The Role of Brand Advocacy Marketing & Tips to Build It

Product marketing activities can actually involve anyone. But the involvement of people who have experienced the real impact of the product will create a more honest impression. In the world of marketing, this strategy is known as brand advocacy marketing.

By implementing this strategy, you can save a lot of business resources. However, before implementing it, ensure you understand the concept of brand advocacy marketing thoroughly.

This article will explain the definition of brand advocacy marketing, its important role, examples of its application in well-known brands, and tips for implementing it organically. Let's take a look at the following explanation so you can apply it optimally in your business!

What Is Brand Advocacy Marketing?

Brand advocacy is the process of encouraging customers, teams, and business partners to actively promote one company's products or services. This strategy relies on the trust and testimonials of those who use or are familiar with the product firsthand.

The implementation of brand advocacy can involve various media, from online reviews from customers, word of mouth from employees, to social media campaigns with business partners. Later on, people who share their positive experiences are called brand advocates.

To build solid brand advocacy, businesses must start by strengthening their foundation, which is product quality and customer service.

Read also: SEO Marketing: Definition, Benefits, and How It Works

The Importance of Brand Advocacy for Companies

Among the various modern marketing strategies available, here are the reasons why it is important to implement brand advocacy in your business: 

• Help increase brand awareness on social media: Positive review content shared by customers on social media has great potential to attract new audiences and increase brand awareness.
• High conversion potential: Before purchasing a product, many people ask previous users for their opinions. Consumers who buy products based on recommendations from others will generally become loyal customers.
• Creating social proof: With positive reviews from brand advocates, audiences will perceive the brand in a positive light and capture the impression that the brand wants to convey.
• Saves time and cost: With the support of brand advocates, the time usually spent on marketing will be shorter and can be allocated to other aspects of development. Digital marketing advocacy can also minimize advertising costs because it is an investment with a high ROI (Return on Investment).
• Brand advocates are ideal marketing agents: Because they have complete information about the product and have proven its superiority, brand advocates are reliable marketing agents for businesses.

Examples of Brand Advocacy  

To get a clear understanding, you can see examples of brand advocacy implementation from the following brands:

1. Shot on iPhone

Apple once ran a campaign called Shot on iPhone, where they invited iPhone users to share their photos on social media and add a special hashtag.

From the many photos submitted, Apple selected the best ones and displayed them on billboards, public transportation, and in print advertisements. In this case, Apple implemented a user-generated content (UGC) strategy that produced authentic output.

2. #ShareACoke

#ShareACoke was a campaign by Coca-Cola that replaced its iconic logo on bottles with people's names. The goal of this campaign was to make the brand feel more personal and build emotional connections with consumers.

In the #ShareACoke campaign, consumers are invited to find bottles with their names or those of their loved ones on them and give them as gifts. They are also asked to share their experiences on social media using the hashtag #ShareACoke.

With this viral trend, Coca-Cola indirectly displays more authentic organic advertising. Coca-Cola also positions consumers not only as buyers but also as part of its story.

3. LEGO Ideas

LEGO has a platform called LEGO Ideas. On this platform, LEGO lovers can submit their own LEGO set designs, such as iconic buildings or movie characters.

Next, popular set designs that receive 10,000 votes from the online community can be mass-produced. Interestingly, the creator will receive 1% royalties from global sales, and their name will be listed on the packaging.

This brand advocacy strategy from LEGO makes its fans feel that they have made a real contribution. On the other hand, LEGO can expand its product reach without having to spend a lot on advertising.

Read also: Combining Paid Ads Strategy with SEO PCC Management

Strategies & Tips for Building Effective Brand Advocacy 

To succeed in your brand advocacy marketing strategy, you can apply the following strategies and tips:

1. Create a Simple Format

In fact, a simple brand advocacy format will be more appealing to consumers and help you execute it more easily. Even though it is simple, still try to make the content attractive.

In digital advocacy marketing, you also need to combine three elements: questions, education, and challenges. You can ask questions about the product or allow consumers to provide suggestions.

Next, consistently share engaging content that contains information or education about the product. Finally, give consumers challenges and ensure that these challenges are beneficial for both parties.

