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August 24, 2020 Content Chat Recap: How To Empower And Co-Create With Your Brand Advocates

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A company’s customers, employees, and partners can all serve as advocates of the brand, but how do you identify and best work with these potential brand champions?

In this #ContentChat we discuss how to empower and co-create content with your brand advocates. Read the full recap below, where we discuss the value of brand advocates for content marketing, ways that brands can partner with their advocates on content, and some of the biggest hurdles (and solutions) when running a brand advocacy program.

Q1: What brands do you regularly recommend to others and advocate for and why?

The community shared why they advocate for their favorite brands below. Thinking through this can help you better understand the reasons why your company audience may/may not want to advocate for your brand. Some reasons our community champions brands include: top functionalities, personalized support, ease of use, best-in-class onboarding, inventive business models, and more.

Q2: Are you now or have you been part of a formal brand advocacy program for any of the brands you advocate for? If you are, what tools or resources do they provide you with that supports your advocacy and makes you feel valued?

Most of our community has not been a part of a formal brand advocacy program, but they are eager to give praise on social media and will even assist in creating content if approached by the brand.

Erika has been a part of a few advocate communities, and she discusses what made these programs successful, including platforms like Influitive to coordinate with advocates and the value of product sneak peeks as an advocate incentive.

Caz shares an example brand advocacy campaign she worked on, and also notes that contracts with your brand advocates are often necessary (depends on the scale of the partnership, but a contract is always the safe way to go).

Q3: Is customer brand advocacy part of your content marketing program? Why or why not?

The majority of our community includes brand advocacy as part of their content marketing program, noting that public support from advocates is incredibly powerful in driving new leads and strengthening a brand’s recognition.

An advocacy program can span employees, customers, partners, and any other unique audience type you may have, and each program will vary based on the audience.

Customer advocates are effective in reducing ad spend and demonstrating clear use cases of your product or services.

But, as Derek notes, there must be an organized approach and clear goals for an advocacy program to succeed.

Q4: What are some ways in which you can collaborate with your biggest brand fans to create compelling content?

There are countless ways that you can collaborate with brand advocates to create content. Ask for quotes discussing your product or services, or even a video testimony…

Invite advocates to write a guest post or to participate in an upcoming conference or event…

Host contests on social media with a designated hashtag to collect any user-generated content…

Offer to help your advocate in some way, such as promoting their content…

Or invite your advocates to share their challenges in a live document.

Whichever partnerships you try, make the process as easy on your advocates as possible, ideally with an incentive for their participation. Create a members-only community or portal for them to directly contact you, and provide them with examples of the type of content you are looking for.

You can boost your success on social media by providing sample messages you’d like your advocates to shares.

Derek recommends @QPR as an example of how to engage your fans.

While some of these strategies may feel like extra work your team cannot take on, there is great value in developing your network and helping them thrive. With a loyal base of activated brand advocates, your company is more likely to succeed through normal business highs and lows.

Q5: What tools or platforms make it easier to co-create content with your brand’s biggest fans?

The community shares their favorite tools for brand advocacy below. Did we miss your favorite(s)? Let us know in the comments.

Q6: Should brands have customer advisory boards as part of their brand advocacy strategy? How can they help you create more effective content?

Per our poll, most marketers find customer advisory boards very useful as part of a brand advocacy strategy. That said, it will depend on the situation and your ability to effectively lead the CAB.

Q7: What are some of the biggest challenges you have when it comes to identifying and working with brand advocates?

Ensure your advocates have a clear understanding of how they can provide value and what benefit(s) they will receive in return, and cover all your bases when coordinating activities. A contract can act as a safety net in many cases.

Communicate what opportunities are available to your advocates, and explain how advocates are chosen for each activity.

Advocates may need a significant amount of “onboarding” and background materials for each engagement. Don’t assume they know exactly what you need from them.

Follower count or network size does not mean a potential advocate is a good fit, especially if it is a paid engagement. Thoroughly screen any candidates to see if they are a fit for your brand and audience.

And remember that coordinating with advocates can be difficult, with a lot of follow up required.

About Alek Irvin

Alek Irvin is a content marketing professional with a rich history in social media management, executive thought leadership development, and media relations. As a consultant at Erika Heald Marketing Consulting, he creates human-focused content and thought leadership platforms that help brand leaders connect and engage with their communities. Alek has worked with a range of startups and Fortune 500 companies across the B2B technology and consumer spaces, including IBM, Dell Technologies, Hitch Works, Emtrain, Integrate, and Frameable. Connect with him on Twitter @AlekIrvin.

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