Long gone are the golden days of advertising when consumers accepted advertising as gospel.
Doctors promoting the health benefits of cigarettes? Of course!
Moms being elated to find Hoover vacuums under their Christmas trees? Obviously!
And, pure and wholesome 7-Up for infants? No doubt about it!
That kind of advertising naïveté has gone the way of landline phones, network-only television and music videos on MTV.
Today, consumers are considerably more skeptical of advertising—and considerably more interested in what other people have to say about a brand.
Word of mouth has always been one of the most powerful forms of marketing. What has changed is our ability to amplify it. A recommendation that once traveled from one customer to a few friends can now reach hundreds or thousands of people through reviews, social media, hashtags and user-generated content.
The goal isn’t to put words in your customers’ mouths. It’s to give them something worth talking about—and make it easy for them to share it.
Here are five ways to turn satisfied customers into brand advocates.
1. Make Online Reviews Part of Your Marketing Strategy
Online reviews are today’s version of asking a friend, neighbor or coworker, “Do you know a good place to…?”
The first step is making sure your business has accurate, complete profiles on platforms where customers are likely to look for you—especially Google Business Profile, Facebook, Yelp and industry-specific review sites.
Then make reviewing your business easy by including review links or QR codes on your website, email communications, receipts, follow-up messages and even in your physical location. The fewer clicks required, the better.
And don’t be afraid to ask. A simple invitation following a positive customer experience can turn a satisfied customer into a valuable public endorsement.
2. Create a Hashtag People Want to Use
A branded hashtag can turn individual customer posts into a collection of conversations about your brand. Create a memorable hashtag for your company, product, campaign or event and promote it wherever customers might see it—on social media, signage, packaging, promotional materials and more. By providing an official hashtag, you’re inviting people to post and ensuring that they do it uniformly for greater impact.
Fort Lauderdale used #PlayLauderdale to encourage visitors to share their experiences throughout the city. The campaign helped generate thousands of pieces of user-generated content on Instagram alone and gave the destination a steady stream of authentic images created by the people actually experiencing it. That’s much more powerful than simply telling people how much fun your destination is.
3. Give People a Reason to Participate
Contests and promotions can be effective ways to get customers to create and share content.
Ask followers to submit photos, stories or reviews for a chance to be featured in your newsletter, on your website or in an upcoming advertising campaign. A restaurant could ask customers to share their favorite dish. A veterinary practice could host a cutest-puppy contest. A retailer could invite customers to show how they’re using a favorite product. The possibilities are almost endless.
But don’t create a contest simply because contests are fun. Give it a job to do. Do you want more email subscribers? More website traffic? More social followers? More user-generated content? More awareness of a particular product? The best promotions are entertaining for the customer and useful for the brand.
4. Turn Customers into Content Creators
When customers say something nice about your business, don’t let it disappear into the internet. Share it. Turn a great review into a social media graphic. Feature a customer story in your newsletter. Repost an Instagram photo. Share a customer’s Facebook post. Create a testimonial page on your website.
When you publicly recognize customers for talking about your brand, you’re doing more than showcasing a testimonial. You’re showing other customers that their voices are valued, too.
5. Create Something Worth Talking About
When customers say something nice about your business, don’t let it disappear into the internet. Share it. Turn a great review into a social media graphic. Feature a customer story in your newsletter. Repost an Instagram photo. Share a customer’s Facebook post. Create a testimonial page on your website.
When you publicly recognize customers for talking about your brand, you’re doing more than showcasing a testimonial. You’re showing other customers that their voices are valued, too.