2. Do Not Force the Involvement of Famous People

In practice, brand advocacy does not have to involve famous people, such as artists or influencers. The popularity of artists often attracts interest, but the audience will not necessarily be convinced to buy the products they recommend.

Rather than focusing on the popularity of brand advocates, it is better to involve people who repeatedly buy products and are satisfied after using them. In fact, they are the right people because what they say is based on personal experience.

3. Apply the Triangle of Trust Concept

The triangle of trust consists of three basic elements in building and maintaining trust. In the context of brand advocacy, the triangle of trust refers to recommendations, trust, and appreciation.

Brand advocates who believe in the brand will recommend the brand's products to others. Potential customers who trust brand advocates are likely to buy the product and even become loyal customers.

Furthermore, brands must also show appreciation to brand advocates to maintain their loyalty and dedication. For example, providing samples of new products before their official release to brand advocates who actively share review content during a certain period.

In conclusion, to implement the triangle of trust concept, you need to build brand advocate trust beforehand and provide commensurate benefits. If this can be executed well, the chances of brand advocacy success will be very high.

Building Brand Advocacy Organically With SEO Strategy

Interested in building brand advocacy with organic mechanisms? If so, SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the solution. 

This is because SEO and brand advocacy are both closely related to visibility and trust. Therefore, implementing SEO can be very helpful in implementing a brand advocacy program. Here is a complete overview:

1. Determining Search Engine Rankings

The goal of SEO is to reach audiences who are not yet familiar with your brand by obtaining strategic rankings on search engines. This can be achieved by creating a good website structure, implementing consistent formatting, applying a strong content strategy, and referencing credible sources.

These efforts are relatively effective in increasing brand visibility and brand awareness, which ultimately makes the brand more trustworthy.

Brands that have already gained public trust will find it easier to retain existing brand advocates and attract new, reliable ones.

Read also: 10 Effective Tips to Increase Website SEO for Enterprise

2. Increase Website Traffic

Traffic is closely related to search engine rankings. If a brand often appears in the top position, its website traffic will be relatively higher than brands that appear in positions six and below.

High traffic means more people are entering the marketing funnel. This opens up opportunities for positive reviews to appear. As a result, brands will find it easier to build solid brand awareness, trust, and brand advocacy.

Some ways to increase traffic are to design a mobile-friendly website, write quality content, improve website speed, combine with social media, and implement email marketing strategies.

3. Controlling Brand Narrative

Imagine if another website writes negative perceptions about your brand. This can be very disturbing, especially if the perceptions are biased or not factual.

If you do not control it immediately, the audience's perception of the brand can be formed by outside parties, not the brand itself. To anticipate this, use SEO as a medium to control brand narrative!

You can create official content on your website that answers consumer questions about your brand, such as FAQs, educational articles, or review pages. This way, your brand has a greater chance of building the narrative you desire.

This has a significant impact on reputation, trust, and the success of brand advocacy programs.

4. Supporting Revenue and Profit

Rankings and traffic are important, but all businesses aim for high revenue and profit. When a brand gains trust and successfully converts traffic into sales, it means that customers will feel the direct benefits of the product.

If their experience is positive, they will be satisfied and make repeat purchases. This relationship fosters greater trust, which is a crucial foundation in brand advocacy marketing.

Because of trust, brand advocates will voluntarily recommend products they like.

To help increase revenue and profit, a strong SEO strategy must be implemented. This will help the brand appear at various stages of the search process, from awareness to consideration to conversion. 

That is the basic concept of brand advocacy marketing that you need to understand. From the explanation above, you now know that SEO can help make your online presence more visible and impactful.

SEO is not only about improving rankings and traffic but also about reaching a wider audience while building trust. Both of these are crucial assets in brand advocacy marketing. All of this stems from website optimization, both in terms of content and technical aspects, in accordance with SEO principles.

If you need help optimizing your website, trust SEO Services by cmlabs. With a team of professionals from various disciplines, a strategic approach, and advanced tools, cmlabs is the right solution to make your presence in the digital world much more impactful.

The cmlabs team has extensive experience assisting renowned companies across various sectors, including healthcare, e-commerce, technology, FMCG, and the environment.

Now, it is your brand's turn to experience the positive impact of our services. Contact our marketing team now and consult on your needs for free!