Cnb

We let the facts do the talking.

The secret to a successful business

What brand advocacy means

When thinking about your business, a key to its success is how popular your brand is in the market. Without exposure and visibility, nothing you have to offer will be considered valuable because no one would know much about you or the services/products you provide.

This is why it’s crucial to learn what brand advocacy means and how brand advocates must be gained to further one’s ascent up the market ladder.

Put simply, brand advocacy defines how people, ranging from influencers to fans to employees who know and like your brand, will keep supporting and promoting your offering to new customers. This will expand upon your visibility, which will increase your revenue and influence.

Having brand associates works better than traditional corporate publicity because consumers are usually more trusting of their own peer-network such as family members, friends, or people they follow online.

How it makes your business successful

Other than increasing your brand visibility, your product or service’s value will also increase through brand advocacy, as reliable individuals in your circle will spread the word to future customers or clients through genuine reviews and recommendations. Today, customer reviews hold as much value, if not more, than a business’ own promotional campaign. Therefore, it will further your company’s success and lead to a wider client network.

Another key point to why brand advocacy is important is that the media will take notice. In a sense, your business will get more coverage through various media outlets, resulting in a  revenue boost and consequently, a stronger market grasp.

Lastly, while many around you are keeping busy talking about your brand, you will have more free time on your hands to focus on business development. You may try new things, come up with ideas and strategies, or even deal with new clients whom you now have spare time to impress.

4 simple ways to gain new ones

Here are four simple steps to follow:

  • First of all, practice the art of social listening. You are required to follow up, track, and listen to your existing customers’ reviews and recommendations. This will compel you to analyse what is being said about your brand and will thus help you identify your current status.
  • Secondly, recognise your most socially-influential customers. They will be of great use to you on a CTA (call to action) system, where their engagement in brand advocacy will help your brand grow on social media.
  • Thirdly, you will need to increase your interaction with followers on your social media pages, meaning that you will have to answer questions regarding your business or product, reply to direct messages, have conversations, comment, etc. This engagement will help bridge the gap between your brand and your followers and will help you attain more brand advocates and higher public exposure down the line.
  • Finally, consider offering social rewards. In other words, determine your devoted customers and compensate them in any way to maintain brand loyalty. For instance, you can offer coupons, promote them using hashtags, or give them shoutouts on social media. You can even offer loyalty points or run contests in which you engage them and make them feel a stronger bond with your brand.

Salma Abd El Hamid is Account Executive Intern at Cicero & Bernay Public Relations, an independent PR agency headquartered in Dubai offering new-age public relations consultancy to the UAE and across the MENA region. | www.cbpr.me