It's almost certain that at some point, you've been told that your brand needs an advocacy program. You're not quite certain what the benefits are, what costs are involved, or how you should approach it, but you know that you need an advocacy program. While the costs can vary widely depending on your organization and the scale of your rewards, the benefits are nearly universal! Here we've shared four proven and actionable steps that will immediately improve the approach you're using (or considering) in your brand advocacy program! So, what is an advocate, and why do you need them?

Defining an advocate

A key point to remember is that just because you have a social media presence does not yet mean you have a community. According to Megan Berry, Senior Marketing Manager for Klout, you have a community when you are not only engaging your followers, but when they begin to independently interact with each other on a regular basis. As your community develops, you'll find that some of your followers are more active and helpful  than the average community member. These are your advocates, a precious resource that you should nurture and guide!

Image Credit: ComBlue.com

A study conducted by ComBlu on the State of Online Communities in 2011 scores brands based upon their use of best practices in their communities. Over half of the brands which were considered "high scorers" incorporated the use of an advocacy program in their community! According to this same study, despite all of the obvious benefits to developing an advocacy program, at least 20% of brands are missing out!

Image Credit: ComBlue.com

Why do I want advocates?

The value received from your advocates is clear. So long as you take the proper time and efforts to regularly engage with your advocates and build a relationships between them and your brand, you can look forward to the following benefits:

• An advocate's increased activity can help bring a young community to life.
• As an outside source, advocates will generally be perceived to be more credible.
• Advocates can assist you in engaging with and responding to your growing fan base.
• Knowledgeable advocates can produce high-quality content about your brand.
• Advocates will actively promote your brand outside of your online community.

Image Credit: dianhasan.wordpress.com

Once you have identified your advocates, you need to encourage (and reward!) these valuable resources in your fledgling community. From this investment, you will gain active and vocal advocates which will not only help you drive conversations and interest early on, but will also help in managing the sheer volume of interactions that must be addressed as your community grows! This begs the question of how you should go about the process of building a bond with your advocates.

How do brands bond with advocates?

• Recognize your advocates. One of the best ways to bond with your advocates is to give them a highly visible platform to voice their thoughts and opinions. Many of your advocates desire to be recognized as experts on the subjects that interest them. Through providing a visible platform with established traffic (such as posts in your corporate blogs) you provide the opportunity for your advocates to share their expertise, and be recognized by the community, their own friends and family, and other outside sources as a result.

Image Credit: Walmart.com

Walmart is a shining example of this, with their Walmart Moms program. They provide real moms the opportunity to blog about a topic which interest them, and is relevant to Walmart's core demographics. Walmart showcases these blogging moms on their corporate website, with an attractive and easy to use slider interface, which identifies each blogger by name, a picture, their chosen topic, and an embedded link to their individual blogs. By doing so, they represent these moms as experts in their chosen subjects, and provide an opportunity for increased traffic (and better search rankings!) by linking to their blogs from the Walmart.com website.

• Don't be possessive. Your online community is very much an official source of communications for your company, but your advocates and followers are also heavily invested. While it is important to remove profane or offensive content from your online properties, it is also important to allow your advocates and fans to share their own ideas and opinions without fear of being censored. This further establishes credibility for your brand among your advocates, who will then spread the news of your credibility to the rest of the online (and even offline) world!

In late 2008, a Facebook fan page for Coca-Cola had attracted the attention of Facebook Inc. The page had been created by a couple of fans of the brand who were dissatisfied with the quality of other Coca-Cola fan pages. The page had become the second most popular page on Facebook, and per Facebook's own guidelines, needed to either be turned over to the brand, or shut down. Rather than demanding the owners turn over the page upon threat of prosecution, Coca-Cola instead contacted the creators of the Facebook page and created a solution with them. While Coca-Cola now maintains the page, they continue to respect the community, do not censor posts which comment on their competition, and they also provided a visit to the World of Coca-Cola, hockey tickets, and a tour of the Coke archives to show their appreciation to the page's original creators.

• Reward your Advocates. Advocates are often intrinsically motivated, they love your product, and they love talking about it with others. However, to really make the best use of your advocates, to encourage them to go the extra mile, and to ensure you've formed a lasting relationship with them that will not falter, you should reward your advocates for their efforts. Jeremiah Owyang suggests providing your advocates with special access and perks, but never directly paying them.

Image Credit: Cruiseweb.com

Using data from all across the web, Royal Caribbean found 50 of their most active and visible advocates and organized them into a group which they termed the "Royal Caribbean Champions." In May of 2007, Royal Caribbean cruises rewarded these fans with their first group event, the pre-inaugural sailing of what was at the time their newest ship, the Liberty of the Seas! This was the first time in history that such an event had been open to anyone who was not considered a "VIP." The event garnered loads of public attention and was a great way for Royal Caribbean to establish a devoted group of brand advocates!

