Advertising is a powerful tool to tell people about your product or service. It’s how most big companies make money — by telling other businesses about their products and services, creating demand for them. In this article, we will let you in on advocacy marketing and everything you need to know.
That’s why some talk about “advertising warriors” – they see it as an integral part of their job to promote brands.
But marketing isn’t just about advertising, which is mostly done through TV, radio, magazines, and billboards. That’s only one small piece of what marketers do these days.
Research has shown that less than 10% of overall marketing spending goes towards media advertisements. The rest is focused on direct-marketing strategies such as email campaigns and online ads.
So if you’re in sales, think about ways you can add value to help others succeed with their goals. If you’re not in sales, thinking about how you can help others achieve theirs is still important (but maybe more directly related to promoting yours?).
Why is advocacy marketing important?
Influencing people to purchase or use a product or service is one of the most powerful ways to market any product. Whether you are selling a car, a house, or a bag of chips, influencing others to buy from you is a form of advertising that can work wonders for your business.
The reason why this type of marketing is so effective is that it directly connects with individuals’ emotions. When someone else emphasizes how well something will benefit them, whether by talking about it or showing it to them, they subconsciously feel compelled to go along with their advice.
That is what makes advocacy marketing so powerful. You as a seller are putting importance on how much your competitor’s product could help someone like yourself, which creates a sense of urgency to invest in yours.
There are several reasons why having rich, persuasive content is essential to doing advocacy marketing effectively. First, it is easier to convince someone when you give clear, convincing arguments that appeal to their emotional side.
Second, if you cannot back up your claims with strong proof, then people may hesitate to believe you.
Steps of advocacy marketing
Advertising is a powerful tool, but it can easily go too far if not done properly. Using advertising to promote a product or service that isn’t necessarily good for you will only hurt your business!
Advocacy marketing is very different. It uses media to spread an idea or argument in favor of a company or product. Instead of telling people how great the products are, they tell you why the products are worth buying.
It may sound like a healthier option, but some companies use this technique to push their product or services. This article will talk about some examples of this and what professionals call this type of marketing.
I would like to bring attention to two important points regarding this article. First, there are real costs involved with advertisement campaigns, whether they be social media advertisements, billboards, or television commercials. A lot of times these costs are hidden from view, which helps create a false perception that such campaigns do not cost much. The truth is, it does!
The second important point is that although it seems obvious now, most businesses don’t consider themselves an advertiser. They think of themselves as marketers, but not all marketers advertise. That is why we often hear stories of large corporations spending lots of money on ads, and then nothing is happening! If you want your business to succeed, learn how to add value by creating effective advertisements.
There is one thing that almost every advocate has in common; they are passionate about their cause.
Create a website for effective advocacy marketing
Creating your advocacy site is one of the best ways to use social media marketing to push an agenda or product. You can pick any topic you want, and it does not even have to be related to health and wellness!
Many people start their websites as a way to make money. But if you are trying to spread an argument for a product or service, then your website can do much more than that.
You may earn revenue through advertisements on your website, or by selling products or services directly from the site. It all depends on how successful you are at marketing yourself and your product/service via your website and online channels.
There are many free web hosting sites out there where you can host your website for free. Many of these offer limited features, but they are enough to get started with. More advanced feature sets require paying for a premium plan.
Google is a great resource for anyone looking to learn about the best ways to promote their business via technology. They have specific tips and tricks for every platform they cover, so no matter what channel you use to advertise, there’s something here for you.
Create a blog
A well-crafted, vibrant, and informative online presence is an integral part of successful advocacy marketing. With that being said, creating a strong community website or blog is one of the most important things you can do to promote your product or service.
You should spend time thinking about what kind of content you want to produce and how you will promote your site through social media, advertisements, and sponsored posts.
The more exposure you have to your company, the greater the chance people will interact with you and learn about your products or services. Your potential clients and customers are looking at us digital natives as a source of knowledge and information, so why not use it to strengthen your inbound marketing strategy?
Running a blog is a low-cost way to generate interest in your business and provide value to your audience. You get back what you invest in your business — otherwise known as ROI (return on investment). Many small businesses begin blogging with this theory in mind.
Many companies hire professionals to create their blogs, but anyone can pick up the tools to do it themselves. There are many free blogger platforms out there such as Blogger, WordPress, and Medium.
Writing a blog article now and then is also a form of engagement that helps establish credibility for your business. People read written material much longer than they watch a video, so writing is a valuable tool in promoting your organization.
Start a YouTube channel
Starting your own YouTube channel is an excellent way to begin advocating for social justice issues. You can pick any issue you want to talk about, and if you’re passionate about it, people will watch you to see what you have to say!
Many individuals start their YouTube channels by creating videos talking about things that are important to them – something they enjoy doing, or something that makes them feel good.
Then, they expand onto other topics that may be related to their initial topic or could inspire them to create new content. This is called influencer marketing, and it’s very popular these days. People use YouTube to look up tips and tricks or find inspiration for new projects or hobbies so this is perfect for you to experiment with!
Your audience will likely be mostly millennials, so make sure to establish yourself as someone who they recognize and trust. Be aware of trends in the marketplace too, and keep learning how to best promote using social media tools.
Start a Facebook page
Starting an advocacy group or business on social media is one of the best ways to promote a product or service. This can be done by creating a business Page, posting stories or ads for your product or service, and/or starting an argument with others about an issue.
It’s not necessarily hard to start an advocate group on Facebook. All you need to do is create an account, pick an appropriate name, and then begin promoting it!
By actively participating in the community, you will gain followers, which will help promote your page.
Start a LinkedIn group
Another way to use social media to promote a business is creating an advocacy marketing channel or engaging in what’s known as advocate marketing. With this, you create a free online tool or app that helps your competitor perform their job better than they already are.
By doing this, you become like the opposite side of their dang self and it can even turn into a full-time career!
The best example of this is the popular chat application Slack. Before Slack, there was no easy way for teams to communicate and collaborate. Its success means that there are now numerous similar applications to Slack available.
Now with Slack, anyone can easily connect with each other and exchange ideas anywhere and any time. It has also created a community where people come together and talk about things they love about the app.
This sort of community building is very powerful and has helped many companies grow.
Encourage reviews
One of the most important things that brands can do to spread their message is to encourage customer reviews. A large well-known company that people talk about often will likely have lots of online reviewers. People love to hear stories about how much they enjoyed a product or service and what good work the company does, so they share their experiences with other audiences.
By creating an environment where customers feel comfortable writing about your products or services, you draw positive attention. The more praise you get, the more exposure your business gets!
It’s not always easy to ask for reviews, but there are many ways you can incentivize them. For example, you could offer a discount on future purchases as a reward, or perhaps free merchandise if someone writes an honest review. Or maybe you could just thank them for doing business with you — it’s a win-win situation!
The best way to approach asking for reviews is with a clear goal in mind. You want to create a healthy community that enjoys talking about you, not only out of respect for your business but also because they enjoy reading your posts. So make sure your requests are done lightly and with purpose.