creating a community of your most passionate consumers, treat them as suchEveryone likes a pat on the back. Make sure you continually thank and reward advocates for their efforts

A few examples:

Longevity (of the program)I’m not going anywhere,

I love your brand!

Integrate your advocacy program with all other marketing initiatives for maximum exposure

Make it fun by letting advocates get involved on every level

Gamify the process so it is fun and engaging for the long haul

Set up incentives that take time to achieve in addition to shorter term attention grabbers

Best Practices of Brand Advocacy Execution

presented by

All Content ©2012-2013 Fancorps

G.I. SandersCEO & Co-Founder

gi@fancorps.com / @gisanders