What are the differences between an advocate and an influencer? Can they complement each other? Can someone be both?
The best way to define the difference between advocate and influencer is to understand that an influencer can be an advocate but an advocate is not exclusively an influencer.
A brand advocate is a person, customer, employee or organisation that shares a quote, comment or review about a company through their networks (social media, word of mouth, email) with no other incentive than their love for the brand.
What value can each of these advocates bring to your brand?
A brand advocate or “brand ambassador” represents your brand, shows their support and can even influence the purchasing decisions of their “followers”. Everyone has the ability to recommend your brand. They all generate new business.
Customers
The customer is the most important advocate to consider, as they can be your biggest supporter or your biggest fan. The real value provided by the visibility a customer gives you in networks is essential to generate brand advocacy.
If they choose your product or services and love your company, they will go beyond all expectations when it comes to recommending the brand to family, friends, acquaintances and followers.
Employees
It is essential for a brand to work on the wellbeing of its employees and to make them proud to be part of it, as the way a company treats its employees is a reflection of the company and has a real impact on its audience.
Happy employees are the best ambassadors, they are passionate about where they work and show genuine love for the brand.
Influencers
If you’re on social media, chances are you’ve already seen a product on an influencer’s social network. Influencers can be, on the one hand, famous people with many followers on different social media platforms. On the other hand, niche influencers have fewer followers but have a big impact on their communities.
If you want to know about the different types of influencers, just take a look at our article about it: Types of Influencers. Learn about all of them. Each influencer is different and, depending on what we are looking for for our product, one or another profile is recommended.
As I mentioned before, influencers can be brand ambassadors, not only through influencer marketing, but also through their organic reviews. An influencer is like any other consumer, but with an exponentially larger audience, which presents an advantage when it comes to giving visibility to a brand.
An influencer does not only generate an advertisement, but also when content is perceived as such it can have a negative impact on consumers.
As consumers evolve, connecting with them through influencers requires a constant evolution and requires a more personal and creative approach to give meaning to the message you want to convey.
Want to know more about the Advocacy Marketing?
At Samy, our alliance of agencies to which SamyRoad belongs, we are specialists in Brand Advocacy Marketing and influencer marketing. If you want to know more about it and how we can help your brand, do not hesitate to contact us.