{"id":3380,"date":"2011-08-21T01:19:21","date_gmt":"2011-08-21T01:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=3380"},"modified":"2011-08-21T01:26:44","modified_gmt":"2011-08-21T01:26:44","slug":"12-most-important-ways-to-build-brand-advocates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/12-most-important-ways-to-build-brand-advocates\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Most Important Ways to Build Brand Advocates"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Successful social media marketing is all about relationships, with the highest ROR (Return on Relationship) coming from relationships with your Brand Advocates — <\/strong>those people who are so delighted by your product\/service\/brand that they can\u2019t wait to tell their friends and their whole social networks about their experience.\u00a0 Here are 12 ways to build your Brand Advocates to increase your ROR:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Focus on the relationship\u00a0first.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consumers don\u2019t fall in love with your brand and become Brand Advocates by being pushed into sales; they fall in love with your high quality product, excellent customer service, and a consistently enjoyable experience \u2013 all natural byproducts of strong relationships.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Aim for\u00a0<\/strong>Ongoing<\/strong><\/em> Engagement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your goal in building Brand Advocates needs to be ongoing engagement<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 One-time purchasers are just that \u2013 one-time purchasers, with little ongoing sales value.\u00a0 If, however, you create your marketing strategies with a focus on engaging over time in a variety of ways, you greatly increase your chances of turning your one-time purchasers into long-term consumers who recommend your products\/services to others.<\/p>\n

A one-time Tweet, a quick Facebook posting, or an email here and there is an announcement, not engagement.\u00a0\u00a0Real engagement takes time, attention, and overall effort, all of which pay off as your consumers become powerful Brand Advocates.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Put more put more energy and attention in your \u201cgive\u201d column than in your \u201ctake\u201d column.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a world of \u201ctake,\u201d we must not underestimate the power of \u201cgive\u201d \u2013 particularly in business.\u00a0 Your consumers will recognize in a heartbeat if you are simply trying to\u00a0get<\/em> something from them \u2013 and they will not stick around.<\/p>\n

We need to stop thinking in terms of what we can get from our consumers, and start asking ourselves (and them!) what we can give to them as a thank you for connecting with us.\u00a0 Simple \u00a0acts of giving attention, discounts, thank-you Tweets and re-Tweets, etc., are what build the foundation of relationships that create Brand Advocates.<\/strong><\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0Look in the mirror. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.\u00a0 This is no longer just a recommendation for life, it is a requirement of business in this social media age.\u00a0 As marketers, we want our brand to be heard, valued and paid attention to, so that is exactly what we need to first do for our Brand Advocates \u2013 give them our attention, and make sure they know we value them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Make no assumptions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although we can assume Brand Advocates want to be valued and heard, beyond that we must make NO assumptions as to:<\/p>\n