5 Brilliant Brand Advocacy Tips: For HR And Marketing Teams

In an ad-saturated world, people (your customers) are becoming increasingly skeptical of traditional marketing tactics.

Did you know that, on average, people in the U.S. are exposed to an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 ads per day across TV, social media, websites, billboards, and other media? That's a mind-bending number of ads being pushed—and that's where brand advocacy comes in.

Brands now need authentic marketing strategies.

At Vouch, we've amazing customers like Canva, HubSpot, Nike, Amazon, and more - and you can see them promoting Vouch video here as an example of brand advocacy you can use: https://vouchfor.com/customers

So, whether you are a small business or a large marketing team, authentically promoting your brand is everything today.

Let's dive in.

Key Takeaways

• Brand advocacy is a marketing strategy where your happy customers promote your brand, product, or services for you.
• Some advantages of brand advocacy are boosting the brand's credibility, nurturing consumer trust, and increasing sales.
• The same strategy can be used for your employer brand, where your employees are your advocates, too.
• Modern video tools like Vouch make authentic brand advocacy much simpler for you and your happy clients.
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What is Brand Advocacy?

When it comes to the most effective marketing strategies in 2024, brand advocacy tops the list for many companies. 

Brand advocacy is where your happy customers promote your brand's products or services on social media and through word-of-mouth referrals across all kinds of channels, both in person and online. 

The people self-promoting your business are called advocates. 

What Are Some Brand Advocacy Statistic To Present To My Team?

If your business has yet to work on creating brand advocates, these statistics can help present your ideas and strategies internally, as they are compelling numbers.

Powerful brand advocacy statistics:

• Nielsen Global Survey reported that 77% of people worldwide trust new product recommendations from family and friends.
• HubSpot stated that 71% of people are more likely to buy something from social media referrals.
• Deloitte says that customers who other customers bring in are 37% more likely to stay with the company.
• 81% of shoppers in the U.S. are influenced by what their friends post on social media. (Forbes, Market Force)
• Brand advocates have a 50% higher chance of influencing a purchase. (MarketingCharts)

The numbers say it all. Brand advocacy is built around social proof and consumer trust, and it's the most powerful marketing technique for most businesses, even B2B companies. 
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What Are The Biggest Benefits Of Brand Advocacy?

Brand advocacy isn't just "people liking your goods" - it's when people love your brand so much that they are compelled to tell others about it. It's your company's overall customer experience (CX) that matters. 

The benefits of leveraging brand advocacy:

Increased Brand Credibility

Potential customers are more likely to trust your brand if it has endorsements from real people, like recommendations from friends and families. It's all about building trust as fast as you can, which also reduces conversion times.

Extended Reach 

Supporters of your brand are likely to use social media and other websites to promote it to friends and family. This word-of-mouth advertising can help you reach a far larger audience than your marketing or P.R. team can alone.

Extremely Cost-Effective 

Traditional advertising strategies are costly. Brand advocacy, on the other hand, is remarkably cost-effective, often with an unparalleled push-style marketing ROI. This is because all you need is a single video tool like Vouch!

Authentic Ever-Green Content

People who support a brand often create the most authentic content, which is as close as ever-green content can be because it's not usually based on technology or market trends - it's based on experience.

Improved Customer Loyalty 

The closer your customers get and think about your business, the more loyal they will naturally become. Brand advocacy is not only about creating new customers; it's also about ensuring your current customers return.

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What Are 5 Tips For Effective Brand Advocacy Strategy?

Setting up an organized brand advocacy program is an essential and effective marketing tool. Here are five crucial tips to help marketing teams build and maintain a strong brand advocacy program.

1) Identify Your Advocates

Finding your brand's advocates is the first step. You can always ask customers for feedback as a guide, and the ones who respond positively are the perfect brand advocate candidates to contact. 

2) Engage with Your Advocates

Getting involved with your supporters is essential once you know who they are. Thank them for their support and make them feel vital to your brand. To achieve this, you can:

• Interact on social media by answering comments, mentions, or messages on various platforms. Encouraging customer feedback is also a great plus for your brand's aim of providing excellent customer service.  
• Send personalized emails acknowledging their support and even make an exclusive offer to one of your products or services.
• Create exclusive events or webinars for your advocates to make them feel like VIPs.
• And one we love, send them your "brand swag" with high-quality merchandise such as T-shirts, mugs, etc. This might sound odd if you've never done it, but trust us, it really helps your company stand out as a caring team that is real.

3) Offer Incentives

Sometimes, a great brand advocate will promote your business for a little while, and then life gets busy. That's when thank-you rewards help, like special deals or a free entry into a giveaway that only your brand advocates get. Be sure to separate your brand advocates and give them a VIP experience at all times; do not just group them into other promos.

4) Create Amazingly Shareable Content

Creating shareable company content with modern video tools like Vouch makes it much easier for your advocates to spread the word about your company. Vouch videos on your social media accounts are perfect for sharing. Make sure the content is remarkable at all times.

5) Measure and Track Results

Monitoring and measuring the outcomes of your brand advocacy is crucial. This will help you understand which strategies are working best and make any necessary changes.

To measure your brand advocacy, you need to go beyond monitoring social media analytics or metrics, such as likes, shares, comments, and mentions - and watch what people are actually saying and doing. 

You need to monitor the story people are telling, too.

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FAQs

What is Brand Advocacy, and why is it important?

Brand advocacy is a marketing strategy in which satisfied customers promote your brand's products or services through various channels, such as social media and word-of-mouth. It's crucial in today's ad-saturated world because it builds the trust needed to grow sales and reduce conversion times.

What are some compelling statistics on brand advocacy?

The stats behind brand advocacy are pretty remarkable, here are a few:

• 77% of people trust recommendations from family and friends. (Nielsen Global Survey)
• 71% of people are more likely to buy something based on social media referrals. (HubSpot)
• Customers referred by other customers are 37% more likely to stay with the company. (Deloitte)
• 81% of shoppers in the U.S. are influenced by what their friends post on social media. (Forbes, Market Force)
• Brand advocates have a 50% higher chance of influencing a purchase. (MarketingCharts)

What are the key benefits of brand advocacy?

The benefits run deeper than just more sales. Your brand advocates are also helping you stand out from your competitors. Here are a few benefits:

• Increased brand credibility and trust.
• Extended reach through word-of-mouth and social media.
• Cost-effectiveness compared to traditional advertising.
• Authentic, evergreen content creation.
• Improved customer loyalty and retention.
• Stand out in a saturated marketplace.

How can video tools like Vouch enhance brand advocacy efforts?

Video tools like Vouch make it easier to create authentic content that resonates with your audience. By leveraging such tools, you can create compelling videos that showcase your brand's story, products, and services, making it easier for advocates to share and promote your brand across various channels.

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Ready To Build A Brand That Gets Talked About?

By following these tips, you can establish a robust network of brand advocates. Just remember that brand support isn't just about getting people to talk about your brand; it's also about making your brand something people want to talk about. 

Be sure to try tools like Vouch that make life easier for you and your brand advocates, and share content online and across all kinds of social media channels. 
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Like to try Vouch?

Loved by companies like Canva, Nike, Cisco, Stryker, HubSpot, Amazon, and more, tools like Vouch make leveraging video in your business remarkably easy.

Be sure to book a Vouch demo today to chat with a video content expert.