Brand advocacy
Brand advocacy, or brand ambassadorship, is when customers, employees or fans recommend your brand of their own accord, without you paying them for it. It is the strongest form of word of mouth, precisely because the recommendation comes from someone who gains nothing from it. Here you can read how brand advocacy comes about and how to encourage it.
- 6 min read
What is brand advocacy?
Brand advocacy refers to the positive word of mouth and promotion of a brand by satisfied customers, employees or fans. These people are also called brand ambassadors because they voluntarily and sincerely share their enthusiasm for a brand with others. They tell others about their good experiences with your products or services, and encourage them to try the same brand.
Brand advocates are driven by their positive experiences with the brand and often have an emotional bond with the company. This makes their recommendations authentic and credible, which can lead to more trust from potential customers.
Who are brand advocates?
Brand advocates can be different groups of people, including:
- Customers: Satisfied customers who enthusiastically share your products or services with their friends, family and followers.
- Employees: Employees who believe in the company they work for and share this enthusiasm in their personal and professional networks.
- Influencers: Individuals with influential networks on social media or other platforms who promote your brand of their own accord because of their positive experiences.
- Partners: Businesses or business partners who like to share and recommend their positive collaboration with your brand.
Why is brand advocacy important?
Brand advocacy is one of the most powerful forms of marketing. Here are some reasons why it is so important:
1. Authentic recommendations
When customers or employees recommend your brand voluntarily, it often comes across as much more credible than paid ads. People trust recommendations from friends, family and even colleagues more than commercial ads. The authentic nature of brand advocates strengthens your brand's reputation and can lead to more trust from new customers.
2. Increased brand loyalty
Brand advocacy goes hand in hand with brand loyalty. Satisfied customers and employees who promote your brand are often very loyal and connected to the brand. This improves customer retention and keeps customers engaged with your products or services for longer.
3. Marketing cost savings
Although setting up a brand advocacy strategy takes time and effort, it can save costs in the long run. Because brand ambassadors promote your brand voluntarily, you reduce the need for expensive advertising campaigns. The positive word of mouth they generate is often more effective than traditional marketing channels.
4. Greater brand awareness
Brand advocates help spread your brand to a wider audience, often beyond your usual marketing channels. This can lead to greater brand awareness and reaching new customers you might not otherwise reach.
5. Improved customer relationships
By actively involving brand advocates in your brand, you strengthen the relationship with your existing customers. They feel valued and important to the brand's success, which increases their loyalty. This leads not only to higher customer satisfaction, but also to a deeper bond with your audience.
How do you set up a successful brand advocacy strategy?
Setting up an effective brand advocacy strategy requires a good understanding of your customers and their needs, as well as a considered approach. Here are some steps to get started:
1. Identify your brand advocates
The first step is identifying your most enthusiastic customers or employees who are willing to promote your brand. These are the people who often give positive feedback, share your brand on social media or actively take part in events and campaigns. Use tools such as customer satisfaction surveys, social listening and customer data to identify your brand advocates.
2. Build strong relationships
Building a relationship with your brand advocates is important. Make sure you are in regular contact with your brand ambassadors and appreciate their involvement. You can do this with personal thank-yous, discounts, exclusive content or events organised especially for them. Showing that you value their support strengthens the bond between them and the brand.
3. Encourage word of mouth
Encourage your brand advocates to share their positive experiences with their networks. You can do this by asking them to leave product reviews, mention your brand on social media or invite friends and family to promotions or events. Also create opportunities for them to share their opinion easily, for example by offering personalised shareable content.
4. Create a brand ambassador programme
A formal brand ambassador programme is a structured way to encourage brand advocacy. This programme can offer benefits to your ambassadors, such as exclusive access to new products, special discounts or even rewards for referring new customers. By setting up a structured programme, you can actively involve your brand advocates and increase their engagement.
Example: A cosmetics brand offers loyalty programmes in which loyal customers can receive free products by recommending other customers or by actively posting on social media about their favourite products.
5. Use social media
Social media is a strong platform for brand advocacy. Encourage your brand advocates to share their experiences on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. You can provide them with branded hashtags, contests or content that is easy to share. User-generated content (UGC) shared by your brand advocates can have an authentic and positive impact on your online reputation.
6. Measure the results
It is important to measure the effectiveness of your brand advocacy strategy. Use analytics tools to see how much word of mouth your brand advocates generate, how many new customers this attracts and what impact it has on your brand awareness and sales figures. Based on this data, you can optimise your strategy.
Examples of successful brand advocacy
Here are some successful examples of brand advocacy in practice:
1. Apple
Apple has one of the most dedicated groups of brand advocates in the world. Its customers are enthusiastic about the products and often share their experiences on social media and by word of mouth. Apple also uses employees as brand ambassadors by involving them in product launches and events, which strengthens brand loyalty.
2. Tesla
Tesla has a loyal community of customers and fans who regularly share their experiences with the brand, both online and offline. Tesla encourages brand advocacy by involving customers in events, such as the launch of new vehicles, and by giving them the chance to refer friends and family through the brand's referral programme.
3. Glossier
The beauty brand Glossier has a strong brand advocacy strategy in which the brand makes use of user-generated content. Glossier encourages customers to share its products on Instagram with branded hashtags, which has led to an enormous amount of organic word of mouth and brand awareness.
Common mistakes in brand advocacy
Although brand advocacy offers many benefits, there are some mistakes you should avoid:
1. An approach that is too forced
Brand advocacy has to be authentic. It is important not to push your customers and employees to promote your brand. Forced promotional campaigns can backfire and even lead to a loss of credibility.
2. No follow-up
Once your brand advocates are active, it is important to stay in regular contact and keep them involved. Do not forget to thank them for their contribution and keep them up to date on new developments within your brand.
3. Not enough focus on the relationship
Brand advocacy is about building a relationship. If you only focus on what your brand ambassadors can do for you, without offering them enough value or benefits, you risk losing them.
Conclusion
Brand advocacy is one of the most powerful forms of marketing a brand can have. Satisfied customers and employees who actively recommend your brand are a valuable source of authentic word of mouth and can help increase your brand awareness and loyalty. By setting up a strong brand advocacy strategy and actively involving your brand advocates, you can not only strengthen your marketing efforts, but also build lasting relationships with your most dedicated supporters.
If you want your brand to grow, start by identifying and appreciating your brand advocates. Their positive experiences can be the key to your brand's success.
You earn brand ambassadors by delivering work people talk about. Our cases show what clients concretely got out of it, with the figures included. See also brand loyalty.
Frequently asked questions
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Hoe krijg je meer reviews van tevreden klanten?
Vraag erom op het moment dat de klant het meest tevreden is, meestal direct na oplevering. Stuur dezelfde dag een korte mail of app met een directe link naar je Google-reviewpagina. Hoe makkelijker het is, hoe vaker klanten het doen. Meer hierover lees je bij review management.
Wat is het verschil tussen brand advocacy en influencer marketing?
Een brand advocate beveelt je aan uit eigen overtuiging en krijgt daar meestal niets voor. Bij influencer marketing betaal je iemand om je merk onder de aandacht te brengen. Daardoor wordt een aanbeveling van een advocate vaak als geloofwaardiger ervaren.
Hoe meet je brand advocacy?
Met de Net Promoter Score vraag je klanten hoe waarschijnlijk het is dat ze je aanbevelen. Daarnaast tel je reviews, vermeldingen op social media en aanvragen die via een aanbeveling binnenkomen. Vraag bij elke nieuwe aanvraag hoe iemand bij je terechtkwam, zodat je doorverwijzingen echt ziet.
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