Engage your advocates. Your advocates love knowing that their thoughts and opinions matter to your brand, and you should keep in mind that they are a great source for feedback! Thanks to a high level of activity within your online communities, and a natural love for your product, your advocates are likely to be well aware of what your community thinks of your products or services, and how they could be improved, and will have their own suggestions as well. Provide a platform for them to share these insights with you, it will make them feel more involved and useful, and it will provide your brand with top-notch feedback!

Image Credit: refresheverything.com

Pepsi's "Refresh Project" is the very embodiment of listening to and engaging with your advocates! Through this effort, Pepsi provides grants for projects which improve hundreds of schools and communities. All of the projects are derived from the ideas of the Pepsi online community, and these amazing projects help improve the lives of people all over the United States while also creating a positive image for the Pepsi brand!

Your brand advocates will be seen as an informal leadership in your community, and will gain the attention and respect of your followers. Don't neglect your brand's relationship with them. Be sure that you are establishing a bond with these influential members of your community, rather than leaving their continued participation up to chance!

Do you have your own tips for how to influence and reward your "superfans?" Or perhaps some feedback on our suggestions or additional case studies? Please let us know in the comments below, we would love to hear from you!

Have you recently found yourself asking “What is all this buzz about Pinterest?” We’ve been pondering over that very question here at Thought Labs! After some hefty research and critical thinking, we have a few thoughts of our own concerning just what Pinterest is, who’s making use of it, what they’re doing with it, and most importantly: how your brand can be successful with the Pinterest platform!

Just the facts.
Pinterest empowers its users; providing the ability to easily curate content from anywhere on the web with just one click! The website has humble origins, but has seen some very impressive growth in the last year, rising to become a top traffic referrer for fashion brands. Some have described Pinterest as digital scrapbooking, though rather than sharing their own lives, “pinners” are instead sharing their interests. While on most social networks the very idea is constant social interaction, Pinterest is described as a rather passive experience. Very little interaction occurs between pinners. Though the feeling of “missing out” for fear of falling behind in ongoing discussions or neglecting online profiles is for the most part absent among pinners, these very active individuals still feel compelled to return to the site often, with some users spending upwards of 2 hours per day curating content from outside sources, or “repinning” content already posted on another pinner’s board. (Sources: ArikHanson.com, Mashable)

(Image Credit: Lauren Indvik)

Who uses Pinterest?
Pinterest’s largest demographic is women, age 25-34, while only about 20% of Pinterest’s users are male. Most pinners earn an annual income of 25k-75k per year. Many pinners (60%) have completed some college courses, however a comparatively smaller 25% of pinners have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher. (Source: Pinterest Demographic Data)

(Image credit: Erin Ledbetter)

What interests pinners?
Pinterest’s users seem to prefer content that is creative and largely visual. Kary Delaria, described by ArikHanson.com as a Pinterest “super user”, says she finds ”ideas and inspiration for food to make (lots of that), styles to try, gifts to give, activities to do with the kids, projects to improve my home, and, a visual insight into the more personal/creative side of individuals in my network.” Seeking ideas and inspiration is a common theme among pinners, and many of the super users interviewed likened pinning to tearing interesting articles out of a magazine. In this capacity, Pinterest drives a lot of interest in fashion and creativity, DIY projects, cooking, unique vacations, and much more! (Sources: ArikHanson.com, Likeable.com)

An example of a Pinterest profile. This particular one belongs to one of our founders!

So, how can my brand benefit from Pinterest?

• Be Creative. Brands which are not typically considered creative could still find success in sharing interesting content which ties into their brand, or finding unique methods for creating their own content (think The Old Spice Guy).

Whole Foods has a multitude of boards, and while many of them focus on their primary product (groceries), consider their highly successful board Super Hot Kitchens, which features renovations and design ideas for your kitchen!

• Be Visual. Visual content reigns supreme on Pinterest. Attractive and informative infographics and visual guides can be a great way to gain the attention of pinners while educating your customers as well!

Graphic Side has done a great job of this with their “Inforgraphics” board, which has already netted 93 followers for their 39 pins!

• Drive Purchases. Among pinners, it is generally agreed that pins which link to an opportunity to purchase products they consider favorable are highly preferred and difficult to pass up.

Nordstrom excels with product links included in every pin, which take you directly to the pinned product’s page in their online storefront!

• Incentivize Your Followers. Considering one of the primary demographics on Pinterest (Boomers and Boomerangs) is reported to be price-sensitive, discounts and similar incentives can also be a great opportunity to turn pins into revenue!

