When you’re a potential buyer, the most powerful brand endorsements come from trusted peers. More than content or traditional ads,

word-of-mouth marketing drives buyer decisions. In today’s modern marketing environment, B-to-B brands need to be in the business

of brand advocacy. The following will provide some insight on how you can create your own plan for building brand advocates.

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Start from the Inside Any brand advocacy program should start with the employees.

Motivate your team by creating a work environment where employees feel involved and invested. Once the culture is right, train them on how

to share their positive work experiences on social. You may even provide them with assets and suggestions about messaging to drive home the point.

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Revamp your Buyer Personas To build brand advocates, you must understand what your customers

want. Buyer personas provide the needed knowledge. Eighty-five percent of B-to-B companies don’t use personas, despite their value. Update your personas often, making sure the information is always current, relevant,

and includes feedback from across the organization.

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Tap an Influencer Social influencers work well for brands because they already have

a dedicated following who trusts them. Find active social influencers with relevance to your target customer and employ them for a campaign.

Have them share engaging content and encourage their audience to create their own content around your brand or product.

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Maintain the Relationships You Have Eighty-three percent of satisfied customers are willing to become brand advocates. While growing your customer base is important, brand advocacy programs are reliant on a great relationship with

existing customers. Focus on having consistent two-way conversations, where customers can express concerns and grievances. Regularly check

in to make sure they’re getting the help they need.

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All content for this slideshow has been aggregated from the ANA’s Marketing Knowledge Center. Want to dig deeper? We’ve got you covered:

Rally the Troops

From PDFs to Action: Reinventing Your B-to-B Personas

How to Find Your Brand Influencers

Five Ways to Improve Your Millennial Marketing Strategy

Sources