The topic of advocacy has been on the rise. From companies looking for ways to harness the power of their employees’ social communities to more brands enlisting loyal customers to speak on a company’s behalf, organizations are beginning to understand the reach and value advocates have.
Here at Sprout, advocacy has been top-of-mind. We recently launched Bambu, an advocacy platform that makes it easy for companies to curate content for employees or brand ambassadors to share with their social networks. On Monday, January 25 we’re celebrating Community Manager Appreciation Day with a virtual panel. Plus, we just hosted a robust #SproutChat on the topic. If you’re thinking of starting an advocacy platform, consider these key points for success.
Dedicate Time & Enlist a Decision Maker
Establishing an advocacy program and getting it up and running is the hardest part. For an employee advocacy program, enlisting the power of a decision maker to motivate colleagues is key. If you’re building advocacy externally, start with a small, dedicated group and plan to scale from there. A nebulous concept can only go so far. Take the time to plan carefully in order to achieve a high-level of buy-in.
@SproutSocial A1: Potential impact is HUGE. It amplifies your brand exponentially for little to no cost to the organization #SproutChat
— Aaron Lumnah (@aaronlumnah) January 20, 2016
@SproutSocial A1. Your community starts internally with your team. Brand advocates build on that dedication, & beyond. #SproutChat
— Margot Mazur (@margotcodes) January 20, 2016
A1) Employees reflect the true culture of the organization, which makes it feel more human to consumers. #sproutchat
— Gary Taylor (@garytaylorceo) January 20, 2016
A1: Employee advocates can be excellent resources to speed up customer response on social channels #SproutChat
— Sarah Reece (@SarahTheAdGirl) January 20, 2016
A1. Employees are your first audience. They have to believe in the organization & giving that feeling accross to your customers #SproutChat
— Troy Sandidge (@Troy_Sandidge) January 20, 2016
A1b and the client tends to trust companies that has happy enthusiastic employees , so it improves the self image #sproutchat
— Terry Lo (@calgarydreamer) January 20, 2016
Establish a Sustainable Plan for Long Term Success
Throughout the planning process, you’ll want to think holistically and long term. Consider sustainable practices you know your team can realistically commit to. Establish a process that can turn into a standard by investing in a dedicated tool for distributing messaging. Offering incentives or rewards is also an option, as long as they’re not the sole motivation for action.
A2. Arming your advocates with the right content & having a great platform to share from 😉 #sproutchat
— Bambu by Sprout (@BambuBySprout) January 20, 2016
A2: Make sure your goals for advocates are clear… If they don't understand what you want, they can't help you promote! #sproutchat
— Taylor Bennett (@tchazbennett) January 20, 2016
A2 Encourage employees to blog #sproutchat
— Toby Metcalf (@Toby_Metcalf) January 20, 2016
A2. I look at advocacy as human to human PR. And like PR, rock solid understanding of market, messaging key #SproutChat
— Nathan Young (@notnathan) January 20, 2016
A3. Incentivizing is not necessary but does make it a bit easier to encourage advocacy. Try #gamification as an alternative #sproutchat
— Alexander Wilson (@anthrofoodie) January 20, 2016
A3 If you have to incentivize your advocates, they're not really advocates. Reward, but don't incentivize. #SproutChat
— Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman) January 20, 2016
A3: Not NECESSARY. I advocate brands all the time w/o an obvious push, just because I like them. However, incentives don't hurt #sproutchat
— Upspring SEO (@UpspringSEO) January 20, 2016
A3: Not necesarily if they believe in the product or service. #SproutChat
— Brad Lovett (@Brad_Lovett) January 20, 2016
A3. It's not necessary, but sometimes something as simple as a sticker will get people talking more. #sproutchat
— Nikki Fica (@NikkiFica) January 20, 2016
Define the Relationship
People hate to be deceived. On social media, the lines between paid, incentivized and organic promotion can be blurred. This is why it’s vital to clearly define the relationship and benefits of all parties involved. Disclosure and legal limitations are important to pay attention to, especially for large and global brands. Every social media manager should check out the principals that Socialmedia.org outlined on disclosure best practices. This presentation on Social Media Disclosure and Ethics for Big Brands by Andy Sernovitz is another informative resource.
A4) Some people don't know how to express their advocacy well. It could be interpreted in a bad light #SproutChat https://t.co/cNL3AiJPTs
— Katka Lapelosová (@Its_Katka) January 20, 2016
A4) Online arguments, negative comments about clients or your company, wrong interpretation of brand message, etc. #SproutChat
— Wayne Hendry (@ideakid88) January 20, 2016
A4 Don't take them for granted. Keep cultivating & nurture the relationship. Otherwise it can go bad. #SproutChat https://t.co/buaOWJd916
— Michael Boyce (@mjboyce) January 20, 2016
A4: Insincere advocates, accidental leaks of info/announcements, untrained advocates engaging poorly w customers #SproutChat
— Sarah Reece (@SarahTheAdGirl) January 20, 2016
A5 Transparency = trust #sproutchat
— Toby Metcalf (@Toby_Metcalf) January 20, 2016
A5 Yes. Advocacy implies a legal and moral responsibility to be honest with the public and the company as well #SproutChat
— Terry Lo (@calgarydreamer) January 20, 2016
Check out the following companies with great advocacy programs. Analyze what makes each successful and determine a way to emulate these initiatives within your own organization.
A6. @IBM @Cisco @Dell @Sprint have (or have had per example) great advocacy programs #SproutChat pic.twitter.com/VNwpuQ3s6x
— Troy Sandidge (@Troy_Sandidge) January 20, 2016
A6. Gaming companies do incredible employee, brand advocacy work because they know their audience well @LogitechG @Razer @Xbox #SproutChat
— Nathan Young (@notnathan) January 20, 2016
A6 my favorite in Canada? @WestJet hands down. Giving employees leeway to have fun! #sproutchat https://t.co/dSH8LPcLmQ
— Terry Lo (@calgarydreamer) January 20, 2016
Join us on Twitter at 2 p.m. CT every Wednesday for #SproutChat. Next week, we’ll discuss native targeting organic posts across social channels. In the meantime, benefit and learn from bright folks within the industry in our #SproutChat Facebook group.
This post #SproutChat Recap: Employee & Brand Advocacy originally appeared on Sprout Social.
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