DIY GarageShelf, a small and unassuming website marketing do it yourself garage storage kits, has built a respectable following by offering special discounts on Pinterest.

• Don’t be self-involved. Share a variety of content that will appeal to your target audiences. Pinterest makes this easy! With Pinterest, you can create multiple boards, and pinners can elect to follow the boards which interest them, rather than just your brand as a whole.Williams-Sonoma manages to keep the focus on their delicious offerings while also keeping their followers interested by offering great ideas on ways their customers can use their products. Pinners are also encouraged to pin their own ideas to Williams-Sonoma’s Your Entertaining Ideas board!

• Host Contests. Everyone loves to get free stuff! While other social networks do provide great opportunities for contests, Pinterest is an appetizing choice for contests, because it comes without restrictions on how, when, and where you can run your contests, or how you can notify your winners. It also allows for visual based contests, such as having community members contribute photos, or develop interesting captions for photos shared by your brand. These are usually very fun and engaging, and should get the interest of your followers.

(Image Credit: Gillian Luce)

Homes.com’s Pin it if you Love it contest was just launched on the first of February, but is already gaining a lot of momentum! Pinterest is still a very young platform, but it is an ideal spot to host your contests!

• Above All Else, Provide Value. Pinners are not following you to be advertised to; they are looking for content that interests them. For pinners, value comes in the form of information that speaks to their individual interests and is curated in a stylish, visual, and easily digestible format. Remember: inspirational ideas, visually appealing retail merchandise, visual guides to DIY projects (potentially involving your products!), recipes, and hosting boards that your followers contribute to are all great ways to provide value to your pinners!

Pinterest provides a great opportunity to diversify content without losing the interests of your core demographic or those which are interested in very specific content from your brand. Thus, if approached correctly, what is currently considered to be one of the most impersonal social networks available could become one of your most meaningful and personal channels for speaking directly to your customer’s many varied interests!

Look to any of these brands for more inspiration and ideas on what makes a brand successful on Pinterest! Do you have your own ideas for how brands should be leveraging Pinterest or what value they may find in the platform? Please, let us know in the comments below; we would love to hear from you!

John Maver and Cappy Popp will be holding a workshop on "Facebook: Beyond The Basics" at SES Toronto 2011 on June 14, 2011.

In this session we'll cover some of the details behind the platform that's quickly becoming the most powerful, important, and rapidly-evolving web presence in the world. We assume you know the basics, so we won't bother with them! Here we'll discuss more advanced topics such as: what you never knew about the Facebook Like button (and should), EdgeRank and why you must understand it, and Facebook Insights you should be tracking (but aren't!) If you need to understand Facebook more thoroughly for your business or pleasure don't miss it.

See more details here - Facebook: Beyond The Basics

In late January Facebook finally added support for HTTPS, allowing users to browse the site securely. HTTPS provides a combination of the HTTP and SSL protocols, enabling encrypted communication between a user's computer and a web server. Using HTTPS to access the site - though undoubtedly slower - protects users from sniffing attacks on public networks. Sniffing attacks have become a real problem in the last year with the introduction of free, open-source tools like Firesheep. PC World has even published a how-to guide to using the tool to hijack Facebook. So the feature is long overdue.

Thus the topic of this post.

Uncheck This!

A big congratulations goes out to our client AVG Technologies who just ranked 15th in the Social Brands 100! It's now the number 2 technology company behind Dell. Among the companies that AVG outranked are well known brands such as Amazon, Sony Playstation and Nokia which speaks volumes of the hard work put in by our community organization and of course the communities themselves! We're incredibly proud to be a part of the AVG team. AVG is one of the largest players in the global security software market and now has an installed user base of over 150 million users worldwide.

Thought Labs has helped them grow the size of their social communities by over 800% in the last year. Facebook alone has an incredibly engaged community of nearly 250,000 and is growing rapidly. We've worked hard with AVG to build and execute a social strategy that's focused around bringing their users, Fans, and customers back into the company as powerful assets.

For more information on the Social Brands 100 or to download the complete report you can visit their website.

One of our clients, MediaFriends, is hosting a party at SXSW on Saturday night, right across the street from the Mashable party. It should be a great way to start off the night! Here are the details:

Go HeyWire @ The HeyWire House Party!

>> FREE Party Featuring DJ DNS! - 3-Time DMC Champion of Holland in his first U.S. appearance!

>> Hey, Ever Light Up Austin With A TXT!? - SMS-to-Laser Light Show with texting powered by HeyWire! Get Wow'd!

HeyWire House Opens @ 8:00 - Go HeyWire with Drinks flowing till Midnight!

Open to all SXSW Interactive Badge Holders

Get yourself to the HeyWire House + Go HeyWire with a HeyMaker!

