Mar 28, 2013
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You Don’t Have to Create Your Brand Alone
The phrase “evangelism marketing” was coined by former Apple chief evangelist, Guy Kawasaki. For years since then companies have tried to let loyal customers create their brands for them and with the addition of social media in recent years – it’s working better than before.
Because let’s be honest, the best brand advocacy happens organically. And the biggest fans are responding because they know the brand experience well. As a business owner or marketer your job is to accelerate this process. Here are a few tips that have helped several companies:
Begin with Your Own Organization
Some of the best outreach initiatives start on the inside and then move outward. It is crucial that your own employees are your best advocates, because without them, how can you expect your customers to become advocates? Make your management team your leads on this initiative – think pep rally on steroids.
Let Social Take the Wheel
Your followers will feel empowered when they can participate in the conversation through social media. To create a connected brand – once again, start from within – set guidelines for your employees on etiquette and also hold trainings on content creation. As you increase your companies content you’ll also notice dramatic increases in site traffic. The guidelines and training will be a win-win for the company as everyone helps build the brand through their involvement.
Take Down Any Barriers
Targeting is no longer the key. You must think about conversation and conversion . . and then start engaging. Marketers are trained to think about prospects as targets but we must all shift our thinking to partnerships and long term relationships. This approach is an investment of time upfront but will be worth it in the long run.
Keep it Natural
Clever marketing tactics and distracting jargon aren’t going to work. People want to buy from other people. And usually they want to buy from people they like and want to spend time with. Community management is an art – the art of letting the human side of your company or brand shine through.
Be real. Think partnership. And create evangelism marketing.