Brand advocates – A most effective marketing tactic

If you’re thinking that they are just consumers with paid incentives, you’re completely wrong. Try as you might, you can’t buy loyalty.

Brand advocates not only love and purchase from your brand, but they continuously share information and news related to your business, therefore expanding your social network. This makes your brand more visible to others and influences them to start engaging with you.

In fact, brand advocates are the most effective sales people in the commercial world. But who are these people and what motivates them to work for your benefit? Read on to find out.

Who are brand advocates?

They’re just ordinary people, but with more sales power for several reasons.

• They yield more trust from other consumers, simply because they are consumers themselves.
• Brand advocates are happy consumers. They have genuine passion when it comes to your products or services. And because they are so enthusiastic about your brand, people want a little bit of the same enthusiasm.
• They increase your social media following because they are re-sharing continuously about your brand. They are social media enthusiasts and love to share the good news.
• Forming a bond with your audience and customers is really important to have a loyal following. This is where brand advocates come in handy, because they make your bonding experience more personal. They are the ones that help you establish a more personal relationship with potential clients.

How do you create brand advocates?

• Offer rewards to returning customers. People love being rewarded for what they do, so if you can satisfy this need for a customer, they’ll turn into a happy camper who loves to pass the good word around about their experience.
• Create an e-mail list and keep e-mailing your loyal customers. Let them know that you are grateful for their loyalty and remind them of the benefits they can have by interacting with your brand.
• People stay with you when you regularly engage with them. They need to know that you’re always going to give them something for their devotion, and if you can, always give them more than they expect.
• Interact with your social media audience by asking them questions and starting conversations they can participate in. Engage with your audience on regular basis and respond to their queries.
• Be direct and quick when it comes to your responses. If you let your customers wait too long, they’re surely not going to turn into your brand advocates. Prompt communications establish better relationships.

Overall, there’s no better advertisement than a happy customer. Satisfy your customers and you’ll have the most effective marketing strategy out there. All it takes is a healthy level of devotion to take a regular customer and make them a brand advocate. Create many brand advocates, and your business will constantly grow.