> Download the Free HeyWire App
> Show the bartender
> Get a HeyMaker... Very tasty! A couple of these and you will be going HeyWire!

Going to Mashable SXSWi House 'Bash' @ Buffalo Billiards?

Go Early - Come across the street for a drink and watch the greatness of DJ DNS on the turntables! Meet the HeyWire team, download the app and start texting worldwide, chat through Facebook and Tweet through Twitter all for Free and all within one app!

Sign up now at http://heywire.eventbrite.com

Check out this teaser video here:

One of our clients, AVG Technologies, has partnered with Zynga to offer FarmVille players an exclusive AVG Biplane with purchase of AVG PC TuneUp for 66% off. So far, AVG is one of very few companies to offer these sponsored in-game purchases.

The campaign works by prompting FarmVille users when they load the game to purchase AVG PC TuneUp in return for the AVG Biplane, which offers 3 Instant Grow applications. Once the purchase is complete, a message will appear in FarmVille congratulating the user on the new AVG Biplane and lets them place it on their farm. Farmers can then click on the AVG Biplane and choose Apply Instant Grow to have it fly over their farm like a cropduster and enable all crops to be harvested.

To promote this offer on the AVG Facebook Page, we are doing the following:

1. Adding a section on the Community tab, which is set as the default landing tab for non-Fans. This means that all first time visitors to the page will learn about the offer. Existing Fans always go to the Wall.
2. Updating the Profile picture with a call to action. This is very important, because this picture is visible on all tabs, including the Wall. Notice also that the offer is place in the middle of the picture so that it is above the fold.
3. Creating a series of Status Updates that help teach users about the benefits of AVG PC TuneUp. As a newly launched product, many of the millions of AVG customers and Fans may not know about its features, and it is a great chance to answer questions.
4. Encouraging users to post pictures of their farms. Some people do some amazing decorating and go way beyond harvesting! AVG Fans are generally pretty active on the Page, so we expect to get many very interesting farms.
5. Running a set of Facebook Ads targeting users who value PC Performance and FarmVille players. Using some narrow demographic targets, we can get pretty good results and quickly validate messaging.

The Facebook campaign is also supplemented by AVG's other social media efforts such as blogs, YouTube videos and Twitter outreach.

This is a very interesting campaign to be part of from end to end, and AVG is already seeing the results. You can find out more about the offer in this blog post.

Update: Inside Facebook is featuring the deal on their website today as a Featured Facebook Campaign.

Cappy Popp will be presenting "Implementing and Managing your Facebook Strategy" at Online Marketing Summit 2011 on February 7, 2011 as part of the Social Media Planning & Integration Workshop. Join Cappy to learn about how to create a successful Facebook strategy for your business, including creating effective Facebook Pages driven by real metrics.

Hear is more about the workshop:

Social Media is becoming a critical component of an organizations marketing strategy. Enterprises are no longer asking the question "Should we be involved in social media?" Instead they are asking, "How can we generate greater impact and success using social media as part of the marketing mix?" That said, the social media landscape has evolved rapidly in the last 18 months leaving organizations struggling to understand how to catch-up. Having a complete understanding of the social media landscape, tools and best practices is critical to your marketing success.
Success in social marketing is within reach. The challenge lies in the understanding that there are fundamental differences in the approach marketers take to industrial marketing (TV, Print, Radio, Direct Mail, etc) and social media marketing. It is the change from a monologue to a dialogue, and the most successful social media marketers have recognized this shift in thinking and have achieved repeatable and predictable success in social media.

What you will learn:
This one-day workshop will teach you how to drive your marketing objectives through social media by developing an all encompassing strategy that outlines listening, content planning, engagement, management and measurement of your social media activities.

We'll start by understanding the basics and quickly outlining advanced strategies and tactics employed by some of the most respected brands in some of the most successful social media programs. We will also discuss the tools you need to be effective, the policies to employ and the how to develop a comprehensive plan.

We will also provide a benchmark of where your company currently stands and steps you need to take to help get your brand to the next level.

See more details here - Workshop 2: Social Media Planning & Integration

As part of his article series for the Japanese magazine Web Site Expert, writer Bart Eisenberg interviewed John Maver and Cappy Popp about the state of Facebook application development and related technical books. Their book, Essential Facebook Development: Build Successful Applications for the Facebook Platform, covered how to create applications from end to end.

Read the full article in English here - Facebook Application Developers Face a Moving Target

Join Cappy Popp, Co-Founder of Thought Labs, as he  covers an overview of the platform (where we have been/where we are going), a detailed chat about the "Like" feature (and whether or not it has been successful), privacy changes, the long tail of Facebook and how social plugins impact you. The webinar begins at 2:00pm EST on July 28, 2010.

Find out more at: The Awareness Facebook Social Marketing Toolkit.