For brands today, a key element of their strategy is to build a customer base that aren’t just fans of the product, but are brand advocates. It requires more engagement, and maybe thinking outside the box – but as brand advocacy becomes more prominent, those who aren’t up to speed are falling behind quickly.
This was the theme of an engaging panel session at Social Media World Forum this morning, with representativies from brands including McLaren, Universal and Disney offering their insight.
When asked about the one thing brands could do to make brand advocates, the answers sparked plenty of interest.
For Nick Moxham, head of digital at Universal Music TV, the advice to delegates was short and sweet. “Not be a loser online,” he offered. “It’s a social channel. You’ve got to be liked, so don’t be a dick.”
It’s a similar, if not exact reference to an anatomical metaphor offered by Jeremy Waite in his influential 80 Rules of Social Media note. Rule #80 was one Waite found from a social media policy etched on the walls of a large UK TV network: ‘don’t be a cock.’
Semantics aside, it’s sound advice. Yet Moxham admitted that increasingly, business decisions on artists for the Universal roster were made with their social media output in mind.
“It’s so important in music,” he explained. “People want to connect with an artist in mind, they want to follow their favourite bands…we find that content comes very easy to us.
“It’s almost you’ve got to be so careful not to overcook it,” he adds. “It’s almost what you don’t do rather than what you do.
“We try and get artists to do it themselves. It needs to be an authentic voice – and that’s why we get them to do it.”
Not all artists are that receptive, however, with Oasis’ Noel Gallagher a case in point. “He does a tour diary,” Moxham offered. “We called it a blog once and he threatened to stop doing it.”
For Shira Feuer, head of social media EMEA at The Walt Disney Company, there’s an understandable generation divide her content has to straddle.
“There’s a lot of nostalgia with the Disney brand, and you want it to be something that parents pass down to their children,” she said. “We continue that emotional connection.
“I often say we have more in common with companies like Proctor & Gamble than with entertainment brands,” she added.
Her advice for brands looking to create brand advocates is simple: “It’s about sharing content that your users online will want to share.” Jordan Kretchmer, CEO and founder of Livefyre, also focused on straightforward things brands may miss. “Don’t forget old school methods,” he said. “It seems weird to say – don’t forget one to one communication.”
James Keady is the head of digital, social and CRM at McLaren. His remit includes content on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and rich media on YouTube, and he claims the message is “understanding McLaren is more than the Formula 1 team.”
“Like a lot of brands, we started [social] as a default PR channel,” he explained, adding a caveat that it’s now about ‘exclusive content for a very specific audience.’
“Whilst social isn’t a sales channel for us, it does play a role in that decision making process,” he added.
As Moxham wisely noted, content is the currency of social media – and even if it’s easy or hard to generate, the compelling multi-channel approach is a great way to convert fans into advocates – and is one of the key conversations being played out at SMWF this year.
