why advocacy should be part of your marketing strategy - cmx summit west 2016
TRANSCRIPT
What’s on Tap! What is Advocacy?! Building an Ambassador Program! Building Internal/Employee Advocacy! Measuring Success
“The use of marketing strategy, budget and resources to
encourage customers, employees, or partners to do something on behalf of your company with or without the
expectation of mutual benefit.”
Source: Forrester, Advocate Marketing
What is Advocacy?
Why be leaders in advocate marketing?
WOM
Word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20 -
50% of all purchasing decisions.
- McKinsey
Social
63% of today’s consumers search for help from other
customers via social. - Lithium
Credibility
Advocates are 70% more likely to be seen as a good
source of information by people around them.
- BzzAgent
Gain valuable insight from your power-customers
Drive reviews
Generate trust
Engage customers as
individualsIncreasereferrals
Deepen relationships
Why Advocacy?
Amplify existing social activity, extending your
reach
Connect your fans with each
other
Why does advocacy matter?Official Channels
Advocate Amplification
+ +
x
Facebook Fans
Twitter Followers Linkedin Followers
Number of Advocates*
200 Average Facebook Friends
61 Average Twitter Followers
240 Average Linkedin Connections
440k 425k 36k
400=
=TOTAL REACH
TOTAL REACH
210k
3 M
Our community of advocates help to move our business forward by building credibility through third-party validation
and amplifying our reach.
Our Objective
Our Advocate Spectrum
Brand AmbsAudience
Partners
InfluencersFollowers Users Fans
Increasing value
Advocacy Programs
Students
Peeps
Ambassador Program Objectives
AmplificationProduct releases shared
with ambassadors to drive 200% more engagement &
reviews
InsightsShare regional insights, offer product feedback
and support initiatives in 22+ languages
SupportSupport our 15,000
registered customers in the Support Forum with
80% response rate
Hootup EventsDrive localisation efforts
by hosting 200+ events in
62 countries
“I joined the Ambassador Program to share my passion with people that have the same interests, want to grow together, and inspire. I love being part of this community.”
Valeria LandivarLanaudière, Canada
400+Active in our Hub
375Hootups Hosted
299Published Content
From 112 SurveyedNPS 74
26,262Social Shares
Ambassador Program 2015 snapshot
74
Where do they come from?
Advocate Program
Growth + Mktg
Peeps
The Wild
Support
Customer Success Partners
v
Acquisition Selection Criteria
❏ Active user of your brand or product ❏ Has a deep affinity for your brand, company and solutions❏ Perceived expert or thought leader ❏ Charismatic; good public speaker❏ Net promoter; refers or references you❏ Motivated to have a personal relationship with you❏ Motivated to help/educate others❏ Wants to improve their knowledge/use of your product❏ Able to participate as part of their job function/role❏ Motivated to build their personal brand❏ Meets your brand tone on Social Media/Content Production
An approved Ambassador should meet at least 75% of these boxes
All ambassadors have day jobs, so minimizing their effort asks early on, and concentrating on maximizing value to them, will get them to participate more often and more consistently.
Gain commitment → Cultivate enthusiasm → Deliver benefits
Grow Advocacy in steps
Sample Ambassador Benefits
• Promotional accounts• Beta access• Exclusive updates• Education Certifications• Swag
• Speaking engagements• Brand association• Thought leadership
• Global network• Knowledge sharing• Exclusive event invites
• Job opportunities
Product Profile Community
v
The Ambassador Journey
Acquisition Onboarding Check-ins Consistent Engagement
Quality vs quantity
Invite existing customers
Website application form
Focus on personas
Agree to T&C’s
CASL compliance
Welcome Swag pkg
Onboard to platforms
Connect to others
30 / 60 / 90 days
6 month check-in
Identify persona
Update CRM profile
Knowledge sharing
Better event topics
Better rewards
More regular feedback
v
1. ListenFind your Advocates
Harness the Advocate Experience
3. EngageRetain the Relationship
4. Share ContentSustain the Relationship
2. Build AdvocacyDeepen the Relationship
How to Grow your Ambassador Program
LISTEN
Create programs to keep your community active and engaged in your business; look to incentivize your Superfans through custom giveaways, early product offerings, swag, recognition etc.
Two-way street to sharing insights about your customer experience; provide relevant content, share their content to sustain the relationship; Remember, sharing goes both ways, remember the human aspect
Add value by inspiring, educating or entertaining customers with thoughtful moderation, relevant content and online/offline experiences; Look for every opportunity to connect advocates with each other
Find and build relationships with key members of the community, both internally and externally by nurturing conversations and exploring their interests and how they interact with your business
SHARE
BUILD
ENGAGE
Tools: Ambassador Forum
Event updatesAsks for participation in marketing
activities
Advocate Hub
General communication and connectivity
Content tracking, engagement metrics
Tools: Hootsuite Amplify
Visibility of who else is in the
program
Read-only messages &
program/company updates
Social Shares
Shares, Traffic, Adoption, Reach
“The general public wants to hear directly from employees as
‘Ambassadors for the company.’”
Source: Edelman Trust Barometer
Who are they? Employee Personas
The Manager Champion
The GSD Growth Leader
C-SuiteThe Social Seller
The People Finder
Advocacy and your business
Content Creation & Amplification
SocialSales
InternalCommunication
Thought Leadership
Your people know your business
●They’re tapped-in to the latest news
●They benefit from seeing updates from across your organization
●They’re on social
●They care!
TIP Give them the tools they need, such as swag and on-brand content
+7,100,000 Followers
1 Post
254 Sessions
64 Clickthroughs
300 Advocates
1 Post
572 Sessions
191 Clickthroughs
Initial Data
What We Do
ShareContent sent to Amplify
Employees/Ambassadors open Amplify
Increased Impressions
Increased Clicks Leads
Engagement Tactics: Incentives
Supported our customers the Vancouver Canucks with their campaign by Amplifying their new video
TIP Reward your employees for sharing with giveaways and incentives
Results:
→ 123 retweets from our employees→ 103 shares of their Fb video
Identify YOUR metrics to measure
Business Goals
Awareness
Thought Leadership
Word of Mouth
Talent Acquisition
Leads
Sales
Advocacy Goals
Reach
Comments, inbound links
Shares, Reads, Likes, RTs
Impressions, clicks
Form Fills
Online Purchase
Metrics
Total Impressions
Mentions
Shares
Applications
UGC
Conversions
TIP Measure what matters. Target, benchmark, optimize.
! Shares
! User-generated content
! # of advocates in key local markets
! Advocate engagement and participation
The metrics we track
Key Takeaways1. Give advocates ways to share
experiences that validate you
2. Listen, build, engage & share
3. Enable your superfans and your people
4. Align your advocacy goals to your business goals
5. Ensure you have the proper resources and budget